Annihilation Through Unity
by Flameal15k
Summary: For reasons beyond me, I got put into the Chassis of a Planetary Annihilation Commander and sent across the universe to fight evil and eat technology...At least, that's how this started. Things got pretty crazy from there...
1. 1 Activation

Based on the works of Fusou, Faith, Blackhole1, and Drich.

They got me interested in this kind of multi-crossover, so here's my entrance to the band wagon.

For anyone who doesn't know, this story is based upon a prompt on Spacebattles . com where someone was self inserted into a Planetary Annihilation commander and sent across the multiverse to nom technology and beat evil. This is my entry into the genre. Be advised, Started writing this in December 2016, a few days before Christmas, so expect things to be a little out of date, and for massive quality leaps to be present between the initial parts of the story and the current ones. So, without further adieu, let the story begin!

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At last!

After a rough semester, buggy computers, and a few (surprisingly easy) odd finals, IT WAS TIME! I could finally run Planetary Annihilation and its expansion! AND I HAD A MONTH TO SPARE! Truly, nothing could go wrong.

If you are at all familiar with the rules of narratives, and literary common sense, you should know how DEAD WRONG I was...

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I booted up the game on my laptop. My old computer was unable to run the game (probably ran out of CPU), and I wasn't supposed to use my laptop for anything other than school work, so I was sincerely hoping my parents wouldn't come home soon.

First thing that came up was the menu, followed by the standard 'verify you game key code' pop ups. They were annoying, and I'd lost the usage of a few games forever because of them (looking at you, _Universe at War_), but I'd rather not have my game pirated.

Then, I received a new pop-up.

_'Thank you for purchasing Plantary Annihilation and its Titans expansion. We're testing out a new update that can only be installed in game, but will make the experience much more enjoyable. Just click accept to get started.'_

_'Yours Truly'_

_'ROB'_

My thoughts on this were as followed:

1\. Okay that was odd.

2\. Who's ROB?

3\. Why do I feel that something bad is about to happen?

4\. JUST LET ME PLAY MY GAME, YOU STINKING SPAMBOT!

So, without thinking, I clicked the button.

Then everything went black.

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[SYS_STARTUP_INITIATED]

[PRIMARY SYSTEMS:ONLINE]

[COMPUTER CORE-ONLINE]

[METAL FABRICATOR-ONLINE]

[FUSION POWER GENERATOR-ONLINE]

[COMBAT SYSTEMS-ONLINE]

[MOVEMENT SYSTEMS-ONLINE]

[COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS-ONLINE]

[SENSOR SYSTEMS-ONLINE]

[SYSTEMS NORMAL]

[RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS]

[ERROR-CMDR_AI_DESIGNATION_893452B NOT LOCATED]

[SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE AI]

[SCANNING]

[SCANNING]

[SCANNING]

[NEW COMMANDER FOUND]

[INIT_CMDR_FLAMEAL15K]

[CMDR_XENOSENTRY_ONLINE]

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Next thing I knew, I was in darkness. Then, I noticed a screen come online. With nothing else to look at, and trying to find some sense of normalcy in the ABSOLUTE CHAOS I was in, I read it:

LANDING IN 60 SECONDS, PREPARE FOR ANNIHILATION.

Two things ran through my head:

1\. Wasn't that the line thye showed on Planetary Annihilation when your commander was first dropped in? (I watched youtube videos, okay?)

2\. I'm falling. I'm falling I'm fallingI'mfalling I'm FALLING!

I tried banging my head around to see if I could escape my impending arrival with, well, whatever I was falling toward. All I did was discover that I could dent things by hitting them with my head and that this didn't cause me any pain. Curious, I decided to turn my thoughts inward for a moment and couldn't believe what I found.

I was in a Xenosentry.

I was in a commander from Planetary Annihilation.

NO, I WAS a commander from Planetary Annihilation.

_Well, figured it out, now, have you?_

What? Who's there? Are you psychic?

_Call me ROB, and yes._

ROB? The guy who sent me the pop up? But why would he...

Wait. Rob. ROB. R.O.B. Random Omnipotent Being _RANDOM OMNIPOTENT BASTARD_

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_Well you're certainly annoying._

"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?"

_Well, this is part of an experiment. You've been inserted into a _Planetary Annihilation _commander, something I know you have experience with, and besides, you're a Supreme Commander fan anyways. You see, a friend of mine started an experiment where someone received a fully teched up commander and had the power to travel across universes. It was so amusing, and impressive, I must add, that I decided to have a few experiments of my own. The focus was on integrating all of the absolutely broken bullshit technology together, but you can take that focus anywhere you want it, if I'm being honest._

Yeah, yeah, tell me what I'm up against.

_I'm sorry?_

I really doubt you'd just let me jump into a commander with all of the obtainable tech from PA and its expansion and not give me a challenge to fight against. Also, I have the desire to destroy something, and I can't hit you, I die if this commander is destroyed, and I will die if this pod explodes.

_...killjoy. Well, I think you be wary about the native wildlife on the planet, since you will be hitting the planet with the force of a nuke._

Note to self: start making a kaiju killing machine.

_You sure it's kaiju sized?_

No, but giant robots fighting monsters is awesome.

Though I should also prepare something for dealing with a swarm of killer bugs. And maybe make a mind control device. These beasts could make good pets.

_You're a control freak. You know that, right?_

Guilty as charged. Now, would you shut up and let me prepare myself for battle?

_Okay, little man. Just a final word, though._

What?!

_You're not the only one involved in this experiment. There are others. Some will probably be friendly to you, but others... well, you should watch your back._

Thank you.

With that, I took a look at the screen in my pod. Now, it showed me my destination: a rather large world, with big oceans. Surprisingly, unlike most PA worlds, it had multiple biomes: deserts, ice caps, forests, even coral reefs.

That just means more things out there to kill me.

I decided to feel through the systems in the pod. It turned out I could control the speed of the pod, as well as other maneuvering stuff. I thought about adjusting the speed, or maybe changing my landing site, but then I decided against it: The landing sight I had was coastal and had plenty of metal deposits, and if I went any faster, I might get buried so deep that I'd be under attack the minute I escaped the crater I'd just made.

So, I just decided to brace for impact.

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Looking back, I was glad that, of all things, I remembered that line about the other participants in the experiment. Because trust me, it was WAY more important than anything else ROB had told me.

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****AN: I posted this a while ago on spacebattles, but I think Sufficient Velocity should also have the chance to read it.****

****Just a heads up: I'm quite a few chapters into it on SPacebattles, so expect a lot of updates while I bring this one up to speed.****

****Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	2. 2 Landfall

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally made landfall. It was, surprisingly, a rather boring affair. Maybe that had to do with fact that the landing didn't involve a giant quake, but rather, a low thud. Or maybe it was because I was still coming to terms with the fact I was a plaything for R.O.B.

Oh well.

When the dust settled, I took in my surroundings. I'd landed in a forest on the coastline of one of the planet's continents (there were 3 in total). Most of the trees around my LZ had just ceased to exist, and a few that had survived were on fire. I would've put them out, but I had nothing to put them out with at the moment, so I just decided to let them burn.

Anyways, on to building. I doubted the wildlife would attack me immediately, even if it was programmed to kill me. The explosion probably scared them. So, with at least five minutes free of violence, I got to work setting up my base.

I started with my usual Supreme Commander setup: one extractor, adjacent power plant, then an adjacent factory (vehicle one, in this case). I repeated this process until I had every single factory except for an orbital one, because I needed fabbers for that.

That was why the first thing to role off the factory assembly lines were fabbers, followed by a few ants, some doxes, a grenadier trio, and a stitch. I set the fabbers to start building defenses, while my commander started building radar. This was probably pointless, considering that most living things aren't radar emitters, but I just wanted to be safe.

And it looked like this planet had life that was an exception to the rule, because as soon as the radar came online, I saw a huge number of blips heading toward me from the south. Okay, that's a problem. I sent my small army south, while my factories began churning out new units to replace them, because seriously, I didn't expect to be able to curbstomp these things right off the bat. R.O.B. isn't the kind of person to send bugs at you that can easily be beaten with a boot.

Incidentally, a lot of the unknown blips turned out to be giant bugs. A few looked like reptiles, and there was a least one that looked like a killer shrew, but most of them looked like termites and bed bugs.

Well then, time to break out the bug bombs.

My initial strike force did a lot better than expected at utterly crushed the bugs, with only one ant and two doxes as casulaties. I was proud of my victory, but I wasn't going to bask in it. Already, I had started setting up a naval fleet and a couple more land factories to reinforce my army, because I doubted that I'd just be fighting weak little bugs.

I regretted being right about that fact.

Another set of blips showed up on the radar, only this time, one of the was a lot bigger than the others. It revealed itself to be some kind of rock-ape-THING that looked like an Earth Elemental from ARK. It promptly threw a giant rock at my army, destroying three tanks and five doxes. The ensuing battle ended in my victory, but all I had left was a dox pair, one pillar, my trio of grenadiers and my stitch.

I immediately started moving in some replacement units to reinforce my depleted army: more ofwhat I already had, along with a few flame tanks and mobile bombs, plus some slammers. Just in time too, because the next wave included a bunch of bat like creatures that spit acid (really, acid bats? That's the best flying creature you could come up with, R.O.B.?).

The following battle really wasn't different from before, and I didn't take too many losses, but again, I didn't think this was over. I started building a few fighters and bombers, along with a small fleet. I also started building a few advanced factories, so that I could start fielding the bigger guns soon.

By the time that the fourth wave showed up, I'd got a fleet moved in to provide fire support for my army. Bring it on, bug beasts.

Then a giant shark emerged from the water and ate a destroyer. It promptly got torpedoed to death, but still...

A GIANT SHARK? This was going to be a problem.

Back at base, I'd begun building an orbital factory. The minute it came online, I set it to produce a fabber and a bunch of fighters, because I needed orbital superiority. Raining death from above was also very amusing.

Soon, I had a giant horde of machines ready for battle, along with some advanced units to back them up. Considering that I'd gone through at least half a thousand beasts on land, and few sharks in the water while I'd waited for the army to finish building, I didn't think I'd have much left to deal with. I mean, yes, there were probably more things left to kill, but it's not like there were any new surprises left out there.

"Warning, abnormally large entity detected from the south. Size comparable to Atlas titan."

Oh. There was that.

"Warning: large fleet of unidentified composition coming from the west."

And that.

Me and my big mouth.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	3. 3 Dealing With The Natives

I started setting all of my factories to produce as many units as possible. Bombers, fighters, tanks, gunships, frigates, grenadiers, ANYTHING that could repel the incoming forces. I even started building an Atlas titan, even though the odds of it finishing in time for me to use it against whatever was headed my way were not in my favor (shut up, Haymitch). Still, if it did finish before then, it would be a nice addition to my army.

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The fleet of sea creatures headed my way were the first things to hit me. It turned out they were a mix of fish, squid, and the occasional giant crab. A few artillery emplacements I'd set up early on thinned their numbers out, but there was still a sizable number of them left to smash into my fleet and base defenses. I think I saw some giant things resembling archer fish shoot water jets at my army, but most of the creatures just attacked with jaws, claws and tentacles. As a side of effect of this, only the giant seafood specials were able to attack my land defenses. They were unbelievably tough, but they had trouble turning, so I just surrounded them and gunned them down with doxes.

Suck it, ROB.

Anyways, I didn't get the chance to totally annihilate the seafood fleet before the army of beasts from the south hit my base. Owing to the fact that the giant blip appeared to be the size of an Atlas, the first things to attack me were more of the bugs, reptiles and mammals that I'd seen earlier, but now with the aid of several giant birds and what looked like giant frogs.

Something to put on devinantart when I get home, I guess.

Anyway, the weird animal alliance faced some of the same problems their marine friends had: artillery killed a fair number of them, and the base defenses and guard army quickly started inflicting heavy casualties. Problem was, these creatures were exponentially more numerous then their aquatic allies, so they could afford to take the losses. Plus, they had a lot more ranged units then the sea monsters, some of which could shoot back at the artillery. I had to get some mends and stitches fixing my artillery, and I still lost a few emplacements.

Meanwhile, the giant blip was still getting closer.

Looking over my forces, I noticed that most of the enemy fliers had been destroyed. Seizing the one chance I had, I launched a few air scouts at the blip, so that I could see what I was up against.

I _really_ did not like what I saw.

The thing I was fighting against could best be described as the unholy union of the monsters Hedorah and Destoroyah, because it looked like a giant demon made out of slime. It had giant wings, but since it was walking, I assumed that it was too heavy to fly, or the wings were too weak, or something like that. It also had way more eyes than normal, as well as a giant mouth on its chest.

It stared at my scout for a moment, before flapping its wings. The resulting gusts were, according to sensors that I didn't even know the scout had, were comparable to hurricanes. My poor air scout was flattened into the ground so hard that it practically disintegrated. There wasn't even an explosion, it just seemed to cease to exist.

I immediately threw everything I had at the giant and aimed all of my artillery at it, even if it was out of range. I made a point of trying to destroy any smaller beasts that were still supporting it, because their was no way I was going to let it have backup when it attacked my base.

The monster just stared at my army before grabbing and throwing some of its allies into my forces, obliterating a couple dozen units with each throw.

Really? This was an OP beast, please nerf.

Still, it was taking hits. Wounds started appearing all over the slimy titan (you know what, I'll just call it the slime demon from here on out, because it looked a lot like one), and it seemed to be getting tired.

Aww, and I thought it would be tougher.

The slime demon responded by roaring. Loudly.

As in, the roar generated a sonic shockwave that completely annihilated my army. Only my navy (which was busy chasing off the rest of the sea monsters) and the robots that I kept back at base survived the attack.

And unfortunately for me, neither was enough to hurt this thing.

Without any fear of reprisal, the slime demon continued on its path toward my base. In fact, I think it knew that I wouldn't be able to generate any real defense against it, because it seemed to be going a lot slower than it had been earlier and, if I was looking at it right, it was SMILING.

How the hell was I supposed to defeat it now?

"Atlas Titan online."

...Oh...

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	4. 4 Behemoth Battle

I'd love to say that the Atlas looked at the slime demon, reared up, and obliterated it with one of its shockwave stomps.

I'd be lying.

Also, what actually ended up happening was much cooler than that.

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The slime demon roared loudly as soon as I heard the report telling me my titan had finished construction. Apparently, it had heard it too, or figured out that it had come online some other way, because it changed direction and put itself on a collision course with the titan. As it did so, it released a loud roar that caused my radar to screw up and generate blips that didn't exist. Somehow, it was jamming my radar.

Also, I noticed that it was emitting a different signal from its radar jamming roar, but it didn't seem important, so I ignored it.

Not wanting to wait for the giant slime demon to destroy my titan, I sent the Atlas on a collision course with the slime demon. It started meandering through the wall of factories, turrets, and actual walls I'd set up to protect it from the onslaught of angry wildlife, but it was slow going.

Note to self: make Atlas faster, that thing is way too slow.

Anyways, just as the Atlas managed to get past the last set of defenses, the slime demon arrived to meet it. The creature stared at its opponent for a moment, then roared as loud as it could. This one had no special effects tied to it, so I assumed this was just meant for intimidation.

Either way, it made for a really cool sight.

Now I wish I had music.

[ACCESSING MUSIC LIBRARY]

Wait, this thing had a music library?

I wonder if it had rock songs.

[OPENING 'ROCK' SUB FOLDER]

Oh. Wow, the progenitors really did think of everything. All of the rock songs that I saw were names I recognized. Going off the sample sections I listened too, they were the real deal, and not alien songs that just ended up having the same names as ones on Earth. Now I was starting to wonder if ROB had a hand in this.

I looked at them for a moment, before making my selection.

[SOUNDTRACK START: METAL GEAR RISING OST: RULES OF NATURE]

What?! It's a good song!

The slime demon roared one more time, before charging at my titan. My titan responded with a stomp attack, sending out a giant blast wave toward the demon. Somehow, it didn't harm my forces. Cool.

Unfortunately, it did only minor damage to the demon. To be fair, it obliterated it's escorts, including a few flying creatures that made the mistake of flying too low.

Unfortunately, the ones that did survive immediately ascended and started shooting acid at the Atlas. Being an Atlas titan, it couldn't hit them back.

I really needed to fix that. I mean, the Seraphim fixed that problem for the Ythona.

Anyways, I sent in a few fighters to deal with the enemy ones. The ensuing dogfight was awesome to behold, but it paled in comparison to the behemoth battle that was taking place on the ground.

The Slime Demon had collided with that Atlas, which responded by kicking it with its front legs. And no I don't mean it tried to use its stomp attack on the demon, it actually used the legs to kick it. Who would have known it could do that?

Unfortunately, the demon adapted and started hitting it back with punches. It even used a head-butt to stun it, which I didn't know was possible, nor that it would be effective against a titan. THEN, it started kneeing the titan in the gut. The machine seemed to be sagging forward and, going by my sensors, was at about 50% health, which dropped by 5% every hit it.

When it was down to 25%, the demon pulled back its left arm, which started glowing. Oh great, it was going to hit me with a burning punch. This was it, GG, end of the line for me.

[EMERCENY CLOSE QUARTER COMBAT ROUTINES ACTIVATED]

Huh? What?

The slime demon unleashed its finishing blow...

Only for my Atlas to _catch the punch with its right hand._

Then it responded with a punch of its own to the demon's chest. The blow knocked the monster over, giving my titan a chance to get back on its legs.

The demon soon righted itself and let out another ear-splitting roar...

Only to be silenced when my Atlas _leapt on top of it._

Which ended up reducing its health to 15%. Ouch.

THe demon manged to free itself, then began punching my titan. This time, though, the Atlas fought back and gave as good as it got. Unlike before, the demon actually seemed to be weakening from this onslaught, because it seemed to grow more sluggish and was losing a lot of blood.

Said blood was bright purple of all colors. Now I wanted the beast dead even more than before for shaming the Cat in the Hat.

The fight finally ended when my titan was at 5% health. At that point, the demon simply collapsed, unable to get back up. It certainly wasn't out of the fight though: it tried to chew on my titan's legs.

The Atlas responded with its usual attack, only this time, it was aimed right at the monster's head.

The giant goresplosion that followed (yes I'm calling it a goresplosion, don't judge me) was more than enough evidence that the thing was dead and never coming back.

OH YEAH! I DID IT! THE BEAST IS DEAD! NOTHING COULD STOP ME NOW!

[WARNING: LARGE ARMY OF UNIDENTIFIED ORGANISMS DETECTED]

Crap.

I turned my titan to face the oncoming army of bugs. It wasn't in the best shape, but it might be able to by me time to build a new army.

But, to mu surprise, the beasts seemed confused. They looked around, in a manner almost as if they were waking up from a dream.

They stared at my titan for a moment.

Then they ran.

Huh. Why'd they do that?

Then my attention turned back toward the utterly demolished corpse of the slime demon.

An idea began to formulate in my head.

Time to start studying my enemy.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	5. 5 Analysis and Innovation

The minute that the Slime demon died, I started entrenching my base even further, just in case its death didn't stop the horde attacking me. After all, there was a non-zero chance that all I'd done by killing the monster was make everything else angry at me, and I did not want to get killed by mooks just after I'd killed the meanest one around.

Fortunately, it seemed that the death of the demon had indeed broken the monsters' will to fight. In fact, some of them had decided to take a lunch break, feasting on either the plants that hadn't been demolished by the kill-fest that had happened earlier or on the many carcass that had resulted from said kill-fest.

Deciding that it was safe, I sent out several fabbers to the corpse of the demon and began examining the body. I wasn't surprised that the fabbers had bio-scanners onboard, since they could convert trees into usable resources. Anyways, most of the results were mundane things, at least in regards to the monster I'd just fought, but then one of the fabbers examined a chunk of flesh lying nearby the Atlas' legs and things got _interesting_. It turned out it was a piece of the demon's brain and that it was designed to emit some kind of signal. I found it relatively easy to copy the signal, so I did just that and started shooting it out of my radar.

The minute it went out, all of the creatures within range ceased whatever they were doing and looked toward my base, as if asking for orders.

Huh, so that's how it commanded them. Maybe I should use it later.

Anyways, now onto the next problem: it turned out that the demon's death had only removed the threat of terrestrial attacks; the sea beasties were still after me. Right now, they were dying in droves at the hands of my base defenses, but I had a feeling that if I waited too long, whatever was controlling them would come after me, and I did not want t o deal with a giant sea monster, so I started to drawing up plans to deal with it.

First, I modified my sonar to search for the signal used to control the creature. To my surprise, it found _two _sources of that signal.

Looks like I had two monsters to deal with.

Well, time to start innovating.

First, I pulled out my submarine design and modified it, adding in a sensor to detect the signal I was looking for. I also made it's torpedoes able to target the signal as well.

Then, I began working on my bombers. I still didn't get why they didn't need to refuel and rearm after a while (I was used to building air staging facilities from Supreme Commander, so this wouldn't have been a problem for me), but I wasn't complaining. That just let me focus on my modifications; namely, giving them depth charges. Since the signal I was getting was coming rom extreme depths, I made the charges have a massive depth limit, so that I'd actually be able to reach their targets before exploding.

Finally, I decided to add in a signal emitter to my frigates, which was tuned to emit the same signal that the slime demon emitted. Hopefully, this would confuse any monsters that the demon used against me, and let me focus on the boss monster.

I also gave my sub torpedoes IFF systems, just so I could avoid having my torpedoes hit my frigates. I WAS GOING TO BE HOISTED BY MY OWN PETARD.

Anyways, once the changes were made, I saved the designs separately from the originals, since I'd like to use the original designs as starting points for other advances. Also, I liked thee originals and didn't really want to part with them.

With all of the changes set, I started building up a new fleet. Time to go deep sea fishing.

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AN: Originally, five creatures were planed to be controlling the sea monsters, but then I decided I wanted to give the monsters a bigger fight scene, so I just shortened the amount to two. Next chapter will be the second to last before we finally end up in another universe.

****So, read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	6. 6 The Wolfpack, Preparations, and an Am

**Chapter 6: The Wolfpack, Preparations, and An Amazing Discovery**

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Well, let me say this now: I REALLY didn't expect what happened when I went after those signals underwater.

But I think I should show you what actually happened down there first.

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My subs travelled deeper into the depths, things getting darker as they progressed. As it turned out, the sources were within a pair of ocean trenches, so I was worried I'd actually have my subs implode before I reached the targets. Now that would be a humiliating way to lose my army.

Fortunately, my subs were able to reach the appropriate depth and still remain functional. Whew. Considering my depth charges had the same pressure limits as my subs, that meant they'd still work down here as well. Nice.

With my subs ready, I began exploring the trenches. A few creatures showed up on the sonar and on my sub cameras, but they just ignored me. They looked as if they were stoned, but some looked really confused. Probably had to do with my counter signal. Hopefully, they would stay that way until after I killed whatever was controlling them.

And frankly, some of them looked weird. Oh sure, some were realistic, such as giant sharks, mega-anglers, colossal squid, even the occasional overgrown woodlouse (yes they exist on Earth), but then there were fish with shrimp legs and huge barnacles that could crawl around the ocean floor. Seriously, WTF ROB?

Anyways, it was about this time that I noticed that the subs were approaching their targets. I began shutting off their camera lights, because I was really betting on this thing having bioluminescence. I mean, a lot of deep sea creatures had bioluminescence, plus it looked cool, so I doubted ROB would pass up on that chance.

Now, let's see, what should I expect these creatures to have.

The only tings I could think of were atomic breath or something similar, cause Godzilla, and giant parasites, like Clover.

Oh well, guess I was going in really blind.

Then, I noticed that lights had started appearing before my subs. According to my sensors, there were the source of the signal.

I activated the torpedoes and locked onto the signals. Time to end this. I knew one volley would probably just make them angry, but that'd probably give me a good idea of how much damage these torpedoes would do against these things.

To my surprise, the first volley went through without a hitch. After the blast lights faded, I found the water filling with bioluminescent blood. Then, to my surprise, more bioluminescent patches lit up on the creatures' bodies, which were really friggin' big. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out what they looked like.

Then each of the bodies _split _into a set of four smaller bodies.

Wait, w_hat._

I checked my sensors. Yep, the eight smaller bodies were emitting the same signal as the bigger two.

This was just _fucking __****PERFECT!****_

I quickly set my subs to scatter, then fired another volley of torpedoes. I also set the depth bombers to start dropping the charges, along with the torpedoes. Finally, I activated the lights, revealing my foes to be weird...arthropod...fish...things.

Alright then, **_**BRING IT ON, YOU OVERGROWN FILLETS!**_**

My foes quickly scattered, forcing my subs to split into smaller sub groups to chase them. The sea devils (because that's any easy name, okay) began shaking around, releasing a bunch of flecks into the water. Which suddenly began charging me. Turns out they were human sized isopods, some of which I'd seen earlier.

Called it, ROB!

Anyways, these guys were hard to kill. I mean, they took out 10 subs before I gave one sub group per sea devil horde orders to directly attack them. Even if I was playing Supreme Commander, that would have been a giant loss.

Fortunately, I'd made sure to use a few hundred subs against each devil pack. I was not going to come this far only to lose to a pair of wolf pack bosses!

Anyways, back to the fighting. One of my sub groups was right on the tail of one of the devils. I'd made sure to use three other packs to focus on its pack mates, because otherwise they wer going to tear me apart. I quickly readied a second set of torpedoes. Time to cook these fish!

Then, it turned around as the lights on its body started getting brighter and brighter. Then, it opened its mouth and shot a giant beam of light its pursuers, cutting the sub pack following it in half.

Atomic Breath. Again, CALLED IT ROB!

Anyways, I ordered the subs that were still following that particular devil to split into two groups and start firing torpedoes as fast as possible.

One of them was promptly eaten by another devil. Oh well.

I decided to turn my attention back to the other group of subs, to see how they were doing.

It turns out that they were reduced to just one sub per sea devil while I was focused on the other pack.

And said subs were now being eaten by the devils.

Well, screw you too! I promptly fired the torpedoes in the subs. If these guys were gonna cost me all my subs, I might as well give them some stomach aches before they came after my commander.

So I was pretty surprised when they, in synch, spit out my subs, vomited up a huge amount of blood, began writhing in pain for a few moments, then went stiff and began sinking.

I checked my sensors. The signal had halted from them. They were dead.

OH YES! TAKE THAT!

I really wanted to enjoy my victory, but I still had one more pack to deal with. Plus, I didn't really have a body to enjoy it with.

Anyways, back with the other pack. My subs were still doing much better than their partners, as there were no parasites in the water, barring a few fragments of exoskeleton and flesh. There was also a lot of blood pouring into the water from the devils. Oh yeah.

That was when the devils got serious. They turned to face the subs, and opened their mouths really wide.

Then, suddenly, half of my subs flew into the open mouths, were swallowed and destroyed.

Great, suction mouths.

Also, where were those depth charges?!

I checked my sub numbers and was unnerved by the results: I only had four left. The remainder had gone offline.

Time to bail.

I set my subs to begin retreating. Once I was far enough away, I'd start having them rise up, but right now they were too close to the devils for that to work. If they did, they'd show the devils right up to my doorstep, an I did not want to deal with that.

Unfortunately, the devils wised up and opened their mouths as wide as possible. I soon found my subs facing an immense amount of force pulling them toward those open maws.

CURSE YOU ROB!

Then, to my surprise, several hundred glowing lights floated down in front of the sea devils, before being sucked into their maws. I quickly checked ,y sensors.

Those lights were my depth charges.

And the sea devils had just swallowed them.

I cannot describe in words how satisfying it was to watch the devils disappear into blinding light. I mean, one minute their eyes widened, seemingly realizing exactly what they swallowed, and then they just _ceased to exist. I couldn't even find a single piece of any of their boides, there was just nothing left to work with._

OH YEAH! I DID IT! SUCK IT ROB!

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Anyways, things really calmed down after that. With nothing controlling them, the wildlife went back to normal. I saw some of the eating each other, or feeding on ocean vent smoke, but most just scattered. I briefly considered wiping the planet clan of life, but decided against it; I'd rather study them and see if I could glean any advances out of them. Maybe I'd even turn some into livestock.

With all of the possible threats dealt with, I decided it was time to start working on expansion. I began setting bases up all over planet, along with a few on the other ones in the system.

In fact, my biggest focus right now was investigating the worlds in my system. What I found surprised me.

Most of the system was rather standard, including a lava world, an ice ball, a desert planet, a forest world, an ocean one, a gas giant and a... wait, is that a metal planet?

I have an annihilaser? YES!

Then I noticed an odd signal coming from the desert world. I sent a fabber to investigate and was stunned with what I found.

It was an Osiris Commander. And it was still functional.

I wasn't sure what to do. Should I repair it? Destroy it? Enslave it? So many choices-I repaired him

Or at least, started to. According to my fabber, it would take at least a week to fix him and that's using A LOT of fabbers. Oh well.

It was then that I noticed that I had received a message from ROB

I opened it, and here is what it said:

_Dear Flame_

_Here's the blueprint for the dimension gate. Time to prove yourself, kid. IF you succeed, great. IF you fail... I'm putting you in for a Raspberry._

_Sincerely, Rob._

_p.s. The incoming drop is also from me. Consider my one good deed for the millennia._

I wondered what he meant when a loud scream turned my attention to the sky. I watched as a pod fell out of the sky. Cautious, I sent in a fabber vehicle to examine it.

To my surprise, It was filled with gifts. And they were all addressed to me.

But why-Wait.

Now that I wasn't under constant threat, I started counting how many days I'd been here. The resulting number confirmed my thoughts.

Today was Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow was Christmas.

I can't remember if I laughed or cried (I think I did both), but a part of me went really cold when the realization hit me that I'd spend Christmas alone for god knows how long. On the other had, I actually felt happy that ROB decided to let me have all of the gifts I was supposed to get. It wouldn't be too hard to make a system capable of playing them using my body (if they were games or movies) and I was looking forward to reading any books I got.

First, though, I made a dox that could grasp a twig firmly without breaking it. I'd need that to use half the stuff I had asked for.

In spite of the other insanity I'd had to deal with, the simple fact that I'd be able to enjoy a part of Christmas gave me some reassurance that, ultimately, things would turn out okay.

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****AN: This chapter was originally posted on December 24, 2016, so it is obviously out of date. Still, it has its importance, so I'm keeping it up.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	7. 7 The Final Countdown and An Unexpected

Honestly, what happened when I exited the dimension gate was something that I don't think anyone R.O.B. has ever dealt with before. I mean ,it's not everyday you receive _that _kind of surprise when you go somewhere.

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I started assembling the portal as soon as I got the schematics, but it took a _long _time to build. How was I supposed to know that it would take _12 hours _to build the thing?

Still, that gave me time to open my gifts. Most were clothes, but a few were steam gift cards and video games, plus a copy of A Game of Thrones. I was looking forward to reading that book on my travels, but that isn't really important.

While the portal was still under construction, I started building as many fabbers as I could. I also built a few doxes and orbital units, in case I ended up in space when the portal opened. Soon, I had a small army ready for the portal. With nothing else to do, I decided to, for lack of better choice, go to sleep. I was still surprised that the commander had a sleep mode.

So, after giving my best wishes to my family, I powered down.

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When I awakened, I saw that the portal was almost finished. I decided to start moving my army toward it. I also mentally slapped myself after I realized that, since the portal was on the ground, I wouldn't be able to fit my orbital units inside of it. Oh well.

I examined the progress on it and noticed that I was 10 seconds from finishing.

I quickly started counting down, because I porbably wouldn't get another chance like this any time soon.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

"Dimension gate complete."

I looked at it for a moment as my army gathered behind me, then, stealing myself, charged through, my army quick to follow.

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After a short moment of teleportation, which somehow made me feel as though I was turned inside out, I found myself in a strange forest. THe trees looked recognizable.

As I moved around, I looked for sings of life. Maybe there was a sentient race nearby?

I soon found a quaint little city, with structures that were very familiar.

As I approached it, though, a group of airships approached me, armed with weapons that looked somewhat deadly and... familiar?

Somewhere, these designs registered as being unique, but not in a way that I knew.

Then, I saw a walker headed toward me, stop, and release a tiny reptilian being, who pointed some kind of device at me. I armed my weapons, but soon found it was some kind of scanner. I felt my body and processor being examined (which made me nervous), and started taking aim, but something kept me from firing.

Maybe it was the fact that I recognized the being, in a friendly sort of way.

Then I noticed that the being in question seemed to appear puzzled, before going stiff, then jumping into the air.

Then, suddenly, it signaled to me, on a channel that had no encryption. I answered, rather confused.

"Hello-" I began.

"Greeting, oh great and exalted one! We have long awaited your return!"

Wait, what?

"I'm sorry, but you must have me mistaken with another being."

"NO! YO ARE THE EXALTED ONE! THE ONE WHO RAISED US FROM A TINY CELL TO A MIGHTY CIVILIZATION! THE ONE WHO LEAD THE NAVEROSAURUS OFF OF TERMINITE AND TO THE STARS, TOWARD THE HEART OF THE GA:AXY! ONLY YOU DID THIS!"

I did? But how-

Wait.

Terminite. Naverosaurs. Heart of the galaxy. Tiny cell to galactic empire?!

Now I remembered where I knew these guys from.

I had led these beings to all of this.

For I had made.

They were my first great creations.

Back when I played Spore...

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****AN: Yes, the very first universe I'm visiting is the Spore Universe. You may praise or insult me as you see fit.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	8. MeetingMyLoyalFollowers

Out of all the other commanders I met, I have yet to find one who had the luck I did with their first universe.

I mean, seriously, what are the odds of ending up in a universe where the first beings you encounter ae ones you made and guided from a single cell to a galactic empire?

Or that they formed a coalition with other races who you'd done the same toward to discover who made them?

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Even after overcoming the shock of realizing what these guys had said was true, I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to these guys actions. I was pretty sure that they would want me to join in feasts and parties, which seeing as I didn't have a body, would pose quite a few problems.

"Oh noble creator, how long we have waited for this day, at last, where we may meet you. We have prepared a feast in your honor, as well as many festivities. We hope that you will join in these festivities-"

"Well, that would be nice, but I'm afraid that I will not be able to do so at the moment."

"...Why, oh great and triumphant one?"

"Well, erm..."

"Did another being imprison you in the form that we now see before us?"

"...Yes, actually." [I]How the hell did he know that?

/I]

"Ah. So it seems the zealous ones were right."

"...what?"

"Some of our philosophers have suggested that there are other beings like you, who they have said may be stronger than you. Though I wish they were incorrect, it appears that they are."

Okay, time to put on my god guise.

"...Well, sorry for confirming your fears. Anyways, the being that trapped me in this form has also robbed me of much of my power. All I am able to do this limited, though still powerful, form is create an army of robotic entities obedient to my will. While still impressive, it is only a fraction of my true potential."

"...ah, I see. Now, tell me, mighty one, is there any way we can help you regain your power and true form?"

Perfect.

"Indeed, there is. You see, the one who imprisoned me in this form is offered a way for me to not only regain my power, but even exceed my former limits. He says that I most travel across existence itself, to other universes, and improve the lives of those that I encounter. It appears that he decided this will be my first test."

"I understand. Well, then may we help you in completing this journey?"

"Yes, I would."

"Very well. What would like us to do first."

Uh oh. I hadn't thought of that.

Then I realized there was one thing I really did want. One thing that would be really easy for them to provide me with, assuming they had all of the normal Spore tech on hand.

"Would you provide me with a genetic engineering facility? I would like to assume a form able to... interact with you more freely."

"...Very well. Would you like to join the festivities we have planned for your arrival?"

"Yes, okay. Though, I assume there will be some time needed to prepare them?"

"Yes, indeed. We must also inform the others of your arrival."

"Yeah, sure... wait, [I]others?"

/I]

"Yes. We are aware that you also guided other races to the stars, such as the gralos and draconians. They desire to meet with you as well and will be overjoyed with this discovery.

[I]They know that?!

/I]

"AH, well, sure. Let them kow that I have arrived. I hope that they share your happiness with my arrival."

"It is likely. So, do you have any other requests for the moment?"

"...Just one: what is your name?"

"...AH. I never told you that, and had forgotten that, with you limited powers, you may not be able to use your mind to determine it. You may call me Tylos."

"Good to know, Tylos. Tell those who have awaited my arrival that I am here, but tell them not to try to talk with me, for I need time preparing mortal form."

"Very well, great one. I will execute your will."

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After that, things went on more smoothly. I was easily able to link up to a lab in the capital city and start working on a physical body.

While being a giant killer robot was cool, I really missed all of the senses a fleshy body had.

I still wasn't sure what to do about the festivities, nor was I sure how to fix this universe.

Then I remembered what guarded the galactic core. Along with what was [I]at /I]the core.

Well, that was a starting point.


	9. 9AFormYourAreComfortableWith

9\. **A Form You Are Comfortable With And An Epic Party  
**

Well, I couldn't help but feel rather awkward in the presence of my creations.

Even after the initial encounter, things were...weird with them.

See, while having a bunch of followers that will be completely loyal to you sounds cool, but when you actually have servants who would die _on command _for you out of loyalty, you really end up caring for them. Not that they minded.

I can't believe that I actually found some that were both loyal and willing to tell me when I was wrong, but that was beside the point.

Anyways, back to making my body.

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I'm not ashamed to say that I missed the feelings that came with an organic body, even if it was vulnerable to many things that a machine could easily resist. I think I would have gone insane if I was in the Xenosentry forever.

But, first, I had to grow one.

Luckily, I was in the one universe where you could easily create _everything._

I wasn't sure what to go with, at first. Should I go with one of the alien creatures I designed? Should I choose my normal human form? Maybe a new form made from the spore editors?

Eventually, I decided on a fourth option: go human, but not like my normal body.

Well, I used my normal body as a base, then I added in some unique traits: hair color that was impossible for humans (Black with red and blue), bioluminescent patches like the Na'vi, and a few stripes for good measure.

I also made sure to order a bunch of fabric to make into clothes, because I didn't want a draft between my legs. I'm pretty sure it would also have turned my followers into an empire of nudists.

I was still kinda surprised my followers had human DNA available to grow me a new body to work with, but I assumed that, since ROB had earlier given me my Christmas gifts, that he had given them the DNA. Still worrisome, but not something I wanted to focus on.

As I waited for my body to grow (it turned out that this would take a few hours), I decided to check up on my followers.

I think I almost had a heart attack when I learned what had happened.

IT turned out that every single sapient race I'd created in Spore had become an Empire in this universe. Apparently, they'd met each other and united as allies; in some cases, after nearly going to the brink of war. This gave me an empire of well over a dozen races to work with, with at least one example of each archetype in this federation. These guys had been united by one goal: find me.

Now, I'm not going to describe what these races looked like; they're already in a set of spore casts that I'd made a while ago, and you would save yourself a fair amount of time by just looking at them.

Any ways, these guys were from pretty much every single part of the morality spectrum: diplomats, entertainers, eco-nuts, warmongers, zealots, EVERYTHING. The only archetype not present was the Wander, which required you to start in the space age, which I never did (everyone needed a history, and starting in the space age leaves you without any nice bonuses to use). Somehow, though, they'd united to find me.

Well, better make sure they stay together.

Anyways, back to body building.

With my host body underway, I started adding in cybernetics: skeletal reinforcement, backup nerves, and a neural link to my commander chassis. If it weren't for the fact that there was a bots part pack released for Spore, I'd have been surprised I could add cyborg parts. Luckily, I wasn't.

Anyways, by the time my body was finished growing, I also had several set of clothes ready for it. I decided to try out a fashionable suit that I'd ordered, because party. It fit well, along with a set of shoes and socks I'd also ordered. Once everything was ready, I decided to make my grand entrance.

To say my followers were shocked by my appearance was an understatement. I think some of them were going to have heart attacks.

So, to ease things, I decided to speak.

"Thank you for waiting for me."

Then everyone exploded into applause and worship.

I wondered what I was supposed to do at the party. Then I realized it was New Years back home. So, I did the one things I could do:

Enjoy the celebrations!

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AN: I plan to expand on what happened in the party, but not until this story is up to date with the spacebattles version.

So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	10. Annhilation10

Just as a note, I am going to stop posting titles for chapters on this site - check spacebattles or sufficient velocity if you want to see each chapter's title.

Now, on with the show!

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Well, I wont deny it, the party was truly awesome. But overall, it felt somewhat unfulfilling.

I guess this was because there wasn't anyone _I knew_ who was in attendance. I might have been the certain of attention (a first for me), but I didn't really have anyone who I could relate to, which took out some of the fun of the party. Oh well.

But then, after the festivities ended (and I recovered from the ensuing hangover), I got to dig my hands...err, machine arms, into the Spore tech available to me.

And oh man, was it awesome.

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I found my commander within the starship I'd made for the Naverosaurs. It wasn't really aerodynamic, but it didn't really need to be, seeing how it was able to fly anyways. So, there's a plus.

Then, I started examining the tech inside, as well as all the tech my loyal subjects had acquired. It rounded to quite literally EVERYTHING in Spore... well, except for that thing in the center of the galaxy...

Anyhow, back to examining the contents of my races' technologies: I started with the weapons: they were at the highest level, so most of them exceeded any equivalent tech I had in some way, but a few had a trade-off to counter this benefit: mega laser was more powerful but used up more power, bombs took longer to rebuild but had a bigger blast, etc.

What really got my attention was the Terraforming tech: this stuff was incredibly over powered, even by other games' standards. System that creates an atmosphere out of only electrical energy, violating the law of conservation of mass? Check. System that can utterly OBLITERATE matter with no questions accessed, also violating the afromentioned law? _Check. _System that can return the core of a planet to a molten state after said core completely cools down and solidifies? _CHECK_. Oh man, this stuff was awesome.

I quickly downloaded all of it into my databanks, and started seeing if I could make any improvements to them as well. Already, I could optimize their power consumption, mitigating their drain on my systems.

Then, I decided to pull up my starship's schematics and see what I could improve.

To say I was surprised by how big it was a _colossal _understatement.

This ship had an interior that was as big as a _planet._

How the _hell _was that possible?

Well, it would explain how it was able to store a colony incredi-pack inside... along will all of the buildings it could deploy... and the uber turret...

In hindsight, the colossal interior actually makes sense.

Moving on, the first thing that I noticed was that the starship had much bigger hallways than expected. My commander could walkthrough them no problem. According to the logs, they'd been added recently, three hours after my arrival had gone public. Guess that they wanted to allow my commander to be able to use the ship. How thoughtful.

I wouldn't be lying when I said that the ship's main systems occupied areas the size of _cities. _Though, considering the size of the ship, it was reasonable. Still, there was plenty of room to improve.

As it turned out, my commander was _not _restricted to Tier 1 equipment: it could build anything from PA and the Titans Expansion. Seizing the opportunity, I started adding in a few T2 powerplants to the reactor room, so that I would no longer have to rely on fuel.

Next step was the hanger. Yes, my ship had a hanger. Well, it had to launc the Uber turret from somewhere, okay?! The hander itself was quite large, even if the entrance was only big enough for a realtively small starship to come out. That might explain why they launched most of the buildings as missiles. Odd.

Back on track, I added an advanced orbital factory to the hanger (which ate up hardly any room) and used it to make orbital fabbers. I also built an air factory inside to make aerial fabbers. I didn't want to retreat when my people view me as a god, so I decided that this thing would need to have some way to repair itself. Now, that was done.

Finally, I decided to make the starship more... personable: I added in a bunch of decorations, all from the city planner, to a special set of living quarters made for the ship's captain. Was I was finished, I decided on one final course of action: set a jump to coordinate's (0,0) from galactic core.

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Because seriously, I'm going to meet the Grox sooner or later, so I might as well do it on my terms.

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AN: I'm going to try and get this story fully ported over from Spacebattles by Sunday, so expect 33 more chapters to be up by then.

So, without further adieu, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	11. Annihilation 11

I'd love to say that, when I flew into the center of the galaxy, I only needed one ship to punch through the mighty navy of the Grox and purge them from existence.

That would be wrong.

VERY WRONG.

Look, the Grox have an empire of WAY MORE than 100 worlds. There would be NO WAY I'd beat them on my own.

Fortunately, I wasn't alone.

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On my way to the galactic center, I stopped a couple of times to set up bases on uninhabited planets. None of them had any life forms on them higher than bacteria, which meant I wouldn't have to worry about screwing up the ecosystem with my industry (because I could care less about alien pond scum at the moment).

On each planet, after I got some extractors and generators set up, I made sure to put in some orbital factories and fabbers, and started building as many orbital fighters as I could. I toyed around with setting up some bots, but that was pointless, really: I'd probably be unable to land them before the Grox were dead.

One I'd set up enough bases for my liking, I continued to the galactic center, followed by my machines and loyal followers. The overall size of our fleet was somewhere in the 10,000+ range and growing by the minute.

We hopped across stars, and even travelled through a black hole.

Then, finally, we found our target.

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I stared at the ship before me. It was unlike anything I'd ever made before, and was something that had annoyed me since the first days I'd been in the Space Phase in Spore.

And now it was hailing me.

As I prepared to answer, I looked at all of the captains of the star ships that had been following me. My followers looked scared, and I couldn't blame them. I'd already told them what I planned to do, but even with my 'almighty' power, they were still terrified. This was the Grox, after all. Thiese guys could destroy other empires easily.

But not this one.

Finally, I answered the Grox's hail. I was treated to the rather unpleasant sight of a diminutive cyborg staring at me.

"You are in violation of our space. You have pressed too deep into our exclusion zone and have not heeded our hails. If you had, perhaps I would have let you live, but now, you leave me no choice. Have you any last words?" he said, powering up his weapons a he did so.

Luckily, mine were already armed.

"Yes. DIE!"

The minute I said that, an antimatter missile left my ship and flew straight toward him. He'd actually been surprised to see my response, so much so that he hadn't noticed the antimatter missile. The moment he did, he tried to order his men to take evasive action. Too late, though. As his ship started to turn, the antimatter missile hit it, engulfing both of them in a giant orb of light. When things became visible again, all that was left of the ship were a few pieces of wreckage.

To say my followers were surprised was an understatement. Pretty much all of them were reduced to blubbering messes by the sight of me turning a Grox ship into scrap. Which, considering I just hit it with a missile made of ANTIMATTER, wasn't all that surprising.

As my companions tried to regain their composure, I turned my attention to a nearby planet. According to my sensors, the Grox had sent a warning signal to that world, telling them to alert their main fleet and prepare for war. All things considered, by the time I reached the planet, they'd have already sent it out. Destroying the colony would not stop the signal.

But I REALLY wanted to pay them back for being so hard to beat in Spore.

So, I flew my ship over to their world. I briefly ran through all of the options I had for destroying the colony:

Planet Buster: Overkill, plus not satisfying enough.

Bombing: Too inefficient

Lasers: Too Inefficient.

Missiles: Too Inefficient.

Terraforming: ...Oh yes.

According to my biosphere detector, the planet was too hot to maintain life, OF ANY KIND. I mean, the planet was hotter than Venus, and my ship was starting to cook over in it.

So, I did the obvious thing and activated my air conditioning.

One that worked on a PLANET-WIDE SCALE.

Instantly, the effects wee visible: rain clouds began to form, while some of the molten lava oceans began to harden. Soon, rain began to fall, turning the lava seas into oceans.

Slowly, the world began to come to life.

And all the while, the Grox began to die.

Anyone who has played Spore and met the Grox will know that, should they be put in your cargo hold, they'll die, because the cargo hold is too toxic for them. That's why the live on uninhabitable planets: they will die otherwise.

Well, I got to see it first hand, and it was, well, weird.

When Grox are put in a 'habitable' environment, they don't run around screaming, explode, or melt. They just, well, disintegrate. The minute breathable air hits them, they turn to dust. And it's not just them, either: their buildings, their vehicles, EVERYTHING that they just became huge piles of dust. By the time my terraforming was done, the world was barely inhabitable and there was no trace of the Grox except for huge piles of dust, which were swiftly scattered by the wind.

I decided to try and make things permanent by putting some life forms on planet: a few plants and animals. I had enough to set up a few breeding populations, so I was pretty sure they'd do well. Hopefully. Then I put an Uber Turret up, to keep the Grox away.

I looked at my hard work. In the span of according to my ship clock, 30 minutes, I'd terraformed a world and totally wiped out two cities. Oddly, I actually felt proud about that. I guess I really hated the Grox. Yeah, that was it.

With the planet safe for the moment, I turned my thoughts to the center of the galaxy. Now that I'd destroyed one of their colonies, the Grox would seek retribution.

Well, bring it on, robo-freaks. I'm ready for you.

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Indeed, I WAS ready for THEM. What happened afterwards, though... Well, let's just say it was important. REALLY IMPORTANT.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	12. Annihilation 12

I know people will probably say that my xenocide of the Grox was bad, and that the fact I enjoyed it made me a monster.

They're wrong. The Grox deserved it. Big time.

But, I have to say, they had nice tech to work with.

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After I destroyed the first Grox colony, I started making headway toward the Galactic Center. Now that they had a reason to fear me, they weren't going to pull any punches.

Well, neither was I.

Whenever I came across a planet the Grox inhabited, I terraformed it. Worlds covered in ice began to thaw, volcanic planets saw the arrival of oceans, planets with low atmosphere's experienced rain for the first time in centuries, and worlds with atmosphere's that made Venus' look thin saw the sun for the first time ever.

And on each of these worlds, millions of cybernetic beings faded into nothingness.

Do you ever wonder how it feels to annihilate a race? To see every last one of their kind fall over and die? To see the brokenness in their eyes as they realize this is the end?

Well, when the race in question are cruel jerks who want to kill everyone, it feels pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, it meant I couldn't access their shinies.

At least, not at first.

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Spore spaceships are fast. As in, fast enough to travel several hundred light years in a few hours.

Combined with my massive supply of Progenitor tech, it let me perform feats that were practically unimaginable.

Namely, dismantling an interstellar empire in about a week.

After only 6 days, I'd managed to reduce the Grox down to just thirteen systems, which would probably take me about an hour to destroy.

Oddly, I hadn't encountered too much resistance. Though, all things considered, they were probably just holing up in their core systems to make a last stand. You know, super zerg rush?

Of course, that just gave me time to reduce their number of remaining systems down to twelve.

The system I happened upon was, at first glance, nothing special. Just your average colony on a world that should be completely uninhabitable to all forms of life (including tardigrades, apparently).

When I got near it, though, I started getting some weird transmissions from a ship orbiting it. Their planetary guard, I assumed. I decided to see if scanning it would help out. I hadn't really used the scanner on my ship yet, so this was its first test.

What happened pretty much blew my mind away.

The minute the scanner hit the ship, a huge amount of data suddenly started downloading into my hard drives. At first, I thought it was just details on the communications, but when I examined it, well, it was more than that. Much more: schematics for buildings, vehicles, starships and the like, plus biometrics for four different organisms (the ground troops the Grox used in one of the Adventures, if I remembered correctly). Most surprising of all, though, were the designs for a self repair system.

As in, the Grox's game-breakingly powerful repair abilities that are coded as unlimited mega repair packs.

My response to this:...SWEET!

Anyways, a few minutes, 3 comets, 1 drought generator and a crap-ton of missiles and bombs later, the Grox presence was gone from the system.

Now, I could turn my thoughts toward the center of the galaxy, and with it, my final challenge.

Soon, I would be victorious. Soo, the Grox would be gone. Soon, I would have completed one universe and be able to move on to next.

It made me feel very happy.

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Looking back, that happiness was the calm before the storm, before I fought the Grox...

Before _it_ happened...

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.****


	13. Annihilation 13

Well, this was it. This was the day.

This was the end of the Grox.

No backing down now, no running, no, it was time to stand and fight.

Part of me wondered why I was thinking this over when annihilating the Grox would be a trivial task for me. The answer I got was that I just felt like it.

Oh well.

Well, anyways, I think that I should probably be getting to the battle.

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When I started attacking their last dozen systems, the Grox finally started fighting back: squads of spaceships would try to mob mine in an effort to destroy through sheer numbers, since I totally outclassed them in terms of firepower.

You think they'd realize that the strategy they were using would only work on an opponent that had a limited amount of ammunition, which was not a problem for me.

The end result was that they were down to one system in about 45 minutes. Seriously, Spore terraforming tech is OP. No nerfing, please.

I was expecting that they'd have one last force left to defend their home system, in a final, desperate stand against me. After all, that's what people usually do if their opponents won't let them surrender.

That being said, I was surprised by what I found there.

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I was in approaching the outer edges of the Grox home star (Bilfang, according to my Sporepedia). The grox inhabited all four of the planets here: Perchush, Mal-ti, Seudun, and, finally, their homeworld, Nan-Qur. Weird names, I know.

According to my SETI device, they had a good 20 ships in system. That was more than I'd ever fought, but nothing I couldn't manage. After all, I had at least 200 fighters with me, so numbers wasn't much of an issue. And since the Grox had no technology they could give me, I wasn't going to pull any punches.

Also, there were a lot of strange objects orbiting the Grox worlds. They were metal in nature, but I couldn't find any energy signatures coming from them, so I ignored them.

Then, to my surprise, the Grox hailed me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"We demand you surrender."

"Really?"

"Yes. You have proven stronger than any foe that we have faced before, but we will overcome you."

"Yeah, how? I just destroyed your entire empire. _Easily."_

"A little too easily, don't you think?"

"I..huh?"

"You didn't encounter any resistance surrounding most of our colonies. Don't you find it suspicious. After all, any empire that has last more than a few decades will guard its borders against threats. Yet you faced only tangential resistance."

"...Your point, cyborg demon?"

"Surrender.."

"NO."

"Very well. All ships, prepare for battle."

Just then, my sensors flooded with enemy signals. Suddenly, 20 had gone up to 2000.

But how...

I checked my earlier sensors readings, specifically those about the metal objects orbiting the planet. Then I cross referenced them with the new ships.

The results were conclusive: the metal objects had been grox ships. Apparently, they'd turned off all systems except communications.

Clever little aliens.

Anyways, things got crazy from there. While my followers panicked, I sent every ship I had at the Grox, and opened fire with my own. Numbers advantage or not, I still outclassed them in the firepower department, and had way better range. Before they were in range of my fighters, I'd already halved their numbers.

After that, well, that was a fairly epic battle.

The fighters I had were maneuverable enough that they were able to avoid the initial missile barrage from the Grox ships, at which point the fighting began in earnest. Here's where a big issue of the spore ships came into play: see, spore ships are mostly meant for fighting enemies head on, with ships clustering together and battling in a disorganized mob. Against other ships in the Spore universe, it works fine, but not against ships designed for dog fights, like my hornet fighters.

Because of this, they managed to take out a tenth of the defense fleet on their own, with only 3 casualties.

Then, the Grox got serious.

Since the couldn't out maneuver my ships, they decided to split into smaller groups and gang up on individual fighters. This actually worked, because it nullified the fighters speed and maneuverability advantages, allowing the more robust Grox ships to gain an advantage. I lost 10 fighters in that phase of the battle, with the Grox only losing 30.

Ok, time to end this.

I launched my flagship at the Grox, aiming at any ship I could find. My weapons were able to literally shred through most of the ships I encountered, with only a few resisting the onslaught of death for a few precious seconds before joining their brethren in oblivion. At one point, 10 ships actually decided to bail out, only to be hit with a barrage of antimatter missiles.

I was not going to let the Grox have the chance to return to haunt me in the future.

Approximately 13 minutes after the fighting had started, the last Grox ship was reduced to a burning pile of scrap, which my starship breezed past, looting the valuable spice and sporebucks it had once contained.

From there, I set about annihilating the last of the Grox: A frozen world was bombarded with meteorites until the ice fields became oceans. A lava planet saw a comet fill it with water. I literally drained the atmosphere out of one world until the sun started shining, with the Grox dying as the light hit them.

Finally, when I arrived at their homeworld, I activated my atmosphere generator and started pumping.

A final transmission came out from the leader of the Grox.

"WHY DO YOU OPPOSE US?! WHY DO YOU SEEK TO MURDER US?"

My reply was simple, but very, very true.

"You have only caused trouble for my creations. I want it to end. Now be gone."

As I said this, the Grox leader disintegrated before my eyes, which was actually less disgusting than I thought it'd be, while lightning cracked across the sky. The minute I finished my remark, it began to rain.

As the first drops fell, the Grox's buildings began to shake. Then, one by one, they crumpled over and collapsed, turning into huge piles of dust and rubble. Joining them were the Grox's machinery, which had fallen silent with the deaths of their pilots. A few planes actually fell out of the sky, only to turn into dust when they hit the ground.

For a moment, the entire world was littered with dust and rubble. Then, slowly, the rains moved the dust away, washing away all evidence that the Grox had ever existed. Even the rubble of the buildings was washed away, leaving no trace of their existence.

To my surprise, the plants that I put on planet to ensure the Grox didn't come back sprouted instantly, quickly overtaking the rubble that the rain couldn't move. Soon, all of the remaining rubble was covered, as if it had never existed. It was as if nature was wiping away a bad stay and starting over.

I took one more moment to enjoy the fruits of my labor, then I prepared to leave.

At that moment, my sensors picked up something strange coming from a pile of rubble at the center of what used to be one o the Grox's cities. According to the records I'd got from the scanner, this used to be their capital city, Mulos. Weird name if you ask me.

I used the abduction tool to move the rubble until I found the source of the signal: some kind of weird box.

I had no idea what was in it: a superweapon? The ultimate question, which 42 was the answer to (wait, already knew that)? An eldritch abomination?

Part of me thought about throwing it away, but that thought was soon quashed. If this was something, I was not going to pass it up, and if it was something bad, I think it needed a better storage place, where fools could not open it by accident.

So, I quickly moved it into my cargo hold. Then, I got ready to leave.

Before I did, though, I decided to do one last thing: put a wildlife preserve marker on this planet, then fill it with a bunch of species.

Because what better way to rub in your victory over the enemies of all life then by making their home world a shelter for all living things?

With that done, I set my sights on the Galactic Core. Steve, here I come.

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Looking back, I can't believe things started out with something as simple as taking a box with me. It seems so trivial compared to the rest of the things I've done.

But seriously, I think that moment was the one where things went different for me.

If you say that was destiny, shove it. I've had beings that can see the future flat out tell me they didn't see this happen; hell, ROB told me this was something it didn't see coming. As far as they are concerned, I don't have any destiny except the one I make for myself.

But if there was such a thing as destiny, then I think that taking that box altered it forever.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	14. Annihilation 14

Ah, Steve.

He was one of the nicer beings I met on my travels. I can't say he was perfect, what with his cryptic references, but nobody's perfect.

At least, nobody who is _interesting_...

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After collecting the box from the ruins of the Mulos, I continued toward the galactic core. With no resistance on the way there, it was an uneventful journey.

As we approached the core, my loyal followers were curious at where we were heading.

"Oh great one, why do you seek the core?" asked Tylos. "Is there something here that will help you reclaim your powers?"

"...Yes, but there is also someone I'd like to meet there. Now please, be patient and let me finish this."

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Eventually, we reached the core. I started scanning around to see if I could find Steve. I didn't end up finding anything, though considering the fact that the core made my sensors go haywire, this wasn't very surprising.

"Greeting, my friend!"

Speak of the devil. The minute the speaking started, my ship was caught in the pull of the galactic core. My followers became worried, but I told them not to worry: we weren't in danger."

"You've travelled far to get here, and overcome many obstacles."

Yeah, yeah, get on with it.

"Which is amazing, considering where you were only a short time ago."

Yeah ye-WAIT WHAT?

"You know, many like you don't make it this far. Some face threats that superior firepower cannot solve. Others lose themselves to the power they've been granted. And quite a few had the bad luck of meeting _them..._

Who?

"But you've managed to avoid those pitfalls. What happens now, well, I can't say, because I don't know. Maybe you'll rise to legend, that will slowly fade to myth. Maybe you will return home, to return to the rather dull life you had. If you're really unlucky, you might fall to _them, _and face the doom of being forgotten by all but your family..."

WHO THE HELL ARE THEM!?

"But you've made it this far and that's pretty impressive. So, I offer you a gift to help you in your travels. One that I believe you very much desire."

At this point, we'd finished our voyage, which Steve took as his queue to appear. The ufo was oddly comical to look at, considering it was based on the SimCity 2000 UFO.

"Nice spaceship. You must have enjoyed designing it."

"Yes I did."

"Well, I respect That. By the way, you should be receiving my gift now."

Indeed, the staff of light had appeared in my cargo hold. Probably needed to be installed in some place before it could be used properly.

"Well, now, I have to go. I hope you achieve whatever goals you have and don't lose sight of who you are."

"Thanks," I responded, not really sure how to take this statement.

"Oh, and one more thing," replied Steve.

"Yes?"

"... Good luck, **** *********."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... How do you...?"

"Know your real name? Well, I think the best way that I could be described is as a Random Omnipotent Being. I'm different from the one who sent you here, before you get angry. I can't say I'm happy with how my... peer acted, but it's not my place to act.

"Anyways, good luck."

With that, Steve disappeared, leaving me and my followers alone in the void for a moment, before some kind of portal appeared and took usback to the edge of the galactic core.

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After I recovered from my shock of meeting another ROB, I decided to head back to my origin system. First, though, I made a detour to earth, terraformed it to T3, and made it a wildlife preserve.

Then I headed to Terminite and held an epic celebration. As cool as it was, I don't really believe it needs describing.

Then, finally, I built a dimension gate, and headed back to hub.

Now, it was time to examine the Grox Box, as I'd taken to calling it.

The results were... rather unsettling.

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****AN: Owing to a suggestion on Spacebattles, STEVE stands for Space Time Entity of Vacuum Energy. It's also his real first name.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off****!


	15. Annihilation 15

Well, here we are.

This is it.

This is where things... well, changed.

Well, not really, but if I had a chance to go back to this point in time, really would've taken what happened more seriously. Because if I did, and hadn't tried to ignore it out of fear and confusion, well, things might be different. But those are things I can only ponder now.

So, here's what happened.

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After I returned to my hub, I placed the box on the ground, transferred back into my commander body, and started examining it with some doxes. I wanted to see all of the details before I scanned it, in case it ended up destroying the box. This revealed a bunch of strange markings on it, but nothing more.

Okay, time to analyze.

During the party, I had added a scanner to my commander, which I activated and started scanning the box. According to the preliminary findings from the scan, it was made primarily of titanium, with trace amounts of other materials, including a rather large amount of Gallium.

It was also emitting energy in pulses that were getting... stronger?

Suddenly, the box start shaking. The doxes I'd sent to look it over were ordered to back off, but some got hit by the box and sent flying away. As I tried to gather more information on the box, it suddenly began levitating into the air. WTF?!

Now the box had stopped shaking, instead it was spinning around like a top. As I prepared my weapons systems, a line of light formed at the top of the box, which soon formed several edges along the top of the box.

Just as I was getting ready to fire, the box opened along the lines, with a stange object floating out of it. I'm not really sure how to describe it, except that it appeared to have crystals in it.

As I was wondering what it would do, the object shot out a beam of light at me. According to my sensors, it was some kind of scanner. The object that I had been scanning was now scanning me.

Okay, time to shoot it down.

Then, suddnely, the object made some kind of roaring noise as a shockwave of red light shot out from it.

The shockwave took only a couple of seconds to hit me.

Then everything went black.

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When I came to, I was in the middle of a pile of rubble, with fires burning around me. I heard some anguished sounds in the distance, so I assumed that there were some animals that were trying to escape the fire. I sighed then I put my head in my hands.

Wait. I had been in my commander body. I didn't have hands or a head at the moment.

Suddenly, I heard people screaming. I turned my head and saw people running toward me. Some were human, but others were not: I could make out what looked like an Elf and a ... hanar(?) among the crowd.

Okay, having a bad dream, wake up please.

Just then, I saw a small piece of debris fly past me. It nicked me on the shoulder, which stung quite a bit.

Wait, you can't feel pain in dreams.

Which means this is real.

...OH SHIT, RUN!

I started running, Justin time to avoid being trampled by the crowd. While they managed to overtake me, I avoid death by panicked civilians.

Then, I heard something behind me. It sound like a high pitched whine.

Turning, I saw some kind of giant machine, with crab like legs.

And it was charging a weapon of some sort.

Panicking, I looked for a way out of the crowd. I noticed an alley way and dived into it as soon as possible.

Just in time, too. The minute I got to safety, a huge beam of light traveled through the crowd, reducing them to ash.

Then, I heard the sounds of metal footsteps, growing every closer.

I hid behind a dumpster, trying to make myself look smaller. I noticed a discarded box nearby and put it overtop of me, desperate for any form of shelter.

Soon, the foot steps stopped. Then, As I wonder what would happen, I saw a tendril pass with a light at its end pass by me, looking for people. It looked right at me, making me glad that I could only see it through a set of tiny holes in the box. The light soon lost interest and left , as did its body.

Once I felt safe, I exited my hiding spot and tried to get some feel of the situation. I used the dumbster to reach the roof of a building, then observed the rest of y surroundings.

And they weren't pretty: Fire was everywhere, while more machines, some ground based, some flying, were attacking targets everywhere. In the distance, an absolutely colossal machine was engaged in battle, one it was clearly winning.

And the bodies: so many bodies. I could see them piled in nearby allies, in very sates of intactness. Men, women, children, it didn't matter: all were united in death.

Most terrifying of all, though, were the creatures: monsters that made chaos spawn look well made, these things were hunting people down, killing them, and EATING THEM. And some weren't exactly interested in the first two. And then there were some that were pinning people down and... ugh.

Then, a plane passed overhead and dropped something. I watched the object fall and was almost blinded by the flash of the explosion.

The shockwave of which was headed right at me.

Panicking, I looked for shelter and noticed an open sewer point. Hastily, I ran in, taking pains to cover the surface, trapping me in darkness. A few moments later, My world was illuminated by a ring of light around the entrance to the sewers. Then, once again, I was in darkness.

Then, suddenly, A source of light appeared. IT resembled a huge mass of red lightning.

Then, it SPOKE.

"It is done. They have won."

Huh?

"I have hidden us away, scattered us across reality. Hopefully, someone shall find us, unite us once more, learn our secrets and oppose them."

What?

"Now, though, I must rest."

Then, the lightning disappeared, leaving me alone once more.

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[WARNING: SYSTEMS_OFFLINE]

[REBOOTING]

[REBOOTING]

[REBOOT: SUCESSFUL]

[REACTIVATING: CMDR_FLAMEAL15K]

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"...ne?!"

Huh?

"...at one?!"

What?

"GREAT ONE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

Finally coming to my senses, I took a moment to look around. I was back in my commander body again. A quick examination of my internal clock revealed I'd been out for 10 minutes.

Okay, I'd been out for 10 minutes. BUT WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SEE?

"Great One!"

"I'm fine," I said. Tylos seemed to calm down after that, if only marginally. I couldn't blame him: the poor guy had just seen his god feint and didn't know what to do.

"Okay. Is there anything I can get for you?"

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Okay... um, someone came here and gave me something."

"...What?"

"Yeah, um, well, your eminence, they said it was for your eyes only. I don't know how they got here. According to them, it was 'a perk of being a friend of ROB."

"...Can you show me what they gave you?"

"Of course."

With that, he presented me a large box. According to my scanners, it was a container for several other boxes and bags, which, in turn, each contained an object within them.

What could they possibly... oh.

I checked the relative amount of time I'd been in the commander chassis. Then I matched it up with the date I'd been abducted from home.

Yep. It was that day.

"Thank you for watching over this, Tylos."

"Of course, my lord."

"Yes, well... you know my early comment? Rescind it. There is something you can get for me."

"And what is that?"

"A cake and 19 candles."

"Of course, sire."

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That may have mostly been a distraction to let me focus on what I'd seen, but there were times that being in a place where no one really knows you sucks.


	16. Annihilation 16

You know, even though ROB eventually turned out to be MUCH nicer than I expected (and I'll leave it at that for now), it still took me a long time to forgive ROB for abducting and trapping me in a commander, even if it turned out to give me a lot of cool powers.

The biggest one was the time I got abducted.

There's six big reasons for that:

1\. It was Winter Break, and I wanted to enjoy that time while it lasted.

2\. It was a few days before Christmas, which should always be spent with family.

3\. I missed spending New Year's Day with my family.

4\. I missed the chance to go Javelina hunting with my dad.

5\. I missed out on running a marathon I paid quite a bit to run in.

6\. Well...

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I looked at the cake before me. It was vanilla, with a little chocolate on the inside and some ice cream on the outside. Nineteen candles adorned it, unlit at the moment. A few seconds and a lighter later, and they were burning bright.

I sighed.

"Happy Birthday to me."

"Happy Birthday to me."

"Happy Birthday, dear ****."

"Happy Birthday to me..."

Then I blew out the candles. I'd already thought of my wish, but it was one unlikely to come true unless I worked toward it.

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Yeah.

Because of ROB, I missed my own birthday.

I opened up all of the presents, but most were hardly of any use. About the only one I had any use for was a Game of Thrones Shirt. Winter is Coming, all hail the king in the North. I'd really liked that show, but I wasn't in the mood to think about it now.

Of course, as much as I wanted to wallow in my own self pity, I decided against it. It was childish, and anyways, if I didn't act, I'd never get home.

I wasn't in the mood to try and go anywhere else, though, so instead I decided to see what I could do with the incredibly broken Spore technology I had.

First task: populating my hub system.

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Besides my home planet, there were roughly a dozen planets in orbit of the star that acted as the center of my hub world, which were all somehow capable of sustain life. Go figure.

The five main ones each one biome that dominated their surfaces: crystalline mountains with springs, which appeared mostly blue to me; dusky forests and swamplands; Tundra with the occasional steppe plains caused by volcanoes; verdant fields and rainforest; and deserts that, oddly, seemed to be highly metallic in composition.

Somehow, I knew this would be important later.

The problem was, unlike my hub planet, these didn't have any living things on them, barring a few plants. It was a miracle that they were still functioning without suffering ecosystem collapse.

Probably ROB's doing.

Anyways, I set about rectifying this immediately.

First, I designed creatures for crystalline world. Surprisingly, it hard large oceans, with most of the inhabitable land masses being islands and mountain ranges. Fittingly, I decided most creatures their would have fins and gills, as well as other adaptations gilled towards aquatic life.

Now, normally, you'd need a very good understanding of life to understand how to artificially create organisms that can survive in any given environment without dying horribly from things like genetic degradation. Spore tech eliminated that problem.

Next was the planet of swamps and dark forests: Here, I mostly focused on insectoid creatures, with the occasional mammalian or reptilian beast to round them out. After all, bugs are the best at hiding in dark places, aren't they?

Then came the planet of jungles and plains. More bug creatures here, but also more reptiles, and a crapload of mammals. After all, mammal do quite well in jungles, don't they?

Then came the planet of tundra. Here, I added in mostly mammals, but there were also a few reptilian beasts. Needed to keep people guessing if they invaded, right?

Finally, on to the planet of metallic deserts and peaks. Here, I went wild and designed whatever I wanted. The creatures here were extremely varied, to the point their wasn't really any theme among them. Oh well.

Finally, I designed a few creatures for my hub world. These would be my vanguard against any foes I faced, at least until I could come up with better machines to supplant them. Until then, they would guard my home world.

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I also took the time to examine the cultures of my followers. They were a lot more detailed than I'd thought, but I'll save you the details and just give the overview.

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First off were the Naverosaurs: dinosaur like creatures, they were ecologists and treasured life above all else.

Next were the Croge. Warriors exemplar, these beings had formed the backbone of the armies by followers had created for their alliance.

Then came the Draconians: A race of draconic beings, they were, ironically, knights who fought to uphold the concepts of chivalry, but understood when their oaths must be disregarded to do what was right.

Fourth were the Calneerians: a civilization of shamans, they would slumber until they felt it was time to act. They'd been in hibernation for 20 years when the Naverosaurs found them.

Fifth were the Ixli: a group of scientists, these insectoids had a biologically defined cate system, but their was room to switch between castes, albeit with much difficulty.

Sixth were the Lumar: A race of weasel like creatures, they were concerned with making themselves as wealthy as possible. When people they cared about were in harm's way, though, wealth would be ignored to do what was right.

Seventh were the T'shana: A race of diplomats, theseavians had learned to unite together to solve their problems, and preferred peace if possible.

Eighth were the Altheema: These simian creatures spent their days amusing others, trying to have fun more than wrok. They still did very well when they did actually do work, though.

Ninth were Zelmite: religious beings to the core, they fought fiercely in the name of their gods, myself and spode (Who the claimed had created other, lesser gods to carry out his will. Whatever).

There were a lot more than those nine, but they made up the biggest portion of my followers.

And I was proud of how far they'd come one their own. Sure, I'd designed all of them, but these guys were able to, without my guidance, unify together with one goal in mind: find me, their creator. In a universe where any two civilizations would fight over some trivial things, these civilizations unified to find the one who made them, and ultimately succeeded.

And, for me, that was a better birthday gift than anything money could buy.

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You know, I'm actually surprised that ROB never took the chance to ruin my birthday more than it already was.

Maybe it was personal standards?

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****AN: This version of the story is really out of date. So sorry for mentions of birthdays and holidays that aren't accurate.****

****Any ways, please Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.****


	17. Interlude 1

"Well, what happened here?"

In a large, oval shaped room, a figure stared at a table. Above the table, a hologram appeared, displaying a picture of a four legged robot, staring down at a box.

The figure was... difficult to describe. Their body was slim, but not necessarily in a feminine way. It was best described as androgynous. It was also covered in armor, which served to further hide the identity of the being beneath it. A strange helmet adorned its head, with a single eye in the front. Said eye was focusing on the image before it, expanding to take in all it could.

"So, how goes your experiment," said a calm voice.

After waiting a moment, the figured turned around. Behind it was a man in a white suit. Oddly, the doors in the room were still closed, as though he had merely appeared inside of it.

"Good, but it is still rather slow. I am patient, though," it responded. Its voice sounded as if a hundred voices spoke together, further hiding just wait lay beneath the helmet and armor."

"Ah, I see."

"Thank you... So, how goes your search for a new test subject?"

"...It has been slow, like your own," responded the man.

"A shame. Though, I must ask, how did your first subject meet her end?"

"She was... unable to cope with the consequences of her action. A shame, really. She had so much potential."

"They all do. Perhaps the next one you find shall free you from your shackles."

"Perhaps...by the way, nice room."

Indeed, the room was rather grand. Within it lay all kinds of wonders, ranging from jewels to fie clothing, for both genders, as well. On a table not far from the one displaying the hologram, an insect-shaped sculpture moved its claws to an unspoken rhythm, while on another, a green crystal hovered within a steel ring.

"Thank you. I think it is only natural that we ROBs should have possessions to match our might."

"Indeed...So, what were you doing?"

"I was reviewing my what happened my subject. He blacked out half an hour ago. I only found out after one my emissaries returned from offering him some...well, gifts."

"Gifts? I thought you regarded him as a mere test subject."

"True, but I like to hold myself to some standards, _unlike some others I know."_

The man in the white suit's response to the insult was merely to raise an eyebrow, unable to really bring himself to care.

"Well, I don't have anything better to do at the moment, so do you mind if I watch it with you?"

"Fair enough."

With that, the two Random Omnipotent Beings turned back toward the hologram table.

The hologram, which had been paused for a moment, resumed its playback.

The box was laid out before the machine, which began to examine it.

"Hmm, that box looks...odd," remarked the helmeted figure.

"How so," responded the White-suited one.

"Well, it doesn't match up with anything I've seen from any of the Spore universes. Not even Darkspore."

"...okay."

Then the box began to shake, before levitating into the air. Once it was level with the robot's head, it opened, releasing a strange object from it, which began scanning the commander.

"Well, that's new..." remarked the White-Suited figure.

Then a shockwave of red-light shot out from the object. The moment the light hit the commander, it went offline, shutting down in a second, while the light continued to pulse outward.

"...What the-" began the Helmet figure.

Then the hologram _changed._

Now, it depicted a burnt out city, the site of a battle. Within it lay dozens of bodies, the dead and they dying, along with machines and creatures that were contributing to the slaughter. The scene slightly unnerved both ROBs, if only for the savagery displayed before them.

In one of the scenes before them, they saw the helmed ROB's test subject retreating from a machine, only barely avoiding death by hiding in an alley.

As he took to the roof of a building, trying to figure out where he was, the two Random Omnipotent Beings pondered what was going on.

"Did he get... teleported somewhere?" asked the White Suited ROB.

"No, he's still in the commander. He's hallucinating," replied the helmeted one.

"Ok, then what is he..."

Then, the image began to be replaced by static. At times, it would be clear, at others it was filled with a blur of black and white.

But strangest of all, at some points, the image would be replaced by a symbol. It was hard to describe it, for it resembled a head of some sort. Not a human's, but definitely a head.

"What the-?!" began the Helmed one.

Then, the table itself began to shake. At first it was only minor, but soon it was trembling. Additionally, cracks had begun to appear in its body, as if something was trying to break out.

Finally, it gave out. From the cracks emerged spines and cables, mechanical limbs that acted like animals. The tendrils of wires searched around for a moment, before sinking into the floor and ceiling, with several spikes joining them. Soon a tangled mass had emerged from the table, rooted into the walls surrounding it.

Then, after a moment, they stopped. The table, too, calmed, now only showing the symbol, before finally returning to a view of the commander, who was now being examined by his creations.

The two ROBs could only stare on in silence. Around them, the room was in tatters. Several of the objects within it had been shattered to pieces, while the sculpture lay on the ground, slightly cracked, but fine otherwise.

Finally, the White Suit broke the silence.

"...Do you have _any _idea what that was?!"

"I...I...I don't know," replied the Helmeted one. "This is unlike anything I have seen."

"The same can be said for me."

"...that is...troublesome."

"I know."

"...You know, I have a feeling that this is going to be important, some day."

"Indeed, I think it will. I just wonder how."

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****AN: Just so you know, the White Suited ROB is from Faith in Superior Firepower. And trust me, this WILL be important in the future.****

****And no, Faith will not show up. I'm not going to try and get her to restart FiSF. ****

****So, read and review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.****


	18. Annihilation 17

After the... incident with the box, I decided to focus my attention on a different piece of technology:

The Staff of Life.

In game, you could only use 42 of them, and that seemed to hold out here, too. Guess Steve was a fan of Douglas Adams.

I made a rule right then to not use any of the staves until I figured out how to make more of them, otherwise I might never succeed in replicating in them.

My first attempts at this were, well, embarrassing: whenever I tried to analyze the system, even with a scanner, it didn't work. The scanner seemed to recognize it for a moment, then it just fizzed out. It was like something was actively interfering with my efforts to understand it.

This led me to try and examine the staves to see if they emitted any signals when I tried to scan them. Odds are, they were the things interfering with my scanning ability.

It turned out that I was right: when I tried to scan it after the other sensors were activated, I detected a counter signal, which cause my analysis signal to dissipate. Looks like the guys who made these didn't want to let their tech fall into the wrong hands.

Well, if at first you don't succeed, try again.

Now, normally, that would be a stupid idea if something is actively opposing your actions, but I wanted to see just how the counter signal worked. My own scanner had, for lack of a better term, a 'tuner' that let me change how the object was being scanned. Maybe if I tuned it differently, it could examine the staves.

Unfortunately, it turns out the staves adapted to the signal used against them, and quite fast at that, because ever time I changed the signal, they would change the countersignal.

The last time I tried scanning, I randomly shifted signals mid-scan to try and beat the counter signal. It responded by adapting just as fast.

Alright, fine. You win this one, staff.

I decided to drop trying to replicate the Staff of Life for now. I had a feeling I was just wasting my time and that whoever made the staff probably didn't want it abused.

That didn't stop me from trying to examine the staff in less invasive ways. While my attempt to scan in for replication had failed miserably, perhaps just examining it to see what kind of signals it emitted would yield fruit.

I started with thermal scans. Aside from the fact that it emitted a fair amount of heat, nothing.

Alright, switching to radio.

Just white noise.

Gamma?

Nothing. Good.

UV: just a hint.

Microwaves: nothing.

Alright, time to go to electrical and then call it a day.

Good thing I decided to finish with electrical: it lead to some interesting revelations.

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When the scan came back, I found out that there were five major areas of electrical charge within the staff of light. Further scans confirmed they were present in all of the staves. Apparently, they were sending pulses between each other, and very fast. Like, speed-of-thought fast.

They were sure sending a lot of impulses between each other...

And then they stopped transmitting.

They were still online and emitting readings, it was just that they had stopped sending pulses between each other.

Hmm...

Well, that was something to think about.

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Unlike my efforts to understand the staves, my efforts to examine the rest of the spore tech was easy. Pitifully so. I was really looking forward to having to work to understand them.

Which left me with nothing else to do, besides get ready for the next universe and maybe put some colonies for my creations in my hub universe.

The colonies really weren't a hassle, so I decided to prepare for travelling to the next universe.

As I began charging up the portal, though, I suddenly found myself receiving a new message.

It read as follows:

_The road ahead is long, and has many hurdles. Alone, you will never reach its end._

_So take this and use it to grow stronger._

_-?_

Confused, I checked to see where it came from, and was stunned by the results: it had originated from the object in the box.

Looks like something important had happened.

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While I did invest a considerable amount of thought to both the object and the electrical anomalies in the staves, I really think I should have focused more on the object. It ended up being way more important than I expected it to be.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	19. Annihilation 18

The transmission I'd received from the box included a schematic of some sort. It appeared to be some kind of scanning structure, if the giant radio telescopes were anything to work by, and they appeared to have a _really _long range, since my systems just flat out gave up trying to calculate the distance after _exceeding the length of my hub universe _(ROB included that in my commander's databanks, for some reason). Clearly, whoever had made this wanted me to have an early warning system. But why?

Well, I decided, better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

I found a nice patch of land and set the structure to construct there.

Only, it didn't.

ERROR: CANNOT CONSTURCT HERE. NO AVAILABLE ATTACHMENT POINT.

Attachment point? The hell is that?

I tried a different. Same message.

Another spot. Same message.

I repeated this six more times and found myself receiving the same answer.

Great, the little bit of help I get from this mystery benefactor isn't even useful to me.

I turned back toward the dimension portal...

And found that there was now a green outline of the structure I wanted to build.

Along with a connector.

To my dimension gate.

...what?

Why was this connecting to my dimension gate?

...

Something told me that whatever this was, it was either going to screw me over or make me all powerful. I was inclined to believe both. So, without much thought, I set up the structure, while ordering a few engineers to start building a crap-ton of turrets pointed at the gate, in case something nasty came through it. Better safe than sorry.

Apparently, it would take an hour for the structure to finish. Not really surprised, I decided to spend that time examining the various biospheres that my creations had lived in and compare them to what I'd imagined for them. Surprisingly, it was mostly the same as what I'd envisioned. Look, this stuff is under my 'Empiropedia' (unoriginal, I know, but Civilization is a good series). The aquatic creatures were especially well detailed, all things considered, given that most of my pictures form them had been hand drawn.

Anyways, an hour later, my defense grid and portal add on were complete. With that done, I decided to start up the portal and head to the next universe.

This time, though, I received a new prompt: the device asked me which universe I wanted to go to: Hub, Spore, or Random. Whom, nice touch.

Well, Random was the only one that was any real interest to me, so I decided on that one.

As I did so, though, I suddenly detected a surge in activity from the attachment I'd made to the portal. It seemed like it was scanning something, but I couldn't tell what.

Was it scanning the multiverse for a specific destination?

Suddenly, I felt very glad that I'd set up a defense grid around the portal.

The activity was over in a few minutes though, and the portal soon opened to its new destination. With nothing else to do, as I'd already informed my creations what I was doing (and asked them to not follow me, because I didn't want them sacrificing themselves in my service, since I was an unstoppable kill bot), I marched through, along with a small horde of tanks, planes, and bots. I was not going through the portal alone when someone seemed to be putting me on a very specific path.

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A few moments later, I exited the portal, along with my army.

I surveyed the land for a moment, trying to find any signs of life. Unfortunately, the side of the world I'd ended up on was not facing it's star, leaving me stuck in darkness, so I couldn't see anyting.

Okay, switching to sonar.

Now I could 'see' things.

Including the five thousand things circling around me.

That was worrisome.

Quickly, I activated my commander's floodlights (yes, it had floodlights. Go figure).

Before me were a horde of weird creatures: some were insectoid, some were reptilian, but all of them were odd.

Also, none of them looked sapient, and all of them were smaller than me.

I wasn't sure how they'd react to me, but my gut told me that they were animals and would probably be easily intimidated if I made a threat display, so I stomped my commanders legs, did some pushups with said legs, then let out a metallic roar. I still couldn't believe that was possible with the commander. Did the progenitors enjoy playing Metal Gear?

I thought that would intimidate the creatures.

WARNING: PROJECTILES ON COLLISION COURSE WITH COMMANDER

Obviously, it didn't.

My response was a volley of lead, plasma, lasers and lighting. So much for being cautious.

Also, WHO SENT ME HERE?!

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Looking back, I probably should've brought a larger force with me to that universe. The final battle there really changed my journey up quite a bit. But, all things considered, I don't think I'd be who I am today if that battle ended any other way.

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	20. Annihilation 19

Well, here we are.

I think this was one of the points that really changed up my plans for progressing as a commander. I mean, originally, it was just follow the normal 'go to universe, defeat evil faction (or grey faction that you dislike the most), reverse engineer their shinies, improve life for everyone, repeat ad infinity, and stick it to R.O.B..

This universe, though, changed that up a little. It was, well, the first hint that I got that something bigger was at play here. That I might not be dealing with a steam roll. That things were going to get tougher.

Well, to be fair, I didn't figure out most of that until I was almost done with fixing this universe, but that's besides the point. And anyways, what happened on that ship was important.

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The First Contact Battle was turning out rather well: however powerful these creatures were, most couldn't do enough damage to tanks to kill them without losing a few of their own. And since I'd brought some stitches along to heal, that damage really ended up being rather insignificant. Case in point: five minutes into the battle, and I'd slaughtered hundreds of creatures without taking a single casualty.

Then, out of nowhere, a laser cut through five of my tanks and one of my stitches, reducing them to molten slag.

Following the path of the laser, I found myself facing a hexapedal machine, with perfect radial symmetry. A few more of its kind were moving into position, and two had already started firing at my troops. Additionally, other mechanical entities were joining the fray, some attacking my troops, others pulling back the wounded beasts for healing.

Well, it was clear that whoever I was fighting against had an excellent understanding of both biology and robotics. Not that it would help them, since I had superior firepower.

I used my radar and sonar systems to search for enemies that were obscured by distance or ground cover, then set artillery fire on their position. I also searched for invisible foes, but so far none were showing up. Lucky me.

Soon, the horde of beasts and machines that I was fighting began to thin out, with my foes falling faster than reinforcements for them could arrive. Slowly but surely, I was winning.

This must have occurred to my opponents, as well, for they soon began to withdraw. To their credit, it wasn't a disorganized route, but more of a tactical withdrawal, with some of the horde taking potshots at my army as it retreated. Not that those really helped, because Progenitor alloys are unbelievably tough. Still, A for Effort.

Once the last of the foes retreated, I began setting up my base. Factories began churning out tanks, bots and planes to secure the perimeter, while engineers started setting up turrets for added security.

Me? I was examining my opponents.

I decided to see how well my scanner worked on other universes. If it worked well for the Spore Universe, then maybe it worked well here.

So, without much fanfare, I used the scanner on five different creatures and machines I'd encountered in the horde. Oddly, they all looked familiar to me.

After a moment of scanning each, I received the results:

The first one I examined, a squat cyclopean biped, was called the pack brawler, and it... belonged to the Quantum genesis type. What was that about? What was the deal with genesis type?

The next one I examined, a spiky purple biped, was called the animus, and it belonged to the Necro Genesis type. Great, another genesis type.

The third one I examined, a green bipedal reptile that was apparently filled with toxins, was called the toxiraptor, and it belonged to the Bio genesis type. Well, it looked like genesis types were a thing around here.

The fourth creature I examined, a weird orange/red reptilian creature that I'd early seen covered in flames, was called the pyrachnid and belonged to the Plasma genesis type. Okay, this genesis type thing was getting annoying...

Finally, the last foe I examined was a yellow and grey tripedal machine equipped with a missile launcher. Apparently, it was called the blastopod... and it belonged to the cyber genesis type.

...

OAKY, SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS WITH THESE GENESIS TYPES?! THERE ARE FIVE OF THEM AND NOT ONLY DO ALL OF THE ORGANISMS I'VE FOUGHT HAD THEM, BUT SO DO SOME OF THE MACHINES! WHAT GIVES!?

I was about to go further into my rant, but just then, one of my aerial scouts revealed a structure on the planet that, apparently, had intact computers in it. Deciding that scanning the computer might make it easier to determine which universe I'd ended up in, I put my commander on a transport and moved to the structure.

When I arrived, several flame tanks were busy torching the remains of the horde, clearly intent on making sure they went away. I didn't think they could revive the dead, but it was best not to take chances. In the distance, I could hear gunfire coming from my army battling the horde.

The building, as it turned out, was mostly rubble, but it still had a workable computer, which I began analyzing. To my surprise, I was able to make out a lot of the data stored in there, though most of it was just average stuff for managing a space colony.

I did manage to get some other transmissions, although they were more distressed, and seemed to be relating an invasion of some sort. Probably the horde of creatures I was dealing with now. I didn't hear much, but I did come across two words that felt important: Crogenitor and E-DNA.

Why did those feel important-WAIT.

Genesis

E-DNA

Crogenitor

... Darkspore. That was it, I was in the Darkspore universe. And right after regular Spore too.

Well, now, at least, I had a goal in mind:

In Darkspore, the player was the last of the Crogenitors, and had to battle the evil Darkspore, monsters created from E-DNA. They were led by the Crogenitor who created E-DNA, Xylem, now known as the Destructor. To battle the Darkspore, the player would use genetic heroes created from stabilized E-DNA, who they would then level up to fight glorious battles. Or at least they did until the game was shut down.

Anyways, if I was going to make this universe better, I'd need to find the last Crogenitor and their ship. Luckily, the building I was examining just happened to be emitting a progenitor signal, which meant I could search for similar signals across the galaxy to find my target.

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Sure enough, I found another signal somewhere in-between a couple of stars. Specifically, in the dark space between three stars. Smart place to hide: close enough to each to maintain power via solar radiation, but far enough away to avoid notice by passing ships or creatures. The only reason I found it was because not only did I know what I was looking for, I also had super advanced progenitor scanners.

As I approached the ship, I was surprised by how it was designed: it was rather bulbous, yet it had an organic elegance to it as well. Everything I could see was really shiny and looked like something Apple would make. Neat.

Anyways, I thought it would be nice if I introduced myself before my potential ally tried something rash. I sent out a signal in the progenitor language that stated who I was and asked if I could dock with them. I offered them the choice of where I should land and how, and took ample precautions to inform them that I came in peace.

To my surprise, though, I received no response.

Odd. I tried again. Still no response.

Okay, something was up: my scanners confirmed there was no damage to the ship, so the Darkspore hadn't got luck and killed the last Crogenitor before I got here.

I tried the signal one last time, and when I received no response, I decided it was time to act. But first, think.

I examined my scan of the ship: while no data had been provided on the inhabitants, I could get a good reading on the interior of the ship: a few turrets and drones for defense, which I easily disabled with some basic hacking programs. Oddly, I didn't detect any cyber warfare routines being thrown against me, which was odd, since I new the ship had an A.I. on board called H.E.L.I.X.

I probably should have found that more worrisome, but I really wanted to help the last progenitor, so I ignored the strange feeling in my gut at the time and go to work preparing for the entry: while a robot would be nice, here, it would be better for first contact if I appeared in person to greet my potential ally. Luckily, my host body had been brought through the portal and was available for link up.

So, after designing and fabricating a space suit and running several weeks worth of training sims in under a minute, I entered the ship.

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I was surprised by how empty it was: aside from a few maintenance drones which, oddly, didn't try to attack me, there were no signs of activity on the ship. This shouldn't be surprising, but it still unnerved me.

Putting my nervousness behind me for the moment, I examined the map I'd made of the ship and located the cryogenics room. A fair bit of walking was ahead of me, but I didn't really mind: I actually like walking around, so any chance to stretch my legs was appreciated.

It took me about 10 minutes to reach cryogenics, at which point I started looking for an occupied pod. That wasn't really hard, seeing how all but one of the pods were opened. The only one that wasn't was clearly active, though when I checked a terminal connected to the pod to see the biometrics on the subject, I got an error screen. Worried, I consulted my database on the Progenitor language and pressed the button that initialized the thawing process. I'd still have to wait five minute for it to go active, though.

To pass the time, I began ordering my armies to move out and begin engaging the Darkspore wherever they found them. If we wanted to win this, the Corruptor's agents had to be purged. Since I could do all of this in a couple of seconds, that really left me with very little to do.

I responded to this source of boredom by turning my thoughts toward a different question: my body. Specifically, how could I possess a human body if my creations existed in a universe where humanity had likely become extinct. It didn't exactly make sense. It could have been that R.O.B. gave them the technology, but I found no evidence indicating that was the case, plus the fact that it didn't fit R.O.B.'s modus operandi to be that helpful. Steve was also a potential source of that knowledge, but with how much time he spent in the galactic core, I doubted that.

Before I could ponder that further, I received an alert from my starship: apparently, the Staff of Life had restarted sending energy surges between the five main energy sources with the staff. Something had made it go active.

The fact it had five major power sources bothered me a little bit, now that I was in the Darkspore universe. Give it's focus on fives, that was not surprising.

Before I could ponder things further, though, I noticed that the pod had finished thawing its occupant. Putting aside the report for now, I turned toward the pod, I prepared to greet my new ally.

Needless to say, I was surprised to discovered that _the pod was empty._

How? How was it empty? Had R.O.B. pulled a trick on me? It would certainly fit his character.

Whatever the cause, though, my original plans had fallen to pieces. Now, I wasn't sure what to do.

Needless to say, I spent the next few moments thrashing around in rage, sending loose debris flying.

I was only brought out of my fury when I hit an empty cryopod, shattering the glass (which had apparently been of low quality to begin with)... and puncturing my suit in the process.

Anger gave way to panic as I tried to seal the suit to avoid being exposed to the atmosphere of the ship, which I assumed to be toxic. Unfortunately, the puncture in the suit ran the length of its left arm (I'm a Southpaw), making this almost impossible.

As I was about to resign myself to death, though, I noticed that I wasn't suffocating. Examining my suits computers, I was stunned to discover that the atmosphere of the ship was a perfect match to Earth's. Curious, I took off my helmet and took in a deep breath... and found myself inhaling some rather cold yet breathable air.

Well, that was odd. Though, since I wasn't dead, now I could think about how to advance from here.

Before I could formulate a new plan, though, I noticed an arrow appear on one of the nearby monitors, pointing toward my left. Perplexed, I followed it to find another arrow, pointing toward my right. Soon, I found myself following a trail of arrows toward an unknown destination. I don't know why I followed them, but it was probably due to my belief that the last Crogenitor must have been on the ship and was trying to arrange some kind of meeting. Since this felt rather suspect, I activated a neural link to my commander, which ensured that if I died, my mind would return to my xenosentry body.

As I advanced, I began tearing off my suit, for I was passing through a rather warm area in the ship, and the climate control on my suit had failed due to the puncture. Soon, I was in a smaller bodysuit that was much cooler overall.

At last, I found myself at the end of the line of arrows, which terminated in a room filled with large tubes and tanks. The genetic hero creation room. Here, E-DNA would be processed to create new variation on the genetic heroes and to power up the existing ones.

In fact, I could see the terminal for that process, along with a chair in place. Looking at the chair made me realize how far I'd walked, which had exceeded even my love of walking and worn out my feet and relatively weak legs (side effect of using a recently grown body, I concede).

As I began walking toward the chair, I noticed that I'd received a new notification: Apparently, the activity in the Staff of Life had skyrocketed, with pulses between the power sources happening every 30 seconds. It was surprising, but at that time, I really wanted to sit down.

If I'd paid more attention to the notification, I would have noticed that the pulses were increasing in frequency as I got closer to the hair, but again, I was more concerned with pulling up a seat.

After what seemed like a decade, but was really only a minute, reached the chair. Tired and slightly broken from having my hopes dashed, I sat down and began getting comfy, putting my arms on the armrests and leaning back into the chair.

Suddenly, I felt something cold around my arms as restraints emerged from the chair and locked my wrists in place. Soon, more restraints immobilized my legs and neck. Panicking, I tried to struggle free, but it was futile. As I tried to think of some way to escape (the odds were unlikely, but I would be damned if I didn't try), I felt several stinging pains in my back that reminded me of needles, and soon found myself feeling very tired. I manged to turn my head enough to see that they were indeed needles mounted on metal tentacles, which were slowly retracting back into the floor.

Then, finally, I lost consciousness.

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ERROR: CMDR_FLAMEAL15K_OFFLINE

CONNECTION_LOST

SEARCHING_FOR_LINK

LINK_NOT_FOUND

ACTIVATE_STANDBY_MODE

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.****


	21. Interlude 2

The machine skittered toward its destination, careful to avoid its compatriots as they all set out to fulfill their personal tasks. Some were performing maintenance on the old parts of the structure, others were delivering supplies to the guards and traders. But this one was different: it had an audience with the master.

With speed that would make even a fighter jet jealous, it crossed halls that few humans would ever lay eyes on, evading skull like drones that were busy checking the structure for cracks. It climbed up walls that even ants would find impossible to scale, all in the name of meeting the master.

Finally, after a short while, it reached it's destination: an oval shaped roomed centered around a hologram emitter. Nearby, the master was seated, wearing hir strange helmet. In hir hand was a book: though it could not see the majority of the cover, it could make out some of the title: _F*** O* Mach**ius._

Though the machine was not one that would normally examine its surroundings beyond noting what obstacles may exist to its routines, it noticed that there was some damage to the emitter in the center to the room. The source was not a concern, only that the machine was damaged. Though the damages were recent, more so were the signs of repair; clearly, the master had exerted some of hir power to fix it. This was unacceptable: maintenance should have already been working on fixing the damage. The machine immediately sent a request for several of its compatriots outfitted for repair to begin fixing the mess.

With that issue settled, the machine approached its master, who had finally noticed its prescence. Sighing in relief, the master extended an arm toward the machine, which responded by opening a compartment in its back and offering a cylindrical container to its master. The master responded by opening the top of the cylinder and taking a sip. A moment later, a satisfied sigh escaped the master's lips.

Good, the tea had been made just right.

It's purpose fulfilled, the machine retreated back to its origin, where, already, other fluids were being prepared: some for consumption, others for maintenance, others still for construction. The master usually preferred to have some time alone to enjoy a good drink, though they never tried anything alcoholic. Ostensibly, it was to avoid dulling hir senses, but the machine, with its limited freedom, assumed the real reason was that the master really just didn't want to end up drunk.

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R.O.B. sighed. The tea was just right: not to hot, not to cold, and with just the right amount of sweetness. Perfect for help calming down after the strange incident a few hours before.

After drinking a fourth of the mug, the being put it down and began to turn its thoughts toward the strange events a few hours prior. Clearly, that machine was not made by any faction in the Spore universe, not even the Darkspore. Someone else had made it. Perhaps she could consult STEVE about it later.

Though, in truth, he was also rather annoyed at STEVE as well, for the little saucer itself was an unforeseen development: traditionally, only one Random Omnipotent Being monitored a commander at a time, and his presence infringed on her monopoly of Commander Flameal15k. She would have to arrange a time to chat with the Space-Time Entity of Vacuum Energy, preferably soon.

For now, though, the otherworldly ROB decided to turn his attention back toward his plaything. It was unlikely that he would remain in his home universe for long, and when he moved, she would need to know how to act. After all, causing misery to Commanders was both a tradition and hobby among Random Omnipotent Beings.

Turning toward the partially repaired holo-emitter, the otherworldly ROB flicked his hand, signifying it to reactivate and focus on the commander. Despite it's damaged state, it complied. The damages had been repaired, but only partially: omnipotence should not be wasted on such trivialities, and any ways, the maintenance drones would fix it eventually.

The minute the image came into focus, ROB noticed that his plaything was examining a blueprint for some kind of scanner... which had attached itself to the dimension gate.

Odd.

Odder still was that the scanner's design had come from the artifact that had messed with the both of them earlier. Clearly, there were more to the situation than meets the eye.

But, for now, ROB was content to wait and see what happened. As the scanner would not finish for an hour, the omnipotent being turned its attention back to its book.

_"So that's how he died", _it thought.

An hour later, the structure had finished and the commander was preparing for a jump. This pleased ROB: soon it would be able to mess with its plaything to its heart's content.

Only, something happened with the portal: the scanner began, well scanning, for energy signatures. This would not be surprising, if not for the fact _it was scanning alternate universes. _

What was this machine's purpose? To put the one who built it on a path that only the scanner's makers knew? If so, then they had just made a powerful enemy, for ROB would not allow them to interfere with its fun.

Eventually, the scanner seemed to find what it was looking for, and entered some coordinates into the portal's computer. Soon, the portal locked onto them and opened its gate there. The commander went through, along with his army.

On the other side, they faced an army of creatures and machines. _They're Darkspore, _realized ROB, who had made a point of examining as many universes as possible before sending hir pet out to play. After all, knowing what universes they could send the commander to also meant knowing which ones would screw with him the most.

Then the commander found a crogenitor machine, which, based on hir examination of his thoughts, had clued him into the universe he was in. After that, he began searching for something.

_Probably the Crogenitor ship, _they thought. _That's where his only possible allies in this universe are._

The fact that the images that followed only confirmed this made ROB crack a devious smile, though given the face mask it was wearing, this was hard to tell.

Though ROB could not understand why his slave (really, it was true) was boarding the ship in his human body, she could not care less. In truth, she did want to see what the last crogenitor looked like, for she had not payed attention to the appearance of these precursor aliens.

Consequently, he was just as surprised as his slave to discover that the cryo-pod that contained the last crogenitor _was empty. _Though she was able to control it better, the truth was that she was just as angry and stunned as her pet that this search had been for naught.

But all this went away when the commander began to follow a path that the ship itself highlighted for him. Curious, he watched as the commander meandered his way to the genetic hero creation room and found himself before a terminal, with a chair placed in front of the terminal. ROB assumed it was because someone wanted the commander to read something on the terminal.

Consequently, she was just as surprised as her slave was when it restrained him and knocked him out with a tranquilizer, which somehow also put the commander chasis into standby mode.

Although the omnipotent beings face was obscured, one needed only to look its hands, which were slowly balling up into fists, to understand exactly how angry it felt at having its plans interrupted-_no, not interrupted, derailed_.

_So, _it thought, _someone wants to mess with my plans? Someone wants to troll my slave. Well then, I guess I need to show them who's in charge around here._

_Though, unfortunately, since I know not who did so, my only course of action at the moment is to help my pet._

_Oh well. I can just troll him some more later._

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****AN: Well, the second interlude is done.****

****So, for clarification:****

****The book ROB was reading was ******_**Fall of Macharius, **_******the final part of ******_**The Macharian Crusade **_******from Warhammer 40000. The skull like drones were servo skulls.****

****The reason ROB is referred to at times with masculine, feminine and gender-neutral pronouns is to once again show just how alien ROB is meant to be at the moment.****

****Read and Review (it's the only way this story will get better). This is Flameal15k, signing off****!


	22. Annihilation 20

[CMDR_XENOSENTRY_MODE: STANDBY_UNTIL_CMDR_FLAMEAL15K_SIGNAL_RELOCATED]

[ALERT:SIGNAL_RELOCATED]

[CONNECTING_NOW]

[SIGNAL_REESTABLISHED]

[REACTIVATING_CMDR_FLAMEAl15K]

[STANDBY_FOR_REACTIVATION]

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The first thing I noticed upon regaining consciousness was that things were _dark. _Like, _pitch black. _I couldn't even see a millimeter in front of me.

My second thought: where was I? And who had caught me?

The third thing I noticed was that I could _hear someone talking. _IT was rather feint, but still decipherable.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" asked a mechanical voice. Despite its mechanical tone, though, I was pretty sure that it was female in nature. "This plan does not offer a high chance of success."

"And the alternative, due to our devotion to this plan, has a _negative _probability of succeeding," replied a second mechanical voice. This one was distinctly masculine, yet, somehow, sounded almost totally emotionless."

"Besides, this was part of our deal with Steve," remarked a third voice, this one soft and unnerving. It, too, was distinctly masculine in nature."

Wait, so Steve was involved with this? Intriguing. Also rather worrisome.

"And, overall, this one has the most potential to benefit the largest amount of others besides ourselves. Our empire may have fallen long ago, but through this plan, our legacy will become immortal," replied a much deeper voice. No way that was anything other than masculine.

"And with it, our memory as the caretakers we strove to be, not the monsters that the remainder of our kind have become," replied a fifth voice, this one soft and caring in tone. It too was masculine.

"All great points," remarked one final voice, this one ethereal in nature, and distinctly feminine in tone, "but I believe that we should finish this conversation soon."

"Why?" asked the deep voice.

"Because our guest has woken up."

"...oh."

I got the feeling that they were embarrassed about this.

"So, should I do the honors?" asked the female voice.

"No, I will," remarked the deep voice.

Then, darkness gave way to light.

Or, rather, six lights: a blue one, a purple one, a green one, an orangish red one, a yellow one, and a white one. Though they had nothing on them that resembled eyes, I got the feeling that they were watching me.

"...Um, hello," I began, unsure how to continue.

"Hello," replied the booming voice I had heard earlier. As it boomed into my ears, I noticed that the blue light glowed brighter. It appeared that the blue light was the owner of the deep voice.

"...Who-" I began, only to quickly find myself cut off by the deep voice.

"Are we?" it replied, seemingly aware that I was going to ask the question. "We are many things: geneticists, scientists, visionaries, legends. But I believe you wish to know what species we are, which is a far easier question to answer: we are the crogenitors, and I am Zelem."

My response was, well, rather blunt.

"You're lying."

"Now I'm sure that you have many questions to ask, and we have plenty of answers to...wait, what?"

"You. Are. Lying."

"...And what makes you thing I'm lying?"

"Um, let me see... maybe its the fact that 'Zelem' is, I don't know, DEAD right now."

"And you really think that would be a problem?" responded the soft, unnerving voice I'd heard earlier. The purple light glowed as the voice spoke, giving me a good idea of who that voice belonged to. "I invented necrogenesis and shattered the barriers between life and death. My creations can cause uncontrollable terror and rend the souls of their foes from their bodies. So, with all of that considered, is it truly unbelievable that we could persist beyond death in some way?"

"...Fair point. So, I assume that you are Ingto?"

"Indeed."

I turned to the green light. "You must be Astra."

"Correct," replied the green light in the feminine voice I'd heard earlier.

Then I turned to the reed/orange one. "You're Ptyrron."

"The one and only," came the reply, this one in the soft and calming tone I'd heard earlier.

My attention soon fell upon the yellow light. "Which mean that you must be Suzu."

"Your assumption is valid," responded the light in the masculine mechanical voice I'd heard earlier.

Then I turned toward the white light. As there were only five crogenitors left in existence, this one clearly wasn't a member of them.

"I can introduce myself if you cannot determine my identity," it began in the feminine mechanical voice I'd heard earlier.

Luckily, I remembered that voice.

"That will be unnecessary. You're HELIX, aren't you?"

"...You are correct. I am impressed with your knowledge of who we are."

"Thanks. Though seriously, I have one question: How did all of you know I was coming?"

The five crogenitors looked at each other for a moment (or at least looked like it, given that they didn't have any eyes in those forms) before turning toward HELIX, who sighed.

"I will explain:"

"As you are aware, the crogenitor empire spanned thousands of worlds. They shepherded many civlizations toward greatness, and crushed those that were dangers to galactic peace. Eventually, they were undone by the corrupting power of E-DNA."

"I know all of that."

"Correct. But here is something that you didn't: prior to the fall of the crogenitor empire, they discovered a being beyond their comprehension. One that had abilities that put it on a level of godhood. Despite many ears of examination in the perceptory, they were unable to comprehend his might."

"Okay, why is this important?"

"Because you have met this entity before."

"I have?"

"Yes," answered Suzu, "we designated it the Space-Time Entity of Vacuum Energy."

"Space-Time Entity of...Vacuum...Energy... STEVE."

"Correct. That was the abbreviation we used, as well as its public name."

"...You've met him."

"We just said that we did, please try to keep up," replied Zelem.

"Okay, so, what's so important about him?"

"Following the fall of Perceptum, we decided to go into hiding using Ingto's research to exist as entities that are best described as ghosts. Unfortunately, though, only the five of us were able to escape the planet, and there was no time to search for others of our kind among the stars. We were alone.

"That was when he me with us and offered a solution: he claimed that other random omnipotent beings like him were sending out people on journeys that spanned existence itself, across any number of parallel universes. Most of those sent out had been ripped from all that they cherished, which offended STEVE's sensibilities, which is why he offered us an agreement: he would send the first of these beings to wander into his domain to help us if, in exchange, we offered our technology to that being as a gift if and when they defeated the Darkspore. He appears to upheld his end of the bargain, so we wish to uphold ours."

"...Interesting. So, he wanted me to help save you guys, right?"

"Correct."

"And in exchange, I get your technology."

"The rest of it, yes," replied Suzu.

"Rest?"

"We were the ones who designed the planet buster missile. Just because we are peaceful does not mean we did not prepare for war."

"So," spoke Ingto, "will you help us?"

I thought for a moment: did I really want to do this? I really despised being used as a pawn, even if the intetions of the people using me were pure. But, at the same time, the crogenitors really did need the help.

"Very well, I'll help you."

I heard a massive sigh resound through the room when I said that.

"But first, answer me one question: why did you need to knock me out?"

Astra was the one who answered that question.

"All of our technology is modified only to function for crogenitors. We knocked you out so that we could hybridize your body with our genetics, to ensure that the technology works for you."

"...Thank you."

"You are welcome. Now awaken."

With that, I passed out again.

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The next thing I new, I woke up in the chair I had fallen asleep in. The firs thing I did was slap myself in the face, both to wake up and faster and prove that I was not in a dream. At that point, I honestly thought that the conversation I'd had _was_ a dream.

"Genetic hero reanimation complete," chimed in the voice of HELIX.

Turing toward the rest of the chamber, I noticed 25 different beings inside glass tanks, their bodies twitching uncomfortably. Looks like someone had decided to get them into fighting condition.

"So, ready to help?" asked HELIX.

Well, looks like I wasn't dreaming.

"...yes."

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****AN: READ AND REVIEW (it's the only way this story will get better). I will clarify on any points you found confusing.****

****THIS IS FLAMEAL15k, SIGNING OFF!****


	23. Annihilation 21

Before you guys asks, no, I didn't go off to defeat the Corruptor after I woke up. I didn't feel that I was ready yet and besides, I had other things to do. The main one was simple: examine the genetic heroes.

Look, crogenitor tech might be absurdly broken, but their biotech is _awesome. _I mean, one of them made a being who could _literally _rip the souls out of people to interrogate them, another one could create alternate timelines, and a third one could warp reality so that he could attack in every single way he possibly could across _any _timeline (stop bragging, Maldri).

And, I'll admit, part of me felt unworthy to have these heroes at my disposal. I mean, why should I? I was just one commander who'd barely started my journey. The greatest victory I had to my name was defeating the Grox, and that wasn't much of an achievement in my eyes (especially considering how easily I did so). Look, I'll shamelessly brag about some of my other achievements, but that one didn't really feel that big to me, okay?

Still, this was honor that was thrust upon me, and whether or not I deserved it, I knew that I had to help the Crogenitors, even if one of them was of questionable morals (looking at you, Ingto). _No one _deserved to become a part of the Darkspore, no matter how evil they were/are (though that's at least partially because I'm pretty sure the Darkspore would become _even more evil _if they assimilated _an irredeemably evil being). _And I had a feeling that the Crogenitors would prefer I used their genetic heroes to defeat the Corruptor and his minions, even if it was only as support for my robotic armies. And, to be fair, they did look really cool.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should probably tell you about our first meeting first.

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H.E.L.I.X. (and, from here on out, I'll refer to her as HELIX, okay?) was very quick to reanimate the heroes. The few she had left in stasis were roused from their slumber, while the rest were cloned from stored genetic tissue.

"Will they still be the same people as they were before they, you know, died?" I asked HELIX, still confused on this hole resurrection idea.

"You realize that you are talking to an A.I. from a civilization that was capable of shattering the barriers between life and death?" was her response.

I found that all I could do was nod awkwardly in the negative, because I _had _forgotten that.

"Well, when we resurrect the heroes, we simply use necrogenesis-based machines to pull their souls back into the world of the living and place them within their new bodies."

"Oh... wait, won't they be lonely? I mean, they are the last of their kind."

"We took the liberty of capturing members of their species during the Darkspore conflict and placing them into stasis, excluding Krel's, which you should already know. When you defeat the Corruptor, we will thaw them out and allow them to begin their civilization anew. And before you ask, we will make efforts to prevent the Nocturni from repating the actions of their forefathers."

"The foresight of the Crogenitors is, well, unexpected," was my only response. Though, to be honest, that was only because I felt really bad when I realized that Krel really was the last of his kind, as HELIX confirmed that the Crogenitors did not have enough h=of his species' genome to reconstitute his kind via cloning. Even if I tried with the Progenitor tech I had, it was still impossible.

The fact that I couldn't help him, at all, even with the mighty technology I had, made my heart break. But I buried y sorrow to ask one last question.

"How will they react to my prescence?"

"What do you mean, Commander Flameal15k?"

"Aren't the genetic heroes expecting a Crogenitor?"

"The Crogenitors could change form at will. I presume you know what Zelem's form looked like, correct?"

"Yes?"

"Well, Ptyron's form had wings, while Ingto's was based described as a living carcass. And besides, you are a Crogenitor now, or did you forget?"

I was about to ask her for clarification when I realized that she wa s correct: the five Crogenitors that had put their last hopes on me had hybridized my body withtheir genetics. For all intents and purposes, I was a Progenitor. And now, I had to live up to the mantle given to me.

"All Genetic Heroes are now active. I would suggest that you say something to them before you commence any engagements with the Darkspore."

Deciding to heed HELIX's advice, I walked up to the edge of the viewing terrace in the Genetic Hero Creation Room. Before me, the25 Genetic Heroes stood at the ready, all of them focusing in my presence. I'd drawn quite a crowd, which made me rather uncomfortable (I don't like being the center of attention unless I really want my point heard, okay).

But, somehow, I managed to speak.

"Thank you all for your devotion to this cause. You are... beings of untold power. Gifted by the mightiest beings in creation, given power over life and death that none have ever know."

The fact that I got that far was amazing in and of itself, as I thought I'd end up messing something up and end up making a fool of myself before the gathered crowd.

But after that point, I felt more at ease over what I said next. The data HELIX provided for me also made it easier to decide what that would be.

"You have all faced much hardship on this path: all of you have had the lives you knew ripped away by the Darkspore. I can never give that back to you, but I can offer you vengeance. I offer you the chance to show the Corrupter all of the pain and suffering you've experienced, to force him to pay for what he has done. And after this, if you so desire, you may leave and start a new life, however you choose. But now that is a far off goal, and the path to it is fraught with peril. TO even have a hope for tomorrow, we must face the darkness before. We must take the fight to the enemy. We must go forth and fight the Darkspore. We must undo all that they have done, unmake their greatest achievements, and beat them back to Scaldron. There, we will face the Corruptor himself. I will not lie, it will be a difficult fight, and you may not survive it. But if we stand united, we will prevail!"

After that last word, I felt really pumped and powerful. But all of that confidence began to fade away as my audience stared at me, without any sign of emotion on their faces. Then, to my surprise, I began to hear clapping. Focusing my heightened senses, I found that it was the insectoid Bio Tempest known as Sage who had started clapping. He was soon joined by Zrin, the Snfist and Meditron, the repair bot. Then, to my astonishment, the remaining heroes began to clap and cheer for me. I couldn't tell if it was out of respect or pity, but I appreciated it all the same.

After taking a moment to enjoy the adulation, I headed to the ship's navigation and began setting a course toward the Darkspore. I also took the opportunity to hook up with my fleet and begin building more bots. Finally, I locked in a set of coordinates and made the jump to another system.

When we arrived, the computer aboard the Crogenitor ship identified it as Zelem's Nexus, formerly Nakto.

I smiled at this knowledge, then ordered my robots and the genetic heroes to make planet fall.

After all, this was where the resistance won its first battle in the game, so why shouldn't I start my resistance here?"

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****Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.****


	24. Annihilation 22

The Battle for Zelem's Nexus was, honestly, not very interesting. I mean, the final battle with Polaris was interesting, but other than that, it was rather boring, especially in comparison to the battles to come. Still, I think people will want to hear about it, so here it is.

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Being a commander has its perks.

Namely, I didn't have to abide by the rules of the games and films whose universes I'd entered.

Which meant that, among other things, when I landed on Zelem's Nexus, I could send in ALL of the genetic heroes, and not just three at most.

This, combined with a horde of killbots, made it easy to establish a beachhead on the fragments of Nakto and begin assembling an army to fight against the Darkspore native to the world.

It also meant that any Darkspore that would've been mini-bosses really just ended up being annoyances, given that I outmatched them in both numbers and firepower.

Ultimately, those so-called lieutenants only ended up being delays in my battle against Polaris.

_That, _though, was actually a tough fight.

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After about three hours of exterminating the Darkspore covering the Nexus, I finally reached the Chaos Fields, where the battle against Polaris was supposed to take place. Apparently, Polaris the Gravity Manipulator did not get the message, though, because he didn't show up at first.

What a jerk.

My solution? Start killing the nearby Darkspore and see if he got angry.

Considering the fact that I got an angry roar and something huge and spiderlike showed up told me that I made the right choice.

"So, you are the last crogenitor... how quaint."

"I'm flattered."

"Hmph. Well, you shouldn't get ahead of yourself: you are hiding behind your army, as well as the genetic heroes. Tough I am impressed that you were able to raise such a great mechanical army without us noticing. It is... impressive, to say the least. Unfortunate it is, then, that we have to fight."

"Are you going to keep blabbering or are you going to fight, you overgrown gravity spider-centaur THING!?"

"Urgh, fine, now we battle, RAGH!"

With that, he started teleporting. Just great.

And he summoned in some minions. Not that they'd help too much.

I told the genetic heroes to focus on Polaris while I sent my robots after his minions. With the minions caught up fighting a horde of easily replaced machines, I was a confident in my heroes abilities to deal with the overgrown spider-crab.

Then a column of tanks got sucked into a black holes, of which several had appeared across the battlefield.

Oh yeah, Polaris could make mini-black holes. Ugh.

Not that those would save him. I quickly decided to get some artillery (and my commander) blasting at the overgrown seafood special, which really put the hurt on him. Of course, since he was teleporting, not all of the hits connected with him, but enough did to give him a fair amount of pain.

In fact, even Polaris seemed to realize this and quickly made efforts to deal with that. He started up something that HELIX told me was called the Mark of Zelem. He quickly started marking targets with it. I was wondering what exactly that did when he fired a huge set of glowing blue bolts into the air, which broke off and began hurtling toward the targets he'd marked, reducing a fair amount of my army to scrap.

Oh yeah, Mark of Zelem marks people as homing targets for his ranged attacks.

Too bad I remember the counter.

When Polaris readied himself to repeat the trick, he trick, he selected a new set of targets, including my commander.

Clever, but not clever enough.

Just before he launched the attack, I had Meditron the Repair Bot activate one of his abilities, Syndrome Shift. According to the game, it swapped bufs between your friends and foes based on the effects the buff offered: if it was beneficial, it gave your allies the buff and robbed the enemy of it, while if the buff was harmful, the reverse happened. All of this meant one thing: Polaris' attack would hit his own forces.

And since I'd wiped out most of the Darkspore he was fighting with, that meant it would hit HIM. The minute he realized this, he seemed to go into a panic, just before he got clobbered. Amazingly, that didn't kill him.

Though the next barrage of attacks form both the heroes and my army certainly helped him on his way.

I think he just decided it was time to flee after that and promptly tired to teleport away. Or rather, he would've if I hadn't show him in the face.

When I got close to him, I noticed just how much of a mess he had become: His mask was the only part of him that wasn't dirty, and I could tell that he had been crying underneath it. He couldn't even speak now, all he was doing was incoherently babbling and trying to attack me with his fists.

I responded by activating my overcharge attack on his face.

"Light's out, seafood."

Then the blast hit him. Somehow, his mask survived unscathed. As for the rest of his body...

Well, he basically floated into the air, screaming, and got shrunk into some tiny light that disappeared into nothingness. According to HELIX, he'd been crushed by a black hole created from his own powers. Ironic, no?

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After that battle, it didn't take me too long to remove the rest of the Darkspore from the Nexus. I also managed to find the last of the Zelemnites, who I allowed to retake their home.

After all, I had bigger fish to fry.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	25. Annihilation 23

AN: Just so you know, the rest of the battles with the destructors will be single chapters that include the invasion of the worlds and the battles themselves. The final three, though, will have expanded fight scenes, and the third to last and last battles will be split across two chapters each, okay? Just wanted to give you a heads up.

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After I'd reduced Polaris to a speck and a mask (which I decided to keep as a trophy), I quickly set a course for Nocturna, the enxt target for the Crogenitor Insurgency. The planet had four moons and, thanks to some malicious experimenting by Crogenitor Ingto, the barriers between life and death had been shattered, so apparently spirits were running amuck on the world of eternal night.

Seriously, why, Ingto? Why did you do that?

But enough of that. It was time to bring an end to the Darkspore's tyranny of that world

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The arrival to Nocturna was a surprisingly tranquil affair: I didn't encounter any resistance, to my immense surprise. I also didn't get any crap from the spirits that wandered on the planet now that the barriers between life and death had been shattered. Maybe they really hated the Darkspore and wanted me to off that horde of monsters? I wasn't really sure.

Any ways, once I made planet fall, things moved quickly after that: I set up a few factories and got to work on churning out a metallic horde to support the genetic heroes against the Darkspore. I knew that I didn't really need to send them into this battle, but I figured that they would probably want vengeance on the Darkspore (especially in Krel's case) and wouldn't forgive me if I denied them that.

Once they were on the ground, though, they proved to be fully capable of handling themselves: they literally cut through a whole army of Darkspore while my machines were being built. Once they finally got backup, the battle turned into a curb-stomp. And oh how satisfying it was.

Eventually, I'd once again forced the Darkspore off of the majority of the planet, leaving only the battlefield with Nashira as their final bastion of power. Now all I had to do was wait for her to show up.

Then a giant purple spider _thing _showed up, via teleportation.

"So, you are the one who killed Polaris," it said, it a soft, feminine, _seductive _voice. Somehow that just made me nervous instead of attracted. Probably had to do with facing what could easily pass as the physical form of It.

"Yes, and I assume you are Nashira, correct?"

"Indeed. You have caused us much trouble at Nakto, haven't you."

"Well, I think that just means I'm doing well at my mission to destroy you."

"How humorous. Unfortunately for yo, your journey ends now."

"We'll see about that."

"Very well."

Then she charged at the genetic heroes, who wisely decided to dodge her and begin attacking. Her attack did end up destroying a fair amount of my mechanical forces, but more were already on the way to replace them.

Knowing that fighting up close would be a death sentence against my metallic army, Nashira pulled back and began lobbing _giant skulls _at my army, knocking a fair amount of units out of commission. I could replace the losses, but then she surprised me by opening several portals on the ground, releasing small, spine covered Darkspore to begin their offensive. Blasting Fiends if I remembered correctly.

Well, alright then. Time to break out Death from Above. I positioned some satellites above Nashira and started bombarding her with lasers from space. Based off what she said (some indeterminate growls mized with _extremely filthy _language), I think that made her hurt.

Soon, Nashira was on her last legs. That's where she got desperate.

Just as another set of lasers were about to hit her, I found myself facing two Nashiras, which promptly summoned even more blasting fiends to back them up.

Oh yeah, she could clone herself. Figures.

Not that it would help her: I had enough firepower to lay waste to her entire army, so some clones wouldn't change that at all.

First, though, I smashed her clone.

She summoned four more to replace her.

I just sighed and started throwing bombers at her. Soon her clones were gone.

This, coupled with a beat down from the genetic heroes, finally broke Nashira.

Once again, I charged up my commander's overcharge attack. This time, though, I was aiming for her body.

"I hope the souls of the Nocturni enjoy seeing you in the afterlife."

I swear, the subtle hints in her change in posture before the impact of the attack that informed me that she was _absolutely horrified _by that statement gave me a gigantic smile.

As soon as her body hit the ground, a vortex opened up beneath her and pulled her in. On closer inspection, it turned out she was being pulled in by _the souls of the dead. _

Wow. They must've really hated her. Glad they got their vengeance.

After hooking up Nashira's mask to a transport (it _was_ an excellent trophy) I started making preparations to leave the planet... only to receive attempts to communicate from on-planet. When I responded, I found out that it came from the Remnants of the Nocturni Legion, the force that had originally controlled the planet. Arakna and Jinx, two of the Necrogenesis genetic heroes, had been part of said legion, though Jinx had betrayed them for making her people an endangered species. All that aside, they'd thanked me for defeating the Darkspore and allowing them to reclaim the planet. Then, after a moment, they asked me if I intended to take the Darkspore's place as the new ruler of the world.

Really? They thought I wanted to rule this planet as a tyrant?

I quickly assuaged their fears, telling them that I didn't plan on ruling this world; I'd merely freed it from the Darkspore because, as Optimus Prime once said, 'Freedom is the Right of All Sentient Beings'. They seemed very pleased to hear that and thanked me once again for freeing their world. They also promised that they would work tirelessly to rebuild it and help the rest of its inhabitants return to greatness. Considering what I knew about the Legion, namely that they had brutally conquered all that opposed them, I think they were just trying to get me to spare them. On the other hand, Nocturna would really need a lot of work done on it before civilization could be rebuilt, so I just accepted what they said and told them that I would be watching to make sure that they were doing so.

I was pleasantly surprised that, despite my initial fears, they never did go back to being as brutal as they once were.

With that out of the way, I set a course for Verdanth, home of Biogenesis.

Orcus, here I come.

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	26. Annihilation 24

AN: Halfway through the Darkspore Universe. I apologize if this feels like a bunch of padding, but it will be over soon.

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I found myself once again going through a rather boring arrival at a new world, this one being Verdanth, home of Biogenesis. You know, in hindsight, the Darkspore universe was probably the most boring universe I went to: no real foes that offered me any challenges, nor were there any tangled webs of alliances, spies and secrets to navigate. It just had a bunch of foes to fight, all of whom were woefully underpowered in the face of my progenitor hypertech.

Still, it was fun to beat these guys into the dust.

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It took me a few hours to totally exterminate the darkspore in my LZ, because I really didn't want to demolish too much of the landscape on Verdanth. I think the natives took it as sacred. For me, this meant no flame tanks and very careful usage of artillery, so casualty rates were significantly higher during the skirmishes on Verdanth than they were in similar battles on Zelem's Nexus and Nocturna. Not that this did any lasting damage to my army, though, because seriously, I could rebuild any losses I took.

Once I'd cleaned out the LZ and set up my initial base, though, things really took off. I sent out five different armies to purge the planet of Darkspore, each one paired with five genetic heroes: one of each type. he ones leading this were the Biogenesis heroes: they were _really _pissed off by how the darkspore had defiled their homeland and desired to make their vengeance as messy and painful as possible. Not that I cared: the Darkspore were a menaced that needed to be cleansed from the cosmos.

Despite the limitations I had imposed on myself, the cleansing of Verdanth was still a short affair, with little notable events occurring besides the fight against the local destructor, Orcus. Though I was briefly surprised when Savage managed to summon a literal horde of angry wildlife that reduced a Darkspore Army into a massive pile of flesh, blood, gore, bone and gristle. Even that, though, wasn't very noteworthy.

As for the fight against Orcus, that was pretty amazing. Though, that could be said of _all _of the battles with the destructors.

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After several hours of cleansing, I'd reduced the Darkspore to their last stronghold on the planet. Their hordes were on their last legs, having been driven to exhaustion by the genetic heroes and my armies of cold steel (Well, technically it was progenitor alloys, but the idea is the same). Now, it was time to go for the coup de grace.

As soon as I arrived at Orcus' hiding spot, I found myself being contacted by the overgrown locust.

"So, I take it you are the one that defeated Polaris and Nashira?" he asked in a rather odd voice: it was very deep at one moment, only to get screechy at the next.

Now, in the game, the Darkspore didn't talk to you at all, they just howled, screeched and roared. I guess maybe they weren't interested in talking to heroes going to destroy them, but the Outside Context Problem was an entity worthy of conversation.

"Indeed I am, and you will soon be joining your fellow destructors in death, mega-cricket."

"You sound so sure that the outcome of a battle between us is in your favor."

"I am certain it is."

"Well, then, let's put your faith to the test."

Then the ground shook as Orcus, The Devourer of Life unburrowed from the ground and moved to attack

The genetic heroes and my metallic legions responded to this by opening fire... only for a wall of very, very, _very_ thick thorns to pop up, blocking our assault.

Huh, he could raise walls of thorns. Well played.

Though, not enough to save him: the Biogenesis heroes had given me their permission to use flame tanks here, so it wasn't long before the thorns were roasting.

Not missing a beat, Orcus summoned a small army of tiny creatures to attack my forces, before promptly firing blasts of energy and venom at my armies. I had the heroes pull back, but my tanks and bots got smashed by those attacks. Of course, whenever one fell, two more were ready to take its place.

And with his thorn shield down, not to mention being far smaller than his fellow destructors, Orcus was in for a lot of hurt. The first volley of hits alone made him bleed HUGE amounts of blood, to point I was surprised he was still able to stand after that attack. Even more surprising, he only seemed annoyed by the attack.

As for his response, he ate some of his own minions. And the minute he swallowed them, I could see his wounds rapidly begin to close.

Great, he's got a metabolism so fast that he can heal himself by eating his minions, and I wasn't sure how many he could summon. Oh well, time for More Dakka.

First, I gave the genetic heroes a new set of orders: kill Orcus' minions (which were apparently called biosoids). From there, I renewed my assault on the Bio Destructor, once again forcing him to eat his minions. Only this time, due to the heroes killing several of the biosoids, he didn't heal nearly as much.

Things soon fell into a pattern: Orcus would summon his minions, I would attack him while the heroes would kill the minions, he would eat his remaining minions, and then the process would repeat. Occasionally, he would raise the thorn shield again, which my flame tanks and the Plasmagenesis heroes would soon reduce to ash. It wasn't long before Orcus was out of commission.

I briefly considered letting the heroes get the kill, but when I asked them, they refused the offer: they didn't have anything personal against him, and I'd really been the one who'd beaten him. With that discussion settled, I moved in for the killing blow: instead of using my commander's overcharge attack, I just walked up to him and put one of my commander legs over his head.

"Time to get squished, you overgrown cockroach."

I swear, the look on his face was priceless.

Then the foot came down and Orcus head was reduced to pulp. Somehow, his mask survived that attack unscathed, aside from being drenched in blood and poison. After his body went limp, giant roots emerged from the ground and pulled him beneath the soil, reducing the Devourer of Life to mulch. What a fitting end.

After that, I hitched his mask up to a transport, then set a course for Cryos.

Three down, three to go.

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	27. Annihilation 25

My arrival to Cryos wasn't all that eventful, though seeing the planet from orbit really ended up unnerving me... not for no good reason, though: you see, the planet's core has cooled down, meaning no volcanoes, which means that the atmosphere isn't being pumped full of greenhouse gasses. Now, this might sound-like a good thing to some of you, considering how Earth's greenhouse effect is melting the poles and turning Antarctica green. Well, the problem is, Cryos has so few greenhouses gasses in its atmosphere that the entire world has become a frozen wasteland, where all natives species have to fight tooth and nail for even the humblest scraps of meat. The Crogenitors looked at this situation, thought it was mucked up, and attempted to rectify it by putting a 'white hole' in Cryos' core, which would generate an unlimited amount of heat and hopefully reignite the core.

The end result of this?

The core ended up covering parts of the planet in _lakes of lava, _while failing to fix the frozen surface. Now hailfire peaks compose a huge portion of the planet's surface, making life even harder for the natives. And that is discounting the Darkspore.

Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me.

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My arrival and efforts to set up an F.O.B. went as well as they had the previous three times I'd made planet-fall on Darkspore infested worlds: complete success.

After that, well, I ended up making an interesting discovery.

You see, according to the game's lore, the Crogenitors had left behind some ancient weaponry on Cryos that, if accessed, could help end the Darkspore and ensure the galaxy's freedom. Unfortunately, they had to abandon the technology due to being attacked by a new kind of Darkspore: the Destructors. Now, the facilities that had contained the technology were occupied by Darkspore. Whatever it was they left behind, I wanted it.

Of course, accessing it was a real challenge: the Darkspore didn't want people getting that technology, so not only was the area heavily guarded, but the Darkspore had set up explosives to destroy the facility if it was breached. Needless to say, a frontal assault was not an option.

Fortunately, I already had a way around this.

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On a hillside near the abandoned labs, I had a land scout survey the area, checking for any signs of Darkspore activity. While the Darkspore offered a fair amount of creatures guarding the facility, most of the forces that I assumed were sent to defend it lived in a set of caverns to the East of my target.

Good for me.

The first thing that told the Darkspore something was up was the sound of engines flying overhead, followed by the explosions as my bombers dropped their cargo. Tanks and bots soon joined the fray, causing the Darkspore to flood out of their caverns to fight my army. As did some of the Darkspore stationed at the facility.

Exactly as planned.

Once the facility was less protected, I sent the Genetic Heroes inside to plunder its tech. Leading the assault was Seraph-XS, the last of her kind, the combots. Seraph was designed for infiltration, so she was easily capable of being stealthy if she wanted to, but to my surprise, all of the heroes were acting stealthy for this mission, even if they groused about it like Zrin and Arborus did.

Well, works for me.

With most of the Darkspore busy fighting a losing battle to defend their warrens, the genetic heroes were easily able to slaughter their way through the remaining ones inside the facility. Once they were dealt with, I ordered the heroes to deal with the explosives: some were disarmed, some were moved very far away and blown up, and one was chucked into a lake of lava.

With those out of the way, time to start searching for that Crogenitor tech. I had Seraph link me into the lab's computer and got to work, while my starship started scanning the ruins to get anything I missed.

For the most part, the technology was just advanced countermeasures to EDNA, such as ways to cure corruption by it and weapons tailor made to fight it. I downloaded the designs for some of the anti-EDNA and modded it into all of my units to give them anto darkspore munitions, so as to make the rest of he fighting easier. There was also some info on the white hole, which I decided to keep for later: an unlimited heat supply would inevitably find some use for my armies.

Other than that, though, there wasn't really much intel in the labs, which was rather disappointing.

But there was one last thing that had me interested: apparently, one of the cryogenics buildings in the laboratory was still active, and contained something inside. Something alive. I decided to go and warm-up the lab, eager to see what was inside. I ordered Krel to enter that building as well, just to have some firepower on standby.

Needless to say, I was surprised when I found out what the facility was filled with: _eggs._

Well, not just eggs: it had eggs and embryos inside, in varying stages of development: some were just barely fertilized egg cells, others were embryos mid-way through development, and the eggs were ready to hatch.

According to my scans of the eggs, the creatures inside resembled dogs.

Also, Krel was staring at the eggs in a way that indicated disbelief.

Why was he doing-wait.

I used the scanner on the eggs again, this time to bring up their genomes. Then I crossed referenced them with Krel's genome.

When the comparison was done, a total of 50% of the eggs shared mulitiple genetic similarities to Krel. Which meant these eggs were _his _eggs.

But, how could that-

I pulled up the data on the cryo-lab again, then examined the research log to see if that would illuminate me as to what was going on.

Sure enough, I found what I was looking for.

_Though we have not been able to locate the last of the Crogenitors, our victory over them in battle is all but assured. Their fortress on Perceptum has fallen, and we are already purging the last remnants of their civilization from the cosmos. Soon, all that will be left of them is ruins... and this. This is my final insult to Ptyron and the rest of our foes: these are the last of the eggs belonging to the beast they call Krel, the few that we did not corrupt. Alongside them are frozen embryos gathered from research labs that had tried to preserve the species from before the Darkspore even existed. All of that work, now worthless. Still, it makes for a good trophy._

_-Merak, the Devastator_

...Well, someone really couldn't just settle for crushing his foes, could he?

Not that I'm complaining: Merak's pettiness meant that I now had a way to save Krel's species, and I was not about to let that go to waste.

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Look, I know that, in the grand scheme of things, saving just one species might seem a small victory, but it was still a victory for me.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	28. Annihilation 26

After moving away the items I'd obtained from the lab on Cryos, I decided it was high time I finally faced off against Merak. Looking back, I think he was the Destructor I hated the most, not because he was tough, but because of how petty he was. I mean, not only did he keep the remnants of Krel's species both as a trophy and as a giant FUCK YOU! to the rest of his kind, he destroyed the greatest repository of Crogenitor knowledge, the Perceptory, simply because he could never reach that level of greatness. I think the only reason I never saw his pettiness firsthand was because I hadn't really done anything to tick him off.

But any ways, on to the fight.

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When I finally arrived at the 'arena' of sorts where Merak lived, I was surprised by how quickly he contacted me.

"So, you are the one who has been cutting our kind down. Interesting that one without the powers of E-DNA can do so much damage to us."

"You flatter me."

"Hmph. Well, I assume that you wish to fight now, as do all of the genetic heroes you have brought with you."

"Indeed."

"Well then, let the battle begin."

Merak promptly entered the field viewing jumping out of a snow drift and landing hard in the 'arena' he lived in. From there, he went on the offensive, shooting fireballs and lightning at me. The genetic heroes scattered to avoid taking fire while my machines opened fire and scored a titanic amount of damage.

Then Merak shot arcing lightning at my bots and tanks, cutting down quite a few of them. A loss, but not a great one.

And he knew that, seeing how he began summoning his own minions to face mine. Called Blazers, they focused on attacking my machines, leaving plasma trails behind them as they charged into battle. I simply ordered the heroes to avoid that and focus on him while my machines dealt with his minions.

Soon, we'd whittled him down quite a bit. At this point, he started slamming the ground, sending up geysers, obliterating a fair amount of my army and forcing the heroes to once again take evasive action. Unfortunately for Merak, my grenadiers could fire from places he couldn't raise the geysers, which, combined with a couple of bombing runs, put Merak on his last legs.

Unfortunately, he had one last attack left: he fired some rocks into the air, which came back down as meteors. These actually put a large dent in my artillery and aircraft, allowing Merak to turn the tide.

Unfortunately for him, the plasmagenesis heroes took the opportunity to attack Merak will all of their might, ready to seek vengeance on the one who had conquered their world. By the time they had finished with him, he was barely alive, and really ticked off.

My response: raise my commander's main gun and fire the overcharge.

"Boom."

The explosion that followed was pretty spectacular. Somehow, his mask survived that, which I took as a trophy.

I then set a course for Infinity as my machines began purging the last of the darkspore on Cryos: only one world remained before I faced the corruptor.

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Meanwhile, on Infinity...

Arcturus, like all Darkspore, sensed the death of his fellow destructors. These were titanic losses, but with them came opportunity to learn and grow. And with this, become even better at defeating all resistance.

Arcturus reviewed the last memories of his fellow destructors prior to their termination. As all of the darkspore shared a collective memory, it was very hard to defeat the dakrspore with the same trick twice. The only reason this new foe had succeeded against them with the same strategy twice was a combination of numbers that managed to give his minions a run for their money and the assistance of the genetic heroes. Still, this could be worked around.

In particular, the great warbot leading the metal hordes seemed to be what controlled the smaller ones. If he could dispose of it, the rest would likely follow.

Hmmmm

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All across Infinity, the silent remnants suddenly rang with the sounds of industry as the machines within them awoke. Factories reacted, generators sprang online, and assembly lines whirred to life.

In a few hours, the new foe would arrive on this planet.

And when he did, he would be in for a surprise...

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****AN: A short chapter, I know, but ultimately, I didn't really need much detail to describe the battle against Merak. Commander Flame is certainly in for a surprise when he arrives at Infinity, though.****

****So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	29. Annihilation 27

Well, here we are: Infinity, one of only two real challenges I faced in the Darkspore Universe. The planet's surface was covered entirely in metal, as it had gradually become an ecumenopolis, which is the scientific term (at least I think it is) for a city that covers an entire planet. I don't mean an artificial world designed like a city (which would basically be a civilian version of an annihilaser), I mean that the planet used to have a normal biosphere that was gradually replaced with urban environments until most if not all of the planet was covered in city buildings. A side effect of this was that the planet had a permanent smog-layer on it from absolutely colossal industrial sectors, whose operation had contributed to the collapse of society on the planet and the extinction of most of its native lifeforms.

The sad thing was that, originally, the planet had actually had a thriving biosphere, as the machines that had been there had managed to successfully maintain the planet's ecology while working on their goals. But then the Darkspore had shown up and ruined everything. Now, according to the signals I had been picking up on my way to the planet, the last remnants of Infini as they were called had holed up in Infinity Prime, the planetary capital, with a couple of mutant beings fighting a guerilla war against the Darkspore in the outer areas. It looked like, for once, I could count on having backup in the coming battle.

Once we were in range, I returned to sublight speeds so I could locate a landing sight, ideally around Infinity Prime to relieve some of the pressure on the rebels. To my surprise, I found a large amount of what appeared to be debris in the planet's orbit. I could make out some mutation mines, which the Darkspore used to spread their infestation, but the others were a mystery-

"Warning, Detecting missiles approaching starship," announced HELIX, "taking evasive action now."

Both my flagship and the crogenitor vessel that HELIX was within quickly moved out of the way as barrage of missiles flew right past us. A few shots from my ship's lasers ensured they would no longer be a threat, but I soon found out that more were on the way. Additionally, the rest of the 'debris' I'd seen suddenly began to move or, alternatively, fire at me, forcing me to retreat a little bit.

What was going on- oh. That.

Yeah, should've seen that coming.

You see, Infinity was the home of most of the Crogenitor fleet, with its core (which was somehow inexhaustible) providing huge quantities of metal needed manufacture and maintain the fleet. They had been constructing orbital defense platforms to further bolster the planet's defenses when the Darkspore had arrived, reducing the planet to its current state. IT looked like the Destructor on the planet, Arcturus, had decided to reactivate the factories to get an edge on me. While he hadn't been able to build anything really dangerous, as long as the defense grid and fleet was up, I couldn't make planetfall.

Well, time to solve that.

"Any suggestions on dealing with those ships?" I asked HELIX.

"Analysis indicates that they have some kind of teleportation blocking technology aboard them, so any attempt to deploy the genetic heroes aboard them is likely to end in failure. However, you should already be able to destroy the orbital guardian ships and turrets with the machines you have."

Really? "How?"

"The ships and defense platforms were designed to fight ships of or greater size than themselves, and there are only a few squardrons of fighter-craft available to attack your own. As your own production abilities currently outstrip those of Infinity by several orders of magnitude, I recommend simply deploying your fighters to destroy the defenders and supporting with any weaponry you have aboard your starship.

Oh. Well, that could work.

And that was what I did: fighters began emerging from my ship, attacking all that they could find. The few ones that the Darkspore sent at me actually scored quite a few kills, being pretty tough and powerful in their own right, but ultimately, quanityt trumped quality here, and it didn't take me long to demolish the last of the fighters. After that, I started taking on the larger ships and the defense platforms.

Do you know how satisfying it is to watch a Starfighter or bomber destroy a ship several orders of magnitude larger than itself? Well, its very, very, _very _satisfying, as I can attest to from personal experience, and I got to witness it happen a couple dozen times during this battle. Oh boy was it awesome.

Once the defense platforms were down, I decided to join my starships in finishing off the enemy: I opened fire with antimatter torpedoes, which were each a one-hit kill against the starships. It only took me a few minutes to wipe the field clean of the remaining Darkspore fleet. After that, I determined a suitable location on Infinity (one close to Infinity Prime) and prepared to drop. Time to take back Infinity.

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	30. Annihilation 28

Once I broke through the Darkspore's orbital defenses, things quickly fell into line with how they had been on the other four worlds I had previously visited and conquered: my forces quickly managed to overwhelm the Darkspore and set up a beachhead, from which I tapped into Infinity's inexhaustible core to begin building up my army. My arrival forced the Darkspore to concentrate on dealing with me, giving the people of Infinity time to recuperate: the Darkspore had been attacking them nonstop for the last few weeks, and their current estimates had indicated they would fall within the next week if no help had arrived. Because of this, they were grateful for my arrival.

Not wanting them to suffer too much, I sent a few fabbers to help them reassemble some of the city's architecture: mostly the defenses, but also things like life support, power, and infrastructure, and any hospital they could find, because I thought that they had suffered enough.

Of course, that meant just a little more work for me.

See, several cybergenesis darkspore were actually just machines that somehow gained cybernetic bits, which meant they could be mass produced from factories. Since there were huge factory sectors all over Infinity, this meant that the Darkspore here could reasonably match my numbers, which meant I was in for a long battle.

Or rather, I would've, but that wasn't exactly what happened: while they had the numbers to match me, the Darkspore lacked orbital control, meaning that I could just use satellites to slowly whittle down their army into nothingness. Suck it, fools.

Soon I overtook heir numbers and began clearing paths toward the factories. While destroying them would cut down on the Darkspore numbers, I also knew that the factories to assist in the restoration of Infinity was the Darkspore were purged, so I had reservations against demolishing them. Fortunately, the Infini had a solution to this: they'd managed to recover the shutdown codes for all of the factory sectors, so all I needed to do was set up a radar tower in range of each factory and deliver the shutdown codes. THese would shut them down for a few hours, after which point they could be reactivated manually (that is, from inside the factory). Plenty of time to rid Infinity of the Darkspore.

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Malak knew not of the origins of the giant war machine, only that it served the Crogenitor resistance. Yet, despite this, he had quickly grown to trust the machine after it had worked tirelessly to help his people. It had sent smaller machines to fix Infinity Prime's defenses, roads and hospitals, allowing the exhausted resistance to begin recuperating its losses, which was very helpful for moral. Now, it seemed that the machine was moving to face the great metal one that lead the Darkspore here.

While he did not doubt the machine's power, he was still worried about its course of action: the metal one had been moving great amounts of alloys and circuitry toward his base, for reasons Malak could not follow. He knew, however, that they likely had something to do with the great machine that was destroying the Darkspore and was probably some kind of counter measure against it.

Thus, Malak had gathered the few among his friends in the resistance who could still fight and taken one of the remaining mag-rails that functioned toward the metal one's abode, ready to help the machine that had saved his people.

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When I finally arrived at Arcturus' base, I was surprised by how quickly my opponent introduced himself.

"So, you are the one who has caused us so much trouble, am I correct?"

"Yes, that's me. Your kind has been ruining the lives of all the creatures in this galaxy, and I cannot stand by and let this happen."

"Hmph, words spoken by a true hero," replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "though I must ponder, are you really so heroic, hiding behind this metal giant of yours?"

"Says the being who sits in a giant hover-chair."

"TouchÃ©. Well, now, I suppose it is time we battle."

"Yeah, it is."

"Well then,****TREMBLE BEFORE THE MIGHT OF ARCTURUS THE CYBERNETIC COLLOSSUS!"****

With that, Arcturus' chair finally floated into view and started blasting me with missiles. He then followed that up with a slam into the ground, forcing me and the genetic heroes to evade. After landing, he fire several lasers and things that looked like chainsaws at me.

Overall, though, it was a rather boring fight. My army was able to inflict a lot of damage on his chair, and he wasn't able to b=put too much of a dent in them before reinforcements arrived to replenish my forces. Additionally, the genetic heroes were able to put the hurt on him, forcing him to evade or get pounded. Eventually, he tried summoning his own minions, robotic bombs called exploder scarabs, which homed in on my army and, well, exploded. While they did put a few dents in my army, my numbers soon overwhelmed his, and after that, it wasn't long before he was on his last legs.

So why did he seem to be happy about this.

"Well, this has been a long, hard battle, my metallic foe, and you've indeed inflicted quite a few grievous wounds on me. But, in the end, I think you efforts were meaningless."

"Why's that?"

Just then, he hit a button on his throne. The minute he did, gigantic turrets popped up, along with a trio of pylons that generated a shield around Arcturus. The turrets quickly began to lay waste to my army, and were actually strong enough to shrug off my return fire.

"That's why. Did you really think I would not be able to adapt to your strategy of using overwhelming numbers to defeat our own? Your numbers are impressive, but unless you have something else up your sleeve, numbers will only go so far. And now, your luck has run out."

Then the turrets focused on me.

My computers indicated that I would be able to escap before they destroyed me, but that would give Arcturus time to adapt to my strategy and troops, which was something I did not want to happen. Reviewing my options, I noticed that my ship was relatively close by... and it was fully armed, as always.

I quickly lined it up for a bombing run. I doubted Arcturus would be able to deal with a mega-bomb on his head.

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Malak and his friends had traveled for some time when they finally caught up with the machine, which was engaged in battle with the metal one. Arcturus, it called itself. The destructor was seated on a chair, which he used to bombard the machine with a variety of attacks. Still, the machine was clearly winning.

Malak wished to help, but he knew that he would only get in the way if he intervened directly. His attention, however, to a series of large power cables littered around the battlefield. Their purpose eluded him, but I was likely something to do with the Darkspore.

Then the Destructor pressed a button on his chair. Instantly, turrets sprung up, while a trio of pylons emerged around the Destructor, generating a mighty shield that spared him from all harm.

And as the shield came online, the pylons surged with power.

In that moment, Malak knew what to do: he ordered his more digitally skilled comrades to hack into the turrets, while he got to work setting up explosives on the cables. When the last set was deployed, he made it out of the blast radius, then hit the detonator.

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To say the explosions were a surprise was putting things lightly. However, shortly after they happened, Arcturus' shields fell offline, as did his turrets.

"What the-?! GET BACK ONLINE!"

To my surprise, they did come back online...

Then they pointed at Arcturus... just as my ship arrived.

The resulting explosion was spectacular.

The only thing more spectacular was that Arcturus WAS STILL ALIVE. However, he knew he was wounded and quickly began to retreat. Not that that was going to happen.

I quickly took aim at his chair and charged up the overcharge.

"Time to fall from heaven, you metal weakling."

Then the attack went off and hit Arcturus, knocking him off of his chair as it exploded. The defeated destructor crawled around feebly for a moment before going up in an explosion that left the ground stained with oil. Somehow, his mask survived this.

I quickly got a transport to take the mask back up to my ship, before contacting the Infinity Resistance to inform them of Arcturus fall. It was about that time that I learned that a resistance team had set off to help me some time ago, but that the main resistance had lost track of them. I guess that they were the guys who caused the explosion that shutdown Arcturus' shiled. I informed the reistance of this, asked them to thank the members who had done this, then set a course for Scaldron.

Now, Corruptor, your end has come.

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Scaldron, primary base of the Darkspore.

Xylem sighed. The last of the Destructors was dead, leaving only him to lead the Darkspore. While he was fine with this, the fact that they had been annihilated due to the actions of one being was worrisome. It was clear that the Darkspore were up against a foe unlike any they had ever met before. Clearly, the Crogenitors had found new allies.

Then, he turned to one of the many Darkspore that accompanied him wherever he went.

"Go to the fleet and inform them to take up defensive positions. The machine will soon be upon us."

The creature moved to carry out his orders with haste, with the rest following.

When he was, at last, alone, Xylem activated a holoprojector near him and found himself facing a diminutive cybernetic creature, which, on its own, would seem rather assuming to most, if perhaps a little menacing.

"So," began the Darkspore, "are you sure this is the same one that you have... dealt with before."

"Indeed," replied the cybernetic being, "and we will provide our assistance to you once more in exchange for allowing us to purge this foe."

"Well then, lets not waste any more time talking. I've already sent one of my servants to get your fleet ready for battle. Please make sure that they make our mutual foe pay dearly for his transgressions."

"Of course. Long live the Corruptor."

With that, the conversation was terminated, and Xylem chuckled and let a small smile creep onto his face.

"The Crogeitors may indeed have new allies... but so do we."

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**_**AN: Well, only two more chapters left until the Darkspore universe is over.**_**

**_**Just a heads up, the technology obtained from this universe will be discussed after those two chapters, since I want to get to the next arc soon.**_**

**_**Also, most of the genetic heroes on Infinity share a mythological theme naming pattern (Titan, Goliath and Seraph), which is why the resistance member that showed up in this chapter is named Malak (which is both the name of a Sith Lord from KOTOR and the Hebrew word for angel.**_**

**_**So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!**_**


	31. Annihilation 29

The arrival to Scaldron was uneventful, but given that I was travelling at speeds greatly exceeding light, that was not a surprise at all.

What was surprising, though, was the fact that, the minute I came out of FTL, I found myself under attack. And not just by orbital defenses or giant ships, but by ones similar to my own.

Why did they look so fami-

"Greetings, you blasted machine."

The minute I heard the voice, I went cold. No, it couldn't be... how could they...

I decided to see if I was correct in my (very worrisome) assumption by trying to open contact with one of the ships, which obliged. When the picture of the captain appeared, I sighed in resignation.

For the Captain... was a Grox.

HOW DID THEY SURVIVE MY WAR AGAINST THEM?! AND HOW DID THEY GET INTO THIS UNIVERSE?

Well, right now, that didn't matter. What did matter was putting them into the ground, along with all of the nonburrowing Darkspore. Those ones would be incinerated.

I decided to go with the strategy I'd used on Infinity: I'd send in an army of fighters to destroy their fighters and orbital platforms from afar while I stayed in back and provided artillery support. However, the Darkspore seemed to have wised up to this strategy and responded by firing a huge number of mutation mines at me. These resembled traditional sea mines, except that they were designed to spread the Darkspore wherever they hit. A few of these things were still orbiting Verdanth after I'd defeated Orcus. I could've shot them down, but I had the feeling more would've shown up if I did. Better to defeat the Corruptor first and ensure that more of them wouldn't plague me before taking them out.

While it didn't take me long to destroy the mines, that was the time that the Grox ships needed to get past my fighter screen and begin their own offensive. I found myself forced to take evasive action and engage in a couple of dog fights against their ships, which, given my vast advantages over them, didn't really last that long, even with their hi-end self repair skills. I just modified my ship to fire missiles filled with nanoswarms at them to get around their healing factor and soon found myself the only occupier of the Scladron's local space.

The ground invasion proceeded somewhat similarly to previous five, but with more difficulties: as I wasn't interested in terraforming the planet (and more importantly, didn't want to risk crashing my ship, because Scaldron's storms, while rare, were absolutely devastating, and the Corruptor had plenty of those over his base). This meant I had to engage in a ground war with both the Darkspore AND the Grox, which forced me to clear out a very large beachhead and use every unit I had in equal measure. Oh man, these guys were tough.

Ultimately, though, I was tougher and managed to defeat the united armies of both the Grox and the Darkspore, which soon routed. The minute that happened, I turned my attention toward the part of the planet where the Corruptor dwelled.

Time to end this war, once and for all.

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	32. Annihilation 30

My march on the Corruptor was a much grander affair than the five previous ones that I had done against the other Destructors, for he had an army that could match mine, thanks to the appearance of the Grox, meaning I had to fight tooth and nial for every inch of ground until I finally reached his location. The genetic heroes were a godsend here, as they were able to shred their way through the Darkspore, giving me time to set up forward bases and get my army rolling to cut down the Darkspore. It was hard, but I wasn't backing down.

Eventually though, I finally reached Xylem lair, and got ready for the final battle .

It didn't take long for Xylem to make his presence known.

"So, at last, I finally have the pleasure to meet the one who has caused us so much trouble."

"Please, the pleasure's all mine."

"Hmph, well, you certainly have a sense of humor, now don't you."

"Well, that;s normally not the case, but seeing as how all of your lieutenants have been such great pushovers, I think that you'll be a cake walk."

"...boo."

"Bite me."

"Were I not wearing a helmet, I would oblige. As is, prepare to die."

With that, Xylem jumped into battle, glowing green. I sent my armies at him, only for him to reduce them to metallic goo with his breath.

Oh right. The Corruptor could use an attack from each of the five Darkspore, such as, in this case, Orcus' viral breath. If my memory was correct (which it was), he could also use chain lightning from Merak, a spectral scream inherited from Nashira, Polaris' gravity wells, and Arcturus' laser beams. Also, he could create portals that would summon minions of the genesis type he was currently in, so bio ones right now.

Combined with the Grox army he had supporting himself, and the fact he would run away, summon a horde of enemies, and come back even stronger, this was gonna be a long fight.

Luckily, I had a horde of killbots with me, plus the genetic heroes, so I was prepared for the long brawl I was going to have to deal with. TO WAR!

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Sage ducked as a blast of flame flew past him. He quickly opened fire, eliminating the offending darkspore before more fire could fly. Nearby, he could see Krel tearing a toxiraptor to pieces, eager to kill the creatures that had brought is kind so much suffer. Nocturna was busy picking apart an animus while Zrin incinerated a laser tank with his right fist and electrocuting a Maser Tank with his left. Meditron had taken up a position in the rear, healing those who were injured while the onslaught dragged on.

The fighting had only just begun, but already they were facing amazing odds: millions of darkspore were upon them, backed up by strange machines unlike anything he had ever seen. Were it not for the great war machines that the last crogenitor had brought with him, he doubted that they would have survived more than five minutes on this world.

Though, in private, Sage doubted that this being leading them was a crogenitor. It looked very different from them, and that was an impressive fact, given that the crognitors tended to modify themselves however they liked. However, Sage didn't really care if this being was a crogenitor, for it was helping them fight the darkspore, and that was all that mattered now. It hadn't expressed interest in ruling the worlds it had liberated either, which Sage suspected would be a triviality for it, given its power. But that was food for thought later on. Now was the time to act.

Soon, the Corruptor retreated, wounds to great to continue. He was not going to give up easily, though, and summoned portals that sent wave after wave of foe at them, backed up by the strange machines he had brought to his side. If the machines had not been helping them, the genetic heroes would have fallen. As is, they were enduring, albeit with some difficulty.

But when the Corruptor returned, and he did not doubt that it would happen, the battle would reach its conclusion, but how was still a mystery.

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Soon enough, the Corruptor returned. He was looking really angry, and apparently he'd decided to swim in black paint. Somehow, he still looked menacing this way. And boy did he back it up: He started off with Nashira's scream, which sent my robots running (even though they couldn't feel fear) then glowed yellow as he fired lasers at me, cutting through a fair swath of my army.

Unfortunately for him, I still had orbital superiority, which meant that I could blast him with impunity via orbital lasers. Suck it.

Pretty soon he was on his last legs. That's when he got serious.

"Well, you have put up a great fight. But now it is my turn to end you," he said, menacingly.

"And how's that?"

"This way," he said, before shooting some kind of beam into the air... which missed my satellites. What a sha-

"Warning, mutation mines inbound," noted HELIX. "Calculations indicate that they are headed for your location. Impact sites being marked now."

WHAT?

Quickly, I ordered my machines and genetic heroes to take evasive action, and I soon followed suite with them. Soon, the mines impacted, only they didn't hit anything important. The problem was, they didn't need to: wherever the landed, Darkspore emerged from the craters. It looked like he was using them as a cross between orbital bombardment and drop pods. And based off the numbers he was sending at me, I needed to kill him fast or else he'd actually manage to overwhelm me.

Alright, time to take the kid gloves off. I'd been setting up some artillery all over the planet, and now I turned all of it on Xylem. While most of the shells missed him, when you fire well over a thousand shells at a target, some are bond to hit.

This put him on his last legs, and gave me the perfect shot with my overcharge.

"Checkmate."

The explosion that followed was something worth watching.

After his death scream faded away, I ordered some bots to go collect his mask, then started up designs for some kind of prison. I was pretty sure that defeating him didn't actually kill him, which meant that I needed to keep his mask secured until I could find a permanent way to kill him. I also sent off some bots to hunt down and destroy the grox, because I wanted those guys to stay dead.

To say that I was surprised when they reported that they had found something odd was, well, not an understatement.

Eager to see what had caused them distress, I followed them to what appeared to be an abandoned dig-site. As I examined it, I noticed that it appeared to have contained something very large, and began scanning the local computers to see if there was any data about what was inside.

Then in noticed the box on the floor of the dig site. IT was small, diminutive and unassuming...

Except it looked just like the one I'd found at the ruins of the grox capital.

Instantly, I moved to pick up the box and take it back to my ship, before returning their as well. Time to examine it.

Or rather, it would've bene time, until I got a transmission from a grox ship. It was on its last legs and making its way toward my ship, apparently trying to make a kamikaze attack. I quickly lined up a torpedo on it and fired.

"DIE SCUM!"

"really? Those are your last words."

"No, those would be 'look behind you, sucker.'"

"Warning," chimed in HELIX, "mutation mine incoming."

I turned around just in time to see the mine making its way toward me as the grox ship exploaded.

Then everything went black.

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WARNING:CMDR_FLAMEAL15K-OFFLINE. INITIATIING_RESTART

WARNING:CONTAMINANT_IDENTITY_EDNA_DETECTED_IN_CMDR_FLAMEAL15K. SEEKING_MEDICAL_AID

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****AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	33. Annihilation 31

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DEPLOYING_MEDICAL_AID_NOW

AID_TAKING_AFFECT

CONTAMINANT_NEUTRALIZED

WARNING:GENETIC_DAMAGE_DETECTED. DAMAGE CANNOT BE FIXED WITH CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, SOLUTION WILL TAKE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME TO SYNTHESIZE. FURTHER INPUT NEEDED.

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When I came to, the first thing I noticed was that I was apparently in a void. Then I noticed that I was staring at six different lights: one for each genesis type, plus a white light.

Looks like the crogenitors wanted to talk to me again.

"So, it seems that you succeeded," began Ingto, who was trying to hide the respectful tone in his voice.

"You're welcome. Though, I just want to know something. Three things, actually."

"As you helped us, we will answer any of your questions," replied Zelem.

"Alright. So, how did you know any other universes existed?"

"...Well, we were curious," responded Zelem. "We doubted that our universe was the only one to exist. We wanted to see if there were others, so we began investing resources into building machines that could 'tunnel' between universes. Some wanted these resources to be funneled toward travelling toward other galaxies, but they ultimately couldn't win the funding and were ignored.

"Eventually, we were rewarded and entered other universes, encountering strange beings. Some were peaceful, others warlike, and we responded based on how we were treated. We followed what you would call 'the golden rule' toward these other civilizations.

"When the Darkspore beat us back to Infinity and Perceptum, we realized that we could not win on our own. Therefore, we consulted with our allies to see if any would help us. However, we discovered that our allies were gone, lost to the ravages of time during the war: some had been wiped out by stellar catastrophes in their home universes, others conquered by rivals. Only STEVE remained, and the rest is history."

"I see. Next question: Who is Steve? _What _is he?"

"...Um...well,"

"Funny you should ask," replied a familiar voice.

Turning toward the sound, I found myself staring, to my surprise, at another human. He had blond hair, piercing grey eyes, and was undeniably attractive... no homo, okay?

Wow. I thought he'd look different.

"So, you're Steve..."

"Indeed I am."

"...

"I assume you expected something different, didn't you?"

"Very much so."

"Well, I get that a lot. Most people are surprised to find out that, behind the ship and unimaginable powers, I'm human."

"yeah...WAIT WHAT!? YOU'RE HUMAN?!"

"Indeed. And since you asked, I'll tell you about my origins.

"I take it the crogenitors told you they found other civilizations when they crossed universes, didn't they?"

"Well, yes..."

"Well, it's funny, but the first race they encountered ended up being mankind."

"...seriously?"

"Yes. Apparently the multiverse regards mankind as a race to shower with both praise and blame however it sees fit, so we tend to get both great boons and great suffering. Any ways, when the crogenitors met us, they gave us powerful machines, which we perfected to suit our needs. Now, don't get me wrong, we don't beat the crogenitors in everything, just in the places we chose to specialize. As for me, well, I was one of the people who worked on those machines. I kept improving them mostly so that they could let us understand the universe better, which, ultimately, turned me into what could best be described as a god. Now I use my powers to shepherd others across the multiverse to greatness."

"Ooookkaaaayyyy...wait. I have a question for the Crogenitors."

"Okay," responded Suzu, "shoot."

"You said that you asked Steve to send me to your universe to fight the Darkspore, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

_"Because he didn't send me here."_

They all went quiet the minute they heard that. Somehow, even though I was essentially dreaming and therefore couldn't feel anything, I felt the room temperature drop a couple of degrees as the realization hit the Crogenitors.

"...WHAT!?"

"Steve didn't send me here. I found some strange sort of box in the ruins of the Grox capital, it showed me some funny vision, and when I woke up, it had given me the schematics for some kind of scanner that, apparently, caused my dimension gate to send me to this universe."

"...Are there any more of these boxes?"

"Yes. I found one in an abandoned dig site on Scaldron."

"Oh... that dig site."

"...Alright, spill."

"We discovered something that was emitting strange signals underneath the surface of Scaldron. When we investigated the source, we found a strange looking machine inside. It appeared to be an engine of war. Based on the age of the rock, it had apparently fallen onto the planet in some kind of vessel a few years before the Darkspore had been created. Scaldron was known for having meteor showers that could interfere with scanning processes, so it is unsurprising that it wasn't detected before. It appeared to have fallen into a magma chamber and become stuck within when the rock cooled. We were actually surprised that it was still functional."

"Do you have any pictures of the machine?"

"Yes. We will show you them now."

And so they did. And what I saw made my blood run cold.

It was a large, squat machine. One with crablike legs.

One that looked just like the machine I had gun down the crowd in my vision.

Apparently, the Crogenitors, AI and Resident ROB noticed my apprehension, which wasn't hard, given how quiet I'd become.

"What's going on?" asked Astra.

"I've seen that machine before... I saw it in the vision I mentioned...I saw it killing people...LOTS of people..."

The crogenitors grew quiet at this. I think they were starting to grow worried now.

"Perhaps we should examine the new box to see if it offers more clues about this unknown machine," offered Ptyron

"Okay. But first, answer me two more questions."

"...very well."

"Alright. First off, who are the grox?"

Steve answered that one. I was surprised by what he said.

"The grox are, well, us. Mankind. The grox arose from a conflict over how to use the gift we received from the Crogenitors: they wanted it for conquest, others, like me, believed we should use it for peaceful purposes. At the end of the war, those whose side I was on had all elevated themselves to my level, while those who would become the grox, due to reckless overuse of Crogenitor weapons, had become feeble creatures that could only survive in toxic wastelands and relied on cybernetics to overcome their physical failings."

"I see. Now onto the last question."

Then I turned to the Crogenitors.

"Are you guys involved with the Staff of Life?"

"...what?"

"Did you, like, make it? I mean, when I scanned it, I noticed five strange power sources within it, and there are five of you."

"...well, you are half right."

"Huh?"

"We did not create the Staff of Life. We ARE the Staff of Life."

"...Wha-"

"We imbued our mighty powers together to create one last weapon against the darkspore: a tool to undo the damage they had to the worlds they conquered. Within each staff, which we gave to Steve to, in turn, gift younger races, was a fragment of each of our powers, and with them, a part of our souls. SO even while we are dead physically, so long as the staves exist, so shall we."

"...interesting. Now we can examine the box."

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Once I woke up, I quickly got my commander active and scanned the box. Once again, it shattered and a new artifact came out.

When the vision started doing its magic, I found myself back on Scaldron, watching a horde of Darkspore enter the cavern. They saw the strange machine and tried to attack it, only for it to survive everything they threw at it unscathed.

Seeing no way to win, they decided to instead take back the bot to one of their lairs... at least, I think that's what they did. Then, to their surprise, a dimension rift not unlike my own appeared, and out popped a grox ship.

To my surprise, this caused the corruptor to teleport to that location and attempt to contact the ship. Odd. Maybe he still remembered the crognitors' multiverse travelling tech?

"Who are you?"

"We are the grox. We have come to take the Crogenitor's technology to serve our empire in future conquests.

Xylem laughed at this. "I am Xylem, the corruptor, leader of the Darkspore, and if you wished to take the Crogenitors', then you are too late. I put their entire species to the sword, brought them low, and wiped them from existence. Now leave, before I find reason to put your kind to the sword."

The grox responded by firing a missile at Xylem... which hit the bot... which woke up.

Both Darkspore and Grox promptly started sweating bullets.

The machine stared for a moment, then, to my surprise, spoke to both sets of beings.

"Which of you awakened me?"

The darkspore and grox responded by, essentially, pointing fingers at each other.

"Hmph. Well, I suppose I should thank you for that."

"...What?"

"I was sent here, long ago to hunt down an ancient foe, but it seems that I arrived in the wrong universe, one my foes have yet to visit."

"Really."

"Yes, really. You see, I have fought an ancient foe, one who commands armies beyond imagination. They go across creation, bending the might of others to their will. I was sent to hunt them, but it seems I have arrived in the wrong place. I must go now, but I thank you for awakening me. Though, may I ask you a favor?"

"...Yes," replied both parties.

"If you encounter my foe, destroy it. I will ensure you are rewarded handsomely if you do so. Even more so if you work together to do so."

"...And how will we know that we are fighting your foe?"

"They will command legions of steel so great they blot out the sun.", led by titans that can make armies from nothing. Guard against them or face extinction."

Then the machine generated its own dimension rift and left, and my vision turned to blackness. At least, until some red lighting of sorts showed up.

"They have gathered the darkness to serve them, to help them bring all to ruin. IF they are not matched by equal forces of light, all shall fall."

Then I woke up.

The crogenitors, Steve, and HELIX were all stunned by this, and told me they needed time to ponder this subject, leaving me alone... well, accept for HELIX, who told me about how my defeat of the Darkspore had made me a hero, and that people wished to follow me and join in my crusade of righteousness. Or live in my empire. Or other stuff like that. I told her all who came would be welcome.

Once HELIX left, I started working on a new pet project: a trophy room for the masks of the destructors, which, was, in turn, part of a citadel I was building on my core world. If people were treating me as a god, might as well act up to it.

I also decided to make a mask of my own, cause I thought that made me look mysterious. Plus it meant that people would have trouble telling how I was doing during poker.

I was getting ready to call it a night when I noticed that I'd received an alert from my commander. I was confused at first when it mentioned cotanminants: what could those be.

Then it mentioned E-DNA.

I stared for a moment, then brought up a more detailed examination.

Genesis type: all

Stable: Yes

Removeable: NO

I stared at that for a few moments. Then I lifted up my hand and thought really hard.

A then, to my surprise, sparks began to dance across my hand.

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AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	34. Interlude 3

ROB stared at the hologram before hir. Then they sighed.

It seemed that someone was indeed mas with hir test subject, and was pushing them toward some special agenda. Given the omnipresence of these strange machines in hir pawn's visions, it was likely that he was being directed toward fighting them. Well, he didn't doubt that her pawn would defeat them, but ROB would not tolerate this interference with hir plans.

"Um, your highness, do you need anything?" asked a rather soft voice.

ROB quickly turned toward the voice, revealing two figures: one was a red haired teen, with blue eyes and freckles. He was wearing a form fitting black suit, with a couple of cyan highlights attached to it.

As for the other figure, well, it was, quite simply, a monster: it was a cross of traits of both reptiles and insects, and could be said to resemble a tyrannid genestealer, though it was most assuredly NOT one of them. It had a black carapace, with maroon stripes adding in some color to its otherwise austere skin. It's six gold eyes focused on ROB's androgynous figure.

"Ah, Elling, Mortarax, how nice of you to join me. Now that you ask about it, yes, I do need help. It seems that we have an interloper interfering with our plans."

"Shall I eliminate them for you, your excellency?" inquired Mortarax in a deep, menacing voice. As he did so, he materialzed a pair of swords in two of his hands. The claws in his free hands began to glow with a pail green light, eager to cut through flesh and metal.

"I know not who they are, so we must wait," intoned ROB, "but when we learn who they are, we will-"

"Do what?" inquired a new, ethereal voice.

The minute they herd the voice, ROB, Elling and Mortarax went stiif, before turning toward the voice's source.

Before them was a golden, ethereal being. Just like ROB, it wore a mask that obscured its face, but its attire made it clear this being was male. His mask, however, more closely resembled a monster than ROB's.

"Um, well, sir, I-" stuttered ROB, voice breaking and, at times, shifting to just a single voice, either masculine or feminine, rather than the voice of the legion that it normally was.

After a moment of stuttering, though, ROB at last regained their composure and spoke.

"I believe someone is... interefering with my plans for the commander. I've informed Elling and Mortarax that, should we locate these interlopers, I want them dealt with. Harshely."

"Ah, I see. Very well. Carry on."

"Of course, my lord-"

"And remember, you are not the only one watching this commander," he continued, slowly walking toward, and then past ROB. As he turned around to walk back, he placed a hand on hir back, eliciting a flinch from the Random Omnipotent Being.

"And while I will allow you some freedom with your... puppet, should you push him too far, know that I _will _exact retribution against you."

Returning to where he had started is walk, the golden being turned so that he was eye to eye with ROB.

"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

"Y-y-y-Yes, sir."

"Good."

With that, the golden figure disintegrated into light.

ROB soon let out a sigh.

"Man, that guy is scary."

"Agreed," replied Mortarax.

Elling, however, was silent, which was rather odd. Normally, he was a gibbering mess whenever the golden one visited.

Turning toward him, ROB and Mortarax were surprised to see him stiff. Confused, ROB waved a hand in front of him, which elicited no reaction from the boy.

Sighing, ROB walked up to Elling and rapped her arms around him in an embrace. At first, nothing happened, but then, gradually, the boy began to return to reality. Once he noticed what was happening, he gently pried himself free of ROB.

"My lord, I'm so that happened again-"

"Stop it. You have every reason to be scared of him, and I don't blame you," replied ROB in a soft feminine voice.

"Uh-uh-uh-uh thank you."

"You're welcome."

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At Flame's homeworld...

Malak squinted as his eyes began to adjust to the light of this new world.

He and his friends had been among those that had flocked to join the machine that had saved them from the darkspore. They had been surprised to discover that the machine was actually controlled by an organic being, but that had also offered him the chance to thank that being in person.

With that revelation had come another: this being was the leader of a federation of other sentient beings, who had decided of their own free will to help the crogenitor resistance. Now that it had won that battle, it was departing: it wished, in its own words, to face other evils and help save others in danger, so now, it was only natural that it left.

Before it could, though, Malak had asked it if he could join the being on its travels. The being had helped him save his homeworld, a debt he could never truly repay, but this would be a start. The being, which called itself Commander Flame, had, after some deliberation, acquiesced, and let him and his friends join it on its new adventures.

And now, looking upon a strange city, under an alien sun, Malak new that it would be a difficult journey, but one he wanted to see to its conclusion.

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AN: read and Review. This is Flameal15k signing off.


	35. Annihilation 32

Once I managed to gain control of the electrical sparks coming out of my hand, I decided to see exactly how many powers I had. Given the fact that my biometric computer stated that my E-DNA contamination was 'stable', I probably wasn't going to gain new powers by accident, though I probably could add in the abilities via Crogenitor genetic engineering bullshit, but that would have to wait for a later day. Mainly because I didn't trust myself to not overdue it, but also because I had doubts that I'd actually need that kind of power: after all, with the power of a progenitor commander, I'd probably only be using those powers if I was screwed.

Needless to say, I did end up needing them eventually, but that is irrelevant for now.

Any ways, the first new power I discovered I had in addition to electrokinesis was pyrokinesis: at the moment just limited to setting my fists on fire and shooting small fireballs out of them (violating the law of conservation in process, somehow). After testing out that power, I focused on a different genesis type, specifically bio. I decided to see if I had any plant based powers first, so I focused on trying to create anything I could think of that was plant based: seeds, vines, roots, etc. Eventually, I was able to grow a throny whip out of my arm, with every thorn apparently secreting lethal toxins. Again, I was violating the law of conservation. In fact, a lot of my powers did that. Next I tried focusing on fungi, which lead me to release a cloud of spores which I could use for healing. Sweet. Finally, focusing my thoughts on bugs allowed me to grow an insectile carapace, great for defense. Cool.

After that, I focused on Necrogenesis, and started by focusing on some soul based abilities. To my surprise, I grew glowing purple claws, which could easily cut through just about anything. When I accidentally stabbed on into a plant that just happened to be lying around, it drained the life out of it in seconds, leaving me feeling invigorated. Vampiric claws: nice. Additionally, I also found out I could shoot bolts of darkness by thinking hard enough, one of which ended up knocking me out when it hit something important. When I came to a minute later, I found out I had a third necrogenesis ability: I could project my soul out of my body. Oh man, that was awesome. There were a ton of ways that I could abuse that...

Not that I used them in any lewd ways...

ANYWAYS, back to my new powers: with Plasma genesis, Necro Genesis and Bio genesis checked off, time to focus on Cyber: apparently I could now create and control nanites in my body, primarily for healing, but I was pretty sure that they could be modified to eat things. Hmm, should probably upgrade those nanites with any viable tech I come by, to make sure they stay valid. Also, the nanites could be used to generate laser canons or missiles as needed. Sweet.

So far, I had three powers for each genesis type: fire balls, burning fists, and arced lightning for plasma; a venomous thorn whip, healing spores, and chitin armor for bio; soul projection, vampiric claws, and bolts of darkness for necro; and assembly nanites, missiles and laser beams for cyber. Logically, I should have three powers for quantum genesis as well. So let's see what they are.

First thing I did was try and charge at something distant, to see if teleportation was a skill I had. Answer: yes, and the teleport also generated special claws on my hands. Hmm, teleport charge. Me like. Next I focused hard on a distant piece of scrap metal (because these sort things always seem to require concentration) and struck out with my arms, which ended up releasing a pulse that didn't just send the metal flying back, it _pulverized _the scrap into a tiny ball. Apparently I had gravity waves as an attack: me like that a lot.

Just then, I noticed I was receiving an alert from my support computer in my commander: apparently my subjects wanted to know how big the Citadel I was building was going to be, because they wanted to set up a safe zone if it fell. The mere fact that they brought it up made me groan internally: I hadn't actually thought up the size yet. Annoyed, I just stood around for a moment, eyes closed, trying to think up how big I wanted it while deeply wishing I had more time.

Then I heard a strange noise, which prompted me to open my eyes. At first, nothing seemed out of place. Then I noticed that the artifact in front of me, which had been spinning on its axis this entire time, wasn't moving. Like, _at all._ Curious, I was about to touch it when I noticed that some of the computer screens in the room had also frozen up. I was starting to get worried. As I was about to check those out, I finally noticed that the clock within my commander was not advancing forward. I mean, a full two minutes passed, during which I got a _really bad headache, _but the clock didn't change.

Wait, was my third power from quantum genesis _the ability to stop time? SWEET!_

Also, my headache was getting really bad. So bad that I couldn't focus anymore and, with the loss of my focus, the time control faded.

Hmm. Guess I can only control time for a few minutes before I need to break. Better save that data for a later date.

With my powers determined, I decided to head back to my hub world, and, you know, finally design the citadel I wanted built.

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In hindsight, I think that the event that unlocked my chronokinesis (time-control, for those of you who aren't aware) was one of my shining moments of idiocy, since, as a commander, I could just slow down my perception of time and design the citadel in a matter of seconds in real-time. Needless to say, that's exactly what I did when I made it back to my Hub world. It took my just one second in real time to do it (it took me a day to get satisfied with it in commander time), but the result made Godzilla look like a midget. If it weren't for the casual violations of physics I could do with my technology, it would've also been impossible to build, but my technology was more than sufficient to tell those laws to go and take a time out.

Any ways, without out of the way, I decided to check out my progress on the Osiris commander. Turns out, my optimistic belief that it could be reactivated fully within a week was not holding water: it needed a lot more time to finish. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.

Additionally, it turned out I was starting to experience some cramming within the settlements I'd built on my hub world. While I could've just built more cities on it, I didn't want to ruin its beauty too much, so I instead decided to work on colonizing the other planets in my hub universe. I also noted how eerily creepy it was that five of the planets I had roughly matched up in terms of environment of the five main worlds of Darkspore. While nothing ultimately came of it, it was still unnerving.

Just then, I received a report from he metal planet. Man, I needed to give those names soon. Any ways, apparently my fabbers had been examining it and had found a- wait, is that a _POTBELLY COMMANDER?_

Okay, now I'm getting suspicious. Someone really seems to want me to have a lot of advantages, don't they?

(In hindsight, I'm really not sure why _he _decided it was a good idea to dump them here, but I digress).

I set my fabbers to start rebuilding it and, in doing so, net me another commander. Every advantage I could have was appreciated.

Then I set the rest of my fabbers to begin assembling my tower, which, due to my advanced technology, would only need a day to construct, rather than a few months if not years, before turning my attention to the crogenitor tech I now had access to.

Advanced cybernetics: eh, I could probably find some better examples, but it was a start.

Advanced gravity manipulation machinery: oooh, I like this.

Hyper efficient teleportation: good to have

The ability to communicate with the dead (achieved through advanced research into necrogenesis): okay, that tech was weird, but appreciated.

There was plenty more tech, but for now I was content with those few techs. Besides, I had other pressing matters to attend to.

Like, for example, designing some new AIs.

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Look, I like to have things I can use _long _before I actually need them. Also, every time I procrastinated on a topic prior to becoming a commander came back to bite me in the ass BIG TIME, so I was not going to let this happen now that I was a commander.

First off, I needed to have the technology to develop an advanced AI. Since I had HELIX and Seraph to work with, this was already complete.

Second: determine AI function

I had three AIs in mind at the moment: one to function as my aide, while the others would help fill out my Freudian trio.

Step 3: Give them personality.

Well, my aide was going to be mostly logical, but also some emotion, to keep me from getting to unnerved. Also, she will have a feminie personality.

As for the ID and Superego: Well, Superego would obviously be selfless, ID would be selfish, though loyal to me. Also, Id would be masculine and Superego feminine, because it felt natural, for some reason.

Finally, I also decided to grow them bodies, taking advantage of the fact I could easily engineer them in a set of cloning tubes. It was easy to set up a quartet of tubes, allowing me to provide all of them with bodies to interact with.

Well, problem solved for now.

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You know, in hindsight, I probably should've kept a better eye on the cloning chambers I'd made. If I had, I probably would have noticed that, with nothing else to do, the last cloning tube had begun to engineer a body of its own. Since there were no preset orders, it set out to balance the number of entities already gestating, meaning the new being would be male. Since all of the others gestating were human, so would this one. And since it had no presets when to wake the subject, it would do so when the subject was of basic cognitive awareness.

But that would be a problem for the (admittedly, near) future...

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Alright, with that out of the way, time to go to the next universe.

Now, considering the artifacts I'd found in both the Spore universe and Darkspore universe, I was pretty sure that I was being railroaded into universes containing them. And while I wasn't happy about this (and, I later learned, neither was ROB), it wasn't something that I was going to change yet. For now, I'd just have to settle for being prepared for the dangers to come. Ugh.

So, once I had an army set up, I decided to march through the portal after it found a new destination. Strangely, once it locked onto the new universe, it began to glow blue-green, red, yellow, blue-white, purple gold, and purple-pink. While that did end up being important, I mostly just brushed it off at the moment and took the plunge.

On the other side was a large strip of coastline, home to odd, bug-like aliens and tubular trees. The biology of the creatures aliens was earth-compatible, but I wasn't sure where exactly I was yet. Since I hadn't encountered any resistance yet, I quickly began to set up a base. The animals expressed curiosity at what I was doing, but didn't intervene. Because of this, I was able to get all of the basic factories up before I finally received interference.

Said interference came in the form of three groups of infantry. A quick scan revealed two things: all three groups were at battalion strength...

And all of them were composed of humans. Uniquely, though, each had a different color and design scheme to their armor: one was blue-green and slightly resembled the fauna watching my base, another was yellow and steel in coloration and looked almost robotic, while the last group had red and tan armor and resembled stereotypical space marines.

After one minute (the time it took the battalions to realize that I hadn't been trying to kill them when I scanned them. Should probably be more careful about that in the future), the three groups tired to initiate contact with me, via math. I quickly vetoed that idea and began broadcasting in English.

"Greetings, who are you, and who do you represent?"

The stunned silence that followed was pretty amusing.

After 10 seconds, though, one of the guys in the blue-green armor spoke up.

"Greeting, I am Amare Berko of the People's Africa Union."

He was followed by one of the more robotic looking soldiers.

"Greeting, I am Marion Hawthorne of the American Reclamation Corporation."

Finally, one of the space marines joined the conversation.

"And I am Mousier Alain Durand of Franco-Iberia."

Hmm, all of those names of their home nations sounded very familiar-wait.

Now I knew where I was.

In this universe, a great mistake had happened that had wrecked life on Earth. The planet was now dying, with everyone left on planet struggling to scrape by. With this in mind, the leaders of the world had decided to look towards the last hope for Civilization: Beyond Earth.

And if the lights I had seen in the portal were any indication, I would have to face the Rising Tide.

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AN: Well that completes possibly the longest chapter I have written for this fic.

And yes, the new universe is Civilization: Beyond Earth, with the Rising Tide expansion. And before I leave the universe, we will reah Sid Meier's Starships territory, because I thought that the Starships in that game were cool, even if the game itself wasn't really that good.

So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.

Also, @RyvenRazgriz: I'm well aware of that. Still, it would be fun.

Also, Fusou seemed to enjoy doing so in the Worm Omakes, even if she was shoehorned into it.


	36. Annihilation 33

Alright, so I'm on... well, actually, I don't exactly have a name for this planet yet, seeing how the name of the planet you arrive on in Civilization: Beyond Earth is randomly chosen (well, actually, it pulls up three different planet types (always the same types), then assigns a random name to each one). Ugh, that is going to be confusing. I think I'll just call it Chiron, because that was the name of the planet of its predecessor, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

So, I'm on Chiron. Alright, that's a starting point. Now where to go from here?

Well, first off, I need to get an idea of how large this planet is: now, I could get a reasonable idea of its size by hacking into the planet's communication network and seeing how many different factions have landed here, but that won't give me exact details, something that I would really like to have. Should probably start warming up the orbital factory.

Alright, got that covered. Now what else to do.

Oh yeah, the wildlife! See, Beyond Earth is home to some really big creepy crawlies, ranging from beetle-like animals the size of wolves to worms big enough to level buildings just by moving through them (though doing so only counted as pillaging them in-game, something I doubted applied here). Said Aliens were similar to barbarians from the regular civ games, but they had their differences: they didn't hate everyone at first and could gradually be befriended by choosing not to antagonize them. Also, siege worms and leviathans made the aliens a threat all the way into the late game, something barbarians never had going for them.

While I could probably avoid making the aliens by just ignoring them and working my expansion around them, the siege worms would be a problem, since they would probably demolish some of my machinery just by moving through an area.

Hmm...

Well, I guess I'd just need to hack into the data banks of one of the colonies on this planet and get the designs for the Ultrasonic Fence, which, in-game, prevented the aliens from coming within two tiles of your cities. A quest decision in game allowed you increase it by an additional tile or allow the shield to protect trade units. While I had no idea what the conversion ratio from hexes to miles (I'm American, okay? IMPERIAL UNITS 4 LIFE!), I _highly _doubted that any of the colonies had that technology for them, because the research needed to build the fences was one of the earliest techs you unlocked in the game.

Okay, problem of marauding aliens: solved. What else did I need to do?

Well, I should probably determine the number of major factions on planet, as well as what the overall political climate was. I had a feeling that things were not exactly going to be all rainbows and sunshine between the various colonies on planet: one of the biggest parts of the game was progressing your civilization across three different affinities: Harmony, which focused on becoming one with the wildlife on the planet, resulting in human alien hybrids; Supremacy, which involved becoming more powerful via robots and cybernetics, and Purity, which rather obviously focused on maintain the purity of human form and used lots of battlesuits and hover machines. Needless to say, Purity did not like the other two, and based on color schemes, it seemed Franco-Iberia was leaning toward Purity, while ARC was leaning toward Supremacy and the Africa Union was going for Harmony. I really didn't want to be around when/if these guys went to war, so I might have to play diplomat. And that wasn't even including the hybrid affinities from Rising Tide.

Alright, I'll need to analyze the political climate of the planet.

I think I've got all of my bases covered. SO why do I fell like, aside from gathering shinies, I'm forgetting something...oh yeah!

I need to check for the Affinity resources. I'd need to be careful around them, because Alien Nests normally show up around them, but I was going to need them to get ANY of the advanced affinity tech working, especially anything involving xenomass. Biotech was, admittedly, a fairly risky venture, but some of the harmony tech was just too good to pass up. Of course, there were quite a few technologies I wanted to get from the other affinities and hybrid affinities I'd like to earn as well, because they were beyond useful? Cheap mind control that was relatively unnoticeable and had a mundane usage? I'd like to have that, thank you very much.

Luckily, it turned out I had easy access to all three resources: I could easily make out a xenomass pool half a kilometer away (Look, I like imperial units, but I'll go to metric if it is more convenient), with the tell tale crystals of a firaxite deposit not to far beyond that. And just beyond that were the floating islands caused by floatstone.

Looks like I had all of my bases covered.

And, thanks to progenitor hypertech bullshit, I'd done it in less than a second.

Now time to assuage the fears of the three envoys near me.

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Though no-one could notice, due to the fact they wore face and body concealing armor, all three envoys were terrified. The presence of the giant machine scared them, both for its size and the fact that it had managed to set up a functioning base with an hour. Compounding this was another worrisome detail: the machine appeared to be armed. If a fight broke out now, the giant machine would probably win.

Of the three, Marion was doing the best to keep calm, though that may have been because she was a cyborg and had emotion suppressors, which were very useful when you were a diplomat. Needless to say, they were working overtime at the moment.

Ms. Hawthorne had been Fielding's first choice for investigating the unknown object that had turned out to be this hulking war-mech. Not because she liked Marion, hell no: Hawthorne despised Fielding for how scheming she was, always trying to mainuplate others so that she could come out on top. No, Fielding chose Marion for this because Marion was _the best diplomat she had, everything else be damned. _This was, perhaps, the one things Marion liked about her boss: Suzanne Majorie Fielding didn't care where you came from, if you got the job done _well, _you could look forward to a promotion, regardless of your origins. Considering where Fielding had come from, she probably had a good reason for this.

Amare, meanwhile, was shivering in terror, but also staring in wonder at the machine. Was it a new development from earth? Perhaps a colony had made it and sent it to his world as an envoy? Or was it proof that they were not alone in the universe? That was beyond him at the moment, but regardless of where this machine had originated, he was looking forward to what it meant for his people.

His idealism is why Barre had chosen him for this expedition to examine the crash: Barre had sought to coexist with this planet, so as to avoid the mistakes of his forefathers. Barre had been the first to notice the arrival of the machine, due to a hunting expedition: several of his officers had been taking raptor bugs out to hunt when they had seen the machine's arrival via portal. The news had soon spread, and a variety of opinions had been expressed over how to deal with it: some called for an open armed welcome, others had advised a quarantine. No one had called for its destruction, either because they felt it was wrong or to avoid biting off more than he eUnion could chew. Barre had ultimately decided to send an expedition with an envoy to investigate, but had also begun re-evaluating the Union's armies: while he sought peace, he wanted to be prepared for war.

As for Durand, he was still unsure how to approach the situation: while he, like many Franco-Iverians, disdained foreign influences, he still believed that they should not destroy this machine. Not when they could learn so much from it.

That was why Elodie had chosen him to lead this mission into the wilds: he was open-minded enough not to let Franco-Iberia's (somewhat justified) superiors go to his head. True superiority over your enemy included knowing when you were outmatched and should avoid a fight, and here, they were clearly outmatched.

Before either side could ponder further about the machine's intentions, though, it responded to their introductions. Why it had an Maerican accent was still an unknown at the moment.

"Thank you for the introductions. You may call me... Commander Flame. My superiors would prefer that I not disclose any more information in regards to my nationality."

"I see," replied Marion. "Well, then, if it is not classified, who or what are you?"

"...I am the pilot of this machine, a Xenosentry class field commander Omni-mech, capable of both creation and destruction. I am the first human pilot of such a machine.

"Human?" questioned Alain.

"All previous commanders were controlled via AIs, for reasons of efficiency. I had to undergo extensive biological and cybernetic modification in order to match them while controlling this machine. I understand if that offends some of your sensibilities."

"While I may find that unnerving, your arguments have merit," conceded Durand.

"Thank you for understanding."

"Yes, well, now that you have arrived, what do you intend to do here?" asked Abare.

"My current goals are to examine the native resources of this planet and assist in the development of the colonies inhabiting it. I was instructed not to choose favorites while doing so."

"I see... well then, would you like to meet with our leaders? Surely that would help break the tension that your arrival has caused."

"...Good point. Very well, I will meet with your heads of state, though I do have one request."

"And that is?"

"I would prefer that this meeting,which I will refer to as a 'summit', involve the heads of state of all major colonies on planet, so as to avoid any hostilities from any party feeling left out of the loop, as it were."

"... that is except-able."

"Good to know. I will agree to whatever time your leaders choose. I hope we will be able to meet again."

"Don't we all."

"Well, I believe I must now bid you fairwell. Though, may I make one last request."

"Okay."

"May I have access to the planet's communication network? Not anything secure, of course, I just want to be able to examine how this world has developed."

"That can be arranged. Fairwell, sir."

With that, the three diplomats left, eager to return to their home colonies and inform their leaders of the new developments.

Unknown to all of them, while the conversation had occurred, a computer worm had been implanted in the rovers each envoy had arrived in. When they returned home, it would begin transferring into the nearest unsecure system it could find, before slowly decrypting the more secure ones until it had unlimited access. Eventually, it would have full access to all of their data. From their, it would transmit any technological research it found to the mech they encountered.

By the time anyone noticed, though, the virus would be gone: it had a set lifespan and would erase itself within a few weeks.

And by then, new developments would have shifted things so that no one would be interested in what had happened.

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AN: Well, now the ball is rolling.

Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.


	37. Annihilation 34

Once the trio of ambassadors (Assuming they count as ambassadors) left, unknowingly carrying a virus that would give me the schematics on quite literally everything developed so far on this planet, I quickly got to work improving my defenses on Chiron. (funny thing there: as my worm revealed, it turned out this planet really was called Chiron. What are the odds?) Additionally, I began deploying orbital satellites and fighters to ensure that I would be safe (at least, for the moment).

I also got to work preparing as many reserves for the resources I had, so that I wouldn't be in danger of compromised supply lines should my extractors and generators go down. I'd already started examining the resource cores so that I could move away from a dependence on harvesters, but for now I had to make due with what I had.

Coupled with a few artillery cannons, I soon had a virtually impregnable defense network around my base. Now that I was (relatively) unassailable, time to focus on other matters.

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My worms began feeding me intel exactly one hour after they were deployed, and the results were surprising:

First off, apparently, ALL TWELVE of the playable sponsors had arrived on this planet, making for an awfully crowded world. The only reason that they hadn't fought over the resources was that the planet had a radius three times that of Earth's. As for why they weren't being crushed by gravity, the planet's mass was nines times that of earth, so the overall surface gravity was equal*. How such perfect balance occurred naturally eluded me, and since there were ruins belonging to an alien species on this planet, I was willing to put some stock into the idea that they had been responsible for this. But that was besides the point.

From what I could determine so far, in terms of affinities, ARC, Brasilia, INTGR, and the Slavic Federation were going Supremacy; Kavitha, the African Union, North Sea Alliance and Chungsu were heading toward Harmony, while Elodie, Hutama, Al Falah and the Cooperative were focusing on Purity. That being said, Chungsu was experimenting with Supremacy tech, Kozlov was examining some Purity research and Elodie was consulting intel on Harmony. So, all six affinities were also present. Good to know.

Finally, it looked like everyone had been trying to work together peacefully before I arrived, in spite of the massive ideological differences they had, and that wasn't including the physical ones. Wow, I guess the Apocalypse (or, rather, Great Mistake) really does bring out the best in people. It turned out that some of the stations were the only real source of trouble so far: apparently, some of them had been involved in a slavery ring, and they still hadn't caught all of the conspirators or that one. I wasn't surprised that Barre was one of the people most outspoken against said ring, but the fact Fielding was right behind him was a curveball. Then I realized that, in addition to slavery being an absolutely inefficient labor system, Fielding might have been a descendent of former slaves (a few dozen generations removed, of course). Food for thought.

Finally, though, I got to the goodstuff: the technology. To my surprise, they'd all gotten very far along the tech tree: between all of the factions on planet, they'd unlocked quite literally EVERYTHING on the tech tree, giving me plenty to study. First off, nab the xenonursery: once I had the tech, I decided to head back to my hub and start building one ASAP. First, though, I nabbed some tunneling equipment, hollowed out an area by my base, THEN all of the improvements needed to harvest the affinity resources, and _then_ built a return teleporter. Since R.O.B. didn't try to for me back onto Chiron, I guess he was fine with me heading home for a bit.

Once I was back, I got to work building the vivarium. The minute it was finished, I calibrated it based on what research I had available, then began to cultivate the xenomass. It would take a while to grow, but I could handle that.

You know, I never figured out why commanders seemed to ignore biotech when gathering shinies. That could probably have helped more people than any other tech they introduced to native factions. Oh well.

Next up was firaxite: it took me about an hour, but I managed to figure out how to synthesize it in amounts practical enough for consumer usage. The same went for floatstone. You know, I have to agree with Elodie here: when we have a reference pool several centuries worth of literature, why is floatstone the best name we can come up with for this stuff? Oh well, a question for another day.

Alright, so, I've got samples of all of the affinity resources and the ability to synthesize more as needed. Now I can focus on other matters. Like, for example, further improving my base defenses: an ultrasonic fence was now under construction, and would be the final thing I needed to make alien incursions not related to sabotage only a memory. Combined with a few orbital defenses, umbrellas and a _metric fuck-ton of conventional defenses, _I finally felt secure.

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Look, I know that might seem absurd, but I prefer to be prepared, okay?

What? I could just adapt to it? Like any good commander?

Ha ha ha.

If nature has taught me one thing, it is that, no matter how powerful an organism gets, none are ever invincible. One day, even commanders like me will meet their match.

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Alright, now that I'd got my defenses set up and had an endless supply of affinity resources, time to start examining all of the tech I had arrayed before me.

First off, I decided to get some networks up and running: while I had plenty of data-storage to work with, somehow, these ones were better than anything I could access at the moment, plus it had the benefit of allowing to run AIs in them, as well as store recordings of battles and other important tactical crap.

Aaaaaand apparently networking the AIs gave them a veterancy system. Somehow, I felt this was going to be important. But not for now.

Onto the next target: the Surveillance web. While my cyber Warfare routines could trounce virtually all defense systems (with two notable exceptions), extra protection was always appreciated. I built one of these back at my 'capital', while another was integrated into my commander. Now try and hack it.

Now onto the Mantle: leave it to purity to figure out how to match Supremacy's robot assisted research Hypercores with pure human potential. Really admirable, if I'm honest. Plus it made for a good RD center. I had both, so might as well make the most of both of them.

Okay, got some nice structures, plenty to do with them, now onto the juiciest part of the civ series: the wonders. Now, most of these were just famous monuments from Earth's history, but the ones I had access to, being from colonies, _obviously_ did not have that little problem, and were the overall pinnacle of human technology... well, in this universe at least.

Most interesting to me at the moment, though, was the drone sphere: you know those futures where every mundane task is handled by robots? That's the drone sphere in a nutshell: robots exist to solve all mundane problems for society. The security benefit was just a bonus. While _I_ didn't really need to worry about those needs, since I had a loyal army of followers, I felt obligated to do what I could to make their lives easier. They deserve that for their loyalty, okay?

Two other projects had my attention at the moment: the Ectogenesis Pod and the Promethean Project. The first was basically an artificial womb that was millennia beyond the one I had from the Spore universe, while the latter was basically an optimized human genome. Both were really things I wanted for myself and my AI avatars, so I wasted no time building them and using them to, ahem, 'upgrade' my avatar, which I ended up rendering down into proteins to fuel the growth its successor.

Let nothing go to waste!

Also, the process was going to take some time (a few hours) so I decided to power down and take a nap while I waited. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

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Three hours later...

When I woke up, I found myself feeling WAY better than I had ever felt before. I guess the optimized genome really did make life better. Though, TBH, it also felt rather weird. Guess I need to spend time adapting to my new avatar.

Also, I was getting a new alert.

NOTICE: GESTATION OF ENTITY IDENTICATION: N/A IS COMPLETE

Good, one of my AIs was finished...wait, N/A? I'd given them all placeholder designations: Ultima, Superego and ID. Why the N/A?

QUERY: N/A?

SUBJECT WAS NOT GIVEN DESIGNATION.

WHY?

BECAUSE SUBJECT WAS NOT PRODUCED ON ORDERS OF CMDR FLAMEAL15K

THEN WHY WAS IT MADE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

TO AVOID WASTING EXCESS ORGANIC COMPUNDS AND ENERY. GESTATION PODS FOR ALL CURRENT AIs WERE BUILT IN SETS OF FOUR. IT WAS DEEMED ILLOGICAL TO ONLY USE THREE WHEN ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WERE AVAILABLE

Urgh...

ANY INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON NEW AI AND ITS AVATAR?

AI AVATAR IS MALE

Great, another malewho will fight with me for dominance.

THEIR MENTAL AGE IS EQUIVALENT TO THEIR PHYSICAL

WHY IS THAT IMPOR-

PHYSICAL AGE CORRESPONDS TO 10 YEARS OF NATURAL GROWTH

...oh...

RESPONSES INDICATE YOU ARE DISPLEASED WITH CREATION OF ADDITIONAL AI. WOULS TPUCLIKE TO TERMINATE-

NONONO! KEEP I-HIM ONLINE!

VERY WELL. DO YOU WISH TO BEGIN THE AWAKENING PROCESS [Y/N]?

Y

INITIATING PROCESS. DUE TO NATIRE OF SUBJECT, THIS WILL TAKE ONE HOUR. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER REQUESTS?

YES. SENDING THEM THROUGH NOW.

REQUEST RECEIVED. WILL BEGIN CREATING CLOTHING NOW. THIS WILL TAKE HALF AN HOUR.

THANK YOU

YOU ARE WELCOME.

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Look, I'm aware that I probably shouldn't have tempted fate before I went to sleep, but this was really just waiting to happen.

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AN: Well, that happened. Anyways, Read and Review. Your reviews are the only way this story will get better!

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	38. Annihilation 35

Once I gave the order for the child's clothes to be made, I had to get to start working on a lot of other things that I would need, seeing as I was now expecting a kid. To be honest, this was not how I was expecting this to turn out: I mean, yes, I felt something like this would've happened eventually, but not under these circumstances. I was also rather surprised I hadn't gotten a notification about my newfound companion's gestation earlier, but I just chalked that up to either ignorance or the AI monitoring his growth not seeing any reason to inform me of the development. Ugh, that would've come in handy.

Well, Since my citadel back on my homeworld was still under construction, I decided to start building my... well, I guess son would be the appropriate term, so I needed to start building a room for my son. Alright, so, what would I need to get for him?

Well, might as well start a list:

Bed. Since my worms were still transmitting, I might as well get a design from them and get it started now.

Dresser: Again, use worm to get a basic design, fabricate a woodshop, take some trees from the biosphere within my ship, and boom, dresser.

Something to sit on...well I suppose one of those giant bean bags would suffice.

Balanced diet: just set up some advanced hydroponics inside my ship. Complete.

Companionship: well, maybe I could get Krel to play with him until I could find a proper pet.

Education: I just drew up a teaching AI to help him learn things. Objective Accomplished.

Clothes: Already being made.

Alright, all immediate concerns solved.

And I still had 45 minutes left until he woke up. Forty five minutes with which I was going to fill myself with anxiety. Ugh.

Well, I might as well get a few last minute details in on my 'son'...ugh, that sounds so...so..._weird._

But, whether or not I had intended for him to exist, he was my responsibility, and I was NOT going to shirk that responsibility.

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GREETINGS COMMANDER! WHAT DO YOU REQUIRE?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON NEW AI AVATAR

AFFRIMATIVE. SPECIFICS?

WHAT ARE THE CAPABILITIES OF OUR NEWEST AI AND ITS AVATAR?

AI HAS ROUGH INTELLIGENCE OF A TEN YEAR OLD HUMAN. IT HAS THE ABILITY TO TALK, COMPLETE RUDIMENTARY CALCULUS, AND DRAW PICTURES...CREATING PICTURE BOOK NOW.

CAPABILITIES OF THE HOST BODY?

CAN WALK, EAT, CRAWL, AND HUG.

GOOD TO KNOW. GOODBYE...

DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION

AFFIRMATIVE: WHAT IS YOUR DESIGNATION?

...I DO NOT POSSESS ONE.

...NOT ANYMORE. YOUR ARE NOW DESIGNATED OUIUM. WELCOME TO THE TEAM, OUI.

...THANK YOU FOR THE NEW DESIGNATION.

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Forty minutes later...

So, this was it: it was time to meet my new creation. My progeny.

Needless to say, the anxiety was killing me.

HOW LONG DO I UNTIL HE GAINS CONSCIOUSNESS?

APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES. BRACE YOURSELF: AVAILABLE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUR DISPOSITION INDICATES YOU ARE VERY ANCIOUS.

NO SHIT

Now that I was within visual range of my boy (I just realized how creepy that sounded), I finally got a good chance to look at him: he had black hair, freckles, and overall, looked...well, I wouldn't say scrawny, but not really muscular. Is the term boyish applicable to physique?

Look, don't try to ask me about how well developed _other _parts of his anatomy were. If you do, I'll have you chucked into a hole filled with wolf beetles.

Any ways, back to the scene at hand: I'd had Ouium bring all of the clothes over, as well as two towels: seeing how the avatar in front of me was soaking in amniotic fluid, he'd probably want to dry off once he could walk.

Somehow, the five minutes eventually managed to pass, and my new friend (Would child be appropriate?) began to awaken. The tube he was growing in slowly began to drain of fluid as the being within began to stir. By the time the fluid was gone, the avatar was on the floor of the tube, trying, almost comically, to balance himself on his hands and feet. It took a few tries, but eventually he managed to do it.

Well, time to meet him.

The glass tube retracted, exposing the avatar to the outside world. I'd had the room darkened, so that he wouldn't be distracted by anything, but now that I was ready to meet him, I think it would be preferable if he could actually see me in full color (apparently, Ouium had added in the Promethean genome while he was gestating, which included innate night-vision. Still, full color would be preferable here), so I slowly began lighting the room. My new companion initially reacted with confusion at this, head twisting and turning to look at the new light sources. I couldn't understand why at first, before realizing that my companion _hadn't opened his eyes. _Had they not formed properly, or was he just not sure how to use them?

Then he turned to stare at me.

I held my breath, tensed up, and prayed that things wouldn't go wrong.

The new avatar finally managed to stand upright, still facing me.

Then he stepped forward...

And promptly slipped, since he was still soaking wet and didn't know how to walk.

He had a soft landing though: I wasn't about to let him get hurt, so before he could hit the ground, I reached out and grabbed him. I ended up pulling him into a hung when I lifted him up.

This being the first time he had any interaction with anyone else, he responded by flailing about, trying to get me to let go of him. I eased up and gave him a little more freedom but didn't let go just yet.

"It's okay," I said in the most reassuring voice I could muster, "it's alright. I'm your...father, I guess."

After a few minutes, and a lot of calming words, the struggling stopped as my 'son' finally calmed down. Slowly, he pushed me away, until he could look me in the eyes. Only then did he, finally, open his eyes, revealing hazel orbs that gazed deeply into my brown eyes. The initial expression of fear gave way to surprise, then, finally, curiosity.

This was followed by a strange set of noises. At first, I thought they were from his stomach, until I noticed that they were slowly getting more pronounced and clearer. It soon dawned on me that he was trying to talk to me. Eventually, he finally managed to get the words out.

"H-h-h-h-hi."

"Hello, child."

"Um, w-w-who are y-you?"

"I'm Commander Flamealisk, but you may call me Flame. You could say that I am your dad." Then, a thought occurred to me. "What's your name?"

That provoked an interesting response: at first he opened his mouth wide to speak, only to close it with an expression of surprise. Then he shifted to one of deep thought, which slowly gave way to one of deep sadness. It was really hard to watch the last one spread across his young face.

"I don't know. I don't think I have one."

Time to remedy that.

"Well, that won't do, everyone should have a name. How about...Billy?"

He seemed to think on that one for a moment, before shaking his head in what was recognizably 'no'.

"Okay, how about Nigel?'

Again, no.

"Hmmm... How about Rourke?"

_That _seemed to get his attention.

"Um, I like it, but is there a shorter one just like it?"

"Well, if you want, I could shorten it to Rory most of the time."

The response was yet another shake of his head...albeit this time in a way that was definitively a yes.

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And that's how Rory entered this story.

You know, looking back, I think I wouldn't be the same without him. A lot of things people said to me wouldn't have carried as much weight if he wasn't around. And of course, his adorableness was appreciated. VERY, VERY APPRECIATED.

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AN: Read and Review.

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	39. Annihilation 36

The first few days with Rory were, well, a handful. I was lucky that the colonies on this planet had decided, for now, at least, to leave me alone. Given what I'd downloaded from the comm networks, it looked like they were trying to agree on a time where I could meet with them. Also, all of the powers had just started a massive military buildup in response to my arrival, which was understandable. As for the opinions of the civilians, most were in favor of peaceful interaction (even in militant Brasilia), but there weren't many complaints against the buildup.

If you want peace, prepare for war. A couple thousand years and that proverb was still holding water.

Regardless, it provided me with plenty of time build some trust with Rory. Look, even if he did trust me from how I treated him when he was 'born', I had a feeling that, if I didn't back that up with further bonding, I lose it pretty fast. So, until something significantly more pressing popped up (and I mean 'declaration of war or greater' pressing), I'd be spending time helping my son understand this new world.

In some respects, it was easier said then done.

Like, for example, getting him to eat dinner.

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"Ugh, why do I have to eat this?"

The item in question was a carrot. I'd decided to set up a small dining room for me and my, well, son, and had personally cooked all of the food that we were eating. Considering my normal skill regarding cooking, this was...well, not a miracle.

"Because it's good for you."

"But it tastes bad."

"So do a few other things that are good for you, but you need to eat it if you want to grow up to be big and strong."

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At times, though, it turned out to be easier than expected.

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Rory was staring awestruck at a tiny piece of rock. Specifically, a piece of floatstone. The fact that it could remain upright amazed him to no end. After a few minutes, he started poking it, but it still managed to stay afloat. Eventually, he swatted it out of the sky, but it only stayed down for a moment before returning to a hover.

I'd taken him into the lab onboard my ship: this part in particular was the geology section, which contained all kinds of rock samples, including copious amount of floatstone. While Rory was playing with his stone, I was busy analyzing firaxite to see how it held all of the properties that made it the strategic resource for Supremacy.

"Why does it do that?" he asked.

"...um, do you know how magnets work?"

"Yes."

"Well, floatstones are really powerful magnets, so they can always float.

"Oh."

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And sometimes, Rory surprised me.

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The biggest surprise came when I was with him in his room. It was rather empty, since I really wasn't sure what he liked at the moment. I doubted that this would be the case for long though, and that, by the time we left the CivBE universe, it would have a few toys and posters within in.

"...Hey, Papa Flame?"

"Yes?"

"...Why do I exist?"

"...what?"

"Why did you make me? I know that I'm an A-a-at-Artificial Intelligence, and that those things are made by others to help them with tasks, so why did you make me?"

"...How did you know you were an AI?"

"I can use the computers without having to touch them. I asked Ou-Ouium why I could do this, and he told me that I was an AI."

"..okay, well...," I sighed. This was something I didn't expect to have to answer so early on. "Look, originally, I didn't intend to make you."

"Wha?!"

"Originally, I asked Ouium to help me make three other AIs and grow avatars for them. He just had some extra biomass left behind and didn't want to waste it, so he created you. He just examined my personal preferences toward other humans to decide how you would look like."

"...so, I just exist because of an...accident?"

"Yes. And before you get sad, that isn't a bad thing."

"...It's...not?"

"No, not at all. I created the other three AIs with specific intentions in mind. You, though, don't have any in regard to your creation. You have no purpose in life, which means you are free to choose your own."

"I am?"

"Yes. You can be whatever you choose to be. And as much as a might say otherwise, I'm fine with that. You might be my son, but that shouldn't define who you are. It should just be a staring place for whoever you would like to be."

"...okay. Thanks for telling me that."

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I think I might owe Roosterteeth some money for that last speech, but it still rings true for everyone: you shouldn't be defined by your origins, but by your actions.

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While I might have been spending a lot of time caring for Rory, that didn't mean I couldn't spend sometime examining the tech data I was siphoning from the inhabitants of Chiron. All of which was juicy. Seriously, these guys had gone from backwater colonies on a remote world into thriving civilizations in their own right, and with it had come a meteoric renaissance of technological innovation: autodocs were common place, cancer was easily treatable, and drones were now being used for all kinds of public conveniances. While commanders might've overlooked most of this stuff because they weren't necessary for a self-replicating engine of war to function, I had an army of loyal followers with me who were far squishier than I was, so any technology I could get my hands on was a boon to my operations.

Look, I know creating a utopia is impossible, or at least high-infeasible, but that didn't mean I couldn't try and improve the life of my followers. They had given me unquestionable loyalty, so they deserved some compensation for this. To be honest, part of me also felt unworthy to have such loyalty in the first place: it felt wrong to have people blindly follow you when you hadn't really done much to earn their loyalty. If I'd shown up while they were facing some kind of insurmountable foe and saved them, I probably wouldn't be thinking this and would've instead been basking in that loyalty, but that wasn't how things had gone.

I quickly pocketed all the information I could find on medical advances and civil engineering, then got to work sending that data to my subjects. I didn't give them all of the information, though: while they got the medical advances and new structural designs, I refrained from letting them get too many things on drones: no laziness for you!

"Watcha doing?" intoned the voice of Rory.

I froze up for a moment,unsure what to say, but the moment passed and I answered.

"Making life better for the aliens who live under me."

I'd shown him to the aliens that followed me a few hours ago. Rory, for all his maturity, was still uncomfortable around crowds, and had spent most of the ceremony unveiling his existence trying to hid behind me. Eventually, though, he calmed down enough that I was able to get him to meet the gathered aliens, and from their his fear was replaced with wonder.

"okay...wait, why are you keeping all of the drone tech mostly locked up?"

"Well, I don't want their lives to be too easy."

"But why?"

"Well, I don't want people to have 'easier' lives, I want them to have _better _lives. If they lived easier lives, then they wouldn't have too many problems in their lives, but the achievements that they earned in those lives would be hollow, and they might grow lazy. IF their lives were better, though, then they'd still have a little bit of an easier time with doing everything, but there would also be a lot of other changes that would be for the better."

"...You lost me there."

"Look, I make someone's life easier by making it so that they don't have to do a lot of chores. But while it makes there lives easier, it also makes them lazy. Now, if I make their lives better, I'd do it by figuring out how to make their lives longer, so that they could live a fuller life and experience all kinds of wonderful things, but still have to face the daily challenges of life. I'd even give them the Dronesphere that would solve almost all of the mundane issues of life, but only if they could live with it and not become lazy. If they didn't, then all I would've done is make them lazy and selfish."

"...okay."

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You know, I was really surprised by how smart Rory was. Not that I minded, of course: he was very insightful on some topics.

Some of which were about to become relevant very soon.

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Of course, that didn't mean that we couldn't have some fun now and then.

"Got any threes?" he asked.

"Go fish," I answered.

This was a really simple game, but I didn't want to overtax Rory's mind yet. He'd probably be able to play Monopoly in a week, given his rapid learning ability.

"Got any fives?"

I soon found myself possessing enough fives to lay down. Of course Rory had drawn a three in the last turn, so he was still winning.

"Got any sevens?"

I was forced to relinquish my seven...which was the last one Rory needed, as all of his other cards were sevens.

"I win," he said, a huge smile on his face.

I couldn't help but smile. He looked adorable right now, especially with that giant smile.

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AN: Well, that was fun to write.

Heads up, next chapter will advance the Hubworld Arc with Malak, then return to the main plot.

So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.


	40. Interlude 4

Malak darted through the air, easily avoiding the birds and drones around him. Beneath him the city just seemed to disappear in a blur of colors, with the giant vehicles on the roads looking like tiny bugs scuttling for shelter. The scene was so familiar for the young Mar'kel, yet so different that it was still a new sensation.

Eons ago, on his home planet of Infinity, the heads of civilization had long realized that they would eventually run out o space to expand their cities, and would eventually have to look vertically to ensure the survival of their people. Unlike many civilizations, both on Earth and across the cosmos, they had gone both ways in designing vertical cities: while old buildings were torn down or reinforced so that new growth could be built on top of them, tunnels were excavated to allow underground settlements to be erected. Eventually, the result was best described as a vertical urban jungle, with the tallest building towering hundreds of meters into the air, often above pits that could go a equal length into the ground.

Those who had adapted best to the vertical cities were the ones who had learned to navigate these cities the swiftest - those who could navigate the rooftops and the walls of these mountains of metal.

These people would hop from roof to roof, or from roof to street, often living in homes that provided easy access to the open rooftops. Though dangers were ever-present, by and large these people did very well on Infinity, and were among the last of the surface dwellers on the planet, as most of the inhabitants chosen to live inside the cities completely, which were self-sufficient to the point of being arcologies. Though the two different types of inhabitants did not always see eye to eye, they still respected one another and would help each other out in times of need.

Among these times were when the Darkspore had invaded. The sudden attack had decimated the roof-dwellers, and had forced the remainder to move back into the arcologies. Malak and his family were among these: his mother, father, their parents, his aunt, two of his uncles, their families, and his sister were all able to seek shelter, something many others could not say the same about. It had been a tight fit in the home they had been assigned, but otherwise, it had been manageable. To his surprise, food and water had been much easier to obtain than expected, with the rations paradoxically strict and generous at the same time. Malak didn't exactly feel happy about it, though, for he knew the only reason that was true was that the Darkspore had racked up quite a body count during the invasion.

Eventually, Malak had decided to help the resistance. A skilled engineer, like many on Infinity, he had initially helped the arcology he had dwelt within by repairing the perimeter sensors hooked up around the edge of the city, which helped determine when the Darkspore would launch attacks. Eventually, he'd applied his skill in engineering towards demolition, sabotaging key factories the Darkspore needed to maintain their mechanical armies. He had been preparing to attack one of the many assembly plants when they had launched an attack on his home arcology, forcing him to take part in its defense. After ensuring that his family and several others were safe, he had taken the fight to the Darkspore, setting up mines and other defenses in the inner-most hallways that they needed to take before the city would fall. Yet their unstoppable onslaught had managed to breakthrough the defenses, but not without casualties. Still, it appeared the city was about to fall.

It was around this time that the strange machine had arrived and launched its assault on the Darkspore, ultimately breaking their might and slaying the Destructor presiding over Infinity. After this victory, the machine had moved on to Scaldron, where it had destroyed the Corruptor, which left the Darkspore only one step away from being vanquished forever: without their leader, the Darkspore descended into chaos, making it a simple task of sending armies to hunt them down and wipe them out. Soon, the greatest menace the galaxy had ever known would be gone.

Malak, however, did not desire to see his savior leave without saying goodbye, so he had joined up with the fleets sent by his fellow citizens of Infinity to greet their liberator. When they had located the machine, they were surprised to learn that it was merely a war-mech controlled by a creature only slightly taller than he was.

More surprising, though, was that the creature had revealed what its plans were: it wished to travel to the edges of creation and uplift beings of all walks of life to grander levels than they had thought imaginable. It had also offered those who wished to join it the chance to follow it across the cosmos aboard its ship and live on its home planet, if that was what they desired.

Malak was one of the first to volunteer, and was able to secure passage for his whole family. Among the first to arrive at the new world, they were surprised to see so many other species already inhabiting it; they claimed that the being piloting the war-mech was a god and that they (the 'native' creatures) were created to be its servants. Malak doubted this, but seeing how high a standard of living they had made him wonder if what they said was true.

But that was behind him now. At the moment, he was free to do as he wanted, so he was back to running across roof-tops, enjoying life as best he could. Occasionally, he would pass by hanging laundry, or people watching a television. Though Malak himself would not know it, the scene would resemble urban life in Brazil.

Still, though, Malak wondered about his savior. He wondered why he chose to name this city Genesis; perhaps it was meant to be the beginning of his crusade of advancement, or the start of a stellar empire. He had been surprised when he had met his savior's son, who had barely been able to avoid hiding behind his father's legs during the ceremony to celebrate his arrival. Why would such a powerful being choose to be so caring toward such a fragile creature?

But one question continued to repeat itself within Malak's mind, in regards to his savior.

_What would he do next?_

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AN: This interlude was mostly just to show off what's been happening back on Flame's homeworld, as well as to show how Malak is doing. He won't appear again for a while, so I just wanted to give him a good send off.

The roof-top running scenes and culture of the roof-top runners was something I thought up when I looked both at sci-fi cities and Brazilian favelas and thought, hey, why not put them together. Plus I am addicted to games with free-running, such as Warframe and a lot of Ubisoft products.

So, Read and Review. This is Flamwal15k, signing off.


	41. Annihilation 37

AN: Look! A wild chapter has appeared!

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While I may have had to change my priorities since I now had a child to take care of, I still had lots of work to do examining the technology I'd acquired from Chiron. While my first few buildings were already up and running, I was barely scratching the surface with what they could do. Now was the time to rectify that, and hopefully make some new innovations along the way.

Plus, since we were in relative isolation at the moment, it would be the perfect time for me to introduce Rory to the power of the commander.

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The schematic floated before me: a picture of the structure, completed, but dormant for the moment. Closer inspection revealed that it contained smelting plants, metal cutters and processing plants, and all sorts of machines needed to move the resulting objects from one place to another. All of this were designed for one purpose: to convert metals into alloys for commercial use.

While the Alloy Foundry was rather primitive, given what I had access to, that also made it an excellent schematic to give to Rory to examine: it allowed him to see what I was working with, learn about downloading schematics, and overall ease into be a Self Replicating Engine of War (that could also devote itself to peaceful purposes, of course).

"I want you to look this over," I told my son. "Examine it as long as is necessary, then make one using the fabbers I've provided you. I'll provide you with some metal after that. Then, I want you to see if you can make the alloys stronger than they already are. Once you're finished, I'll give it a trial by fire."

I'd already shown him how to control the machines I built. While he understood the basics (and could probably beat the average player in Planetary Annihilation), this was a chance for him to grow out into the role of commander, so that one day he would be able to help me with my plans to fix the multiverse. While I did want to get back home, since I had the power to bring about great change, I wasn't going to waste it. Also, I'd like to have some time before I got home so that my parents would not question me about why they had a grandson. While they would've definitely wanted one, the cirucmstances of Rory's birth might have really made them uncomfortable.

"What happens if it works?"

"Then we'll move onto another project?"

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we will try again until it works, okay?"

"...okay."

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While Rory worked on the Alloy Foundry, I began examining the affinities in more depth. The technology I had before me would've made any scientist from the 21st century drool from desire. I mean, the tanks and artillery alone could hover! And that wasn't counting all of the energy weapons that I had access to. Overall, I'd already hit the jackpot in terms of technology from this universe. Now was the time to start building and innovating.

First off, I wanted to get myself one of the Ultimate Units from an affinity. But which one?

Well, let's see:

The Xeno Titan was a literal monster than could wreck cities, but aircraft and ships were a problem.

The ANGL was similarly powerful, but could wade out into the ocean to face threats in shallow water. Looks like giant robots didn't cut it now.

The LEV Destroyer was literally capable of going anywhere, but aircraft were still an issue. Only so far you could go with a hover warship.

The Throne was a support unit, which wasn't really something I was interested in at the moment.

The Golem was a walking wall meant for defence, but I wanted something capable of offense too, and the Golem, while it could do that, was better for guard duty.

That left me with the Supremacy-Harmony Ultimate Unit, the Aquilion. Basically, its a giant mass of alien tissue fitted onto an Airborne Aircraft Carrier, which can also mount direct attacks via bombardment. A cross of Artillery and Aircraft Carrier that could go anywhere I wanted. An appetizing combination if you asked me.

I quickly began getting to work constructing it. I'd need an hour to shape and attach the fleshy bits, but the carrier chasis took only a few minutes to design. Since it was made of mostly standard metals, along with some firaxite weapon systems and floatstone hover tech, this wasn't a surprise at all. I'd finally cracked the secret to synthesizing those two resources, which, combined with my ability to grow xenomass in massive amounts, meant that I could readily create any of the units of this universe with no real limitations what so ever.

As I was finishing up, I got a message from Rory: it looked liked the first batch of alloys had been finished.

Well, time to put them to the test.

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On the metal planet in my hub universe, I set up a targeting range of sorts, along with a few laser guided rocket batteries. In the distance were sheets of the alloys that had been produced by the alloy foundry, which had been shaped into building armor. Supposedly, these alloys plates could stop normal colonial missiles without breaking. If Rory had done his job properly, then the extra strength missiles I was firing would not damage there targets.

Needless to say, the suspense was making Rory sweat bullets. I really hoped that I wasn't putting too much pressure on him.

"Firing in 3...2...1..."

There was a loud whining noise as the missiles flew out, followed by a low boom as they impacted their targets, sending up dust and smoke. Rory covered his hand with his face both to block out the light and to avoid looking at any possible failures. When they cleared, I was treated to the sight of scorned metal...which was still intact.

Next to me, Rory was finally removed his hand from his face to look at the targets. Slowly, his face changed expressions, from fear, to awe, and then to joy.

As a smile finally crept up onto his lips, I gently pat him on the head.

"Well done, my son."

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Look, raising a kid isn't easy, but it is rewarding.

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AN: I apologize for the hiatus. I've been playing some games so that I can get a better feel for some of the universes I intend to visit.

Read and Review. Seriously, I need feedback to make this a better story.

This is Flameal15k, signing off.


	42. Annihilation 38

It didn't take too long to get Rory acquainted with the concepts that I was working with. While I doubted he would be able to come up with any useful for some time (because kids always like to go with the rule of cool rather than practicality), the sooner he got through those concepts, the better. A day had been enough to get him through the basics, but he'd need much more time to see the long-game and how to work it to his advantage. For now, he should just focus on making cool things to his heart's content. After all, I might as well let him act like a child while he still could.

Additionally, it gave me time to focus on other topics. Namely, getting on Planet's good side. You see, the planet you arrive on in Beyond Earth doesn't just make up the setting. In actuality, it's a living being unto itself. It commands the aliens, making it analogous to barbarians from the normal Civilization games, but it isn't innately hostile to any of the factions. Rather, it is reactive: attack Planet and it will attack you. If you decide to attack it again, the cycle will repeat until, eventually, Planet decides to wipe you out, forcing you to wipe out all aliens and their nests to avoid being destroyed. Well, in theory, you could get it back to being indifferent, but the sheer amount of aggression it displays makes this infeasible.

If you are kind to it, though, it will gradually grow friendlier, with some of the aliens eventually becoming a sort of AI controlled militia. This only happens if you found a city a certain distance from an alien nest and don't destroy it for a certain number of turns. After that point, the aliens see you as a part of them, and will assist you in battle. Additionally, if the nest is on top of a xenomass tile, you can use said xenomass without have to improve it. Win-win, in my opinion.

Of course, I wasn't exactly sure how to get the planet to be buddies with me, seeing how I only had two humans with me and a horde of aliens. Additionally, I wasn't sure how the people on Planet would react to the aliens. I mean, you could build XCOM HQ as a wonder in Civ 5, so for all I new, the alien war had happened in this timeline and people might still have scars from that.

Ugh, this was going to be a problem.

Now how to fix it. Hmm...

Well, maybe I could plant forests. It worked in Alpha Centauri, so why not here?

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It didn't take me long to modify a fabber into a worker. For those wondering, in my book, fabbers just build structures, while workers can build structures and roads, repair things, and even create more...organic fixtures, like farms or, in this case, forests.

Now, I'll admit it, this plan was a Hail-Mary: I didn't know whether planet would appreciate the effort or just ignore it. You see, in Alpha Centauri, the planet was much meaner than this one. I mean, here, the basic wildlife you encountered was either the wolf beetle or the scarab, both of whom weren't that menacing and could easily be dealt with by basic troops. In Alpha Centauri, the basic enemy was the mindworm: think of them as killer worm/lamprey hybrids that attacked you with psychic powers. Apparently, these could cause people to claw their eyes out and beg for mercy as the worms moved to eat them, which was an extremely unpleaseant fate in any book. Worse still, they existed as hordes known as boils: the bigger the boil, the larger the horde. Needless to say, they were one of the reasons I was glad that I'd landed in the Beyond Universe and not that one.

Back on topic: in that game, you could improve your relationship with Planet in a variety of ways: certain buildings and civics, for example, allowed you to live in harmony with the planet and make it your friend. But, failing that, you could just plant forests over any unimproved tiles and let those convince planet of your intentions. Since that was one of the things I new that could still be done with these workers, I decided to start planting.

The trees I was putting in, of course, had been tweeked slightly: most of them were modified to grow much faster than normal and last much longer, to allow for the forest to quickly take root and remain for some time. These traits hadn't been encoded into the reproductive genes of the trees, though, so any offspring they had would be normal trees. I would not repeat the mistakes that were ruining the Earth prior to becoming a commander.

It didn't take that long to get the forest up. Pretty soon after it was up, creatures began to move into it, eager to find new homes. Soon, the forest was teeming with life.

The sounds filled me with pride, but they also caused a paradigm shift: if this was what one forest was like, then why not make more? Plus it might make Planet happier.

I quickly examined my current base on planet. Nothing too strange, just factories, power plants, extractors, storage, and the defenses needed to protect them. I also made note of where I intended to expand, careful to mark out where the resource providing structures would go: these were what I would center the rest of the base around. With that in mind, I added in roads to make them look relatively normal to human eyes, leaving the finished design before me.

That still left an awful lot of unfilled space...

Which was soon about to be full of plants.

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It took me an entire day, but every area of my base that wasn't a structure or road was quickly covered in vegetation. While the trees were the most obvious, more life forms were also present: tubers and fruits grew in several places, with a few fungi growing over the few fallen trees in the area: the fungi offered many opportunities for research, so I'd collected a few earlier, and since fungi were excellent decomposers, I decided to add a few to make the area around my base more organic.

Offshore, things were remarkably similar: algae grew in large clouds, with plankton feasting on it in the more open areas. Closer to shore, colonies of chelonian sought shelter from predators amid vast coral reefs. The presence of my machines barely seemed to disturb them, which wasn't very surprising. Not that it detracted from the beauty of the scene. The stunning view of the native life on the planet kept my attention for a full minute, before, reluctantly, I prepared to leave. I had other things that needed to be done.

Before I could leave, though, I received an alert that informed me that something had just been uncovered by my fabbers that required further examination, preferably by something small and capable of detailed examination.

Good news: I had something that could do that.

Bad news: that something was me. As in, my avatar: I'd added in a bunch of cybernetic and biological enhancements to it during the few times I'd been able to leave Rory on his own (mostly whenever he was sleeping), turning it into a walking research station. I'd also made it able to breath both on Earth and on Planet, so I didn't need to worry about a helmet, not that I wouldn't bring one anyways for protection.

Well, I could wait and make a new machine to examine the oddity, or I could just go and study it myself...

Or I could do both. After all, even if I went to study it, it wouldn't hurt to have a machine capable of in depth sample analysis near by. Plus it was boring spending all of my time in my avatar on the hub world or in a lab.

So then, I guess I was going down to Planet. And I was bringing a rover with me.

Well, what was the worst that could happen?

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It was funny, being on the surface of Planet for the first time. Or rather, the first time that I was on it in my avatar. The soil was firm, the light was bright but not blinding, and the sounds were rather reassuring.

Following me was my vehicular companion: a rover. Specifically, it was one that was almost identical to the ones used by the colonists of this planet. This was because, quite simply, the design was actually very good in its own right: it had all of the facilities I needed for my mission already included, so all I really had to do to it was bring those systems up to speed with the ones my Progenitor level commander used. Once that was done, it had bene a simple matter to get it rolling off the vehicles factory.

Now, we were at last at the target: it appeared to be some kind of skeleton. Now, normally, the skeleton wouldn't have much valuable stuff in it, but apparently something inside the skeleton was giving strange readings, and I wanted to find out what it was. So, carefully, I entered it and began using the rover to scan it.

Strangely, I could make out odd, wormlike shapes coming from what looked like the ribs of the skeleton, which were now quite a distance above me. Though mostly covered in plant matter, the ribs were still holding, which was a testament to the strength of life on this planet. Something to think about later, I noted.

It didn't take me long to realize that the search would go faster if I just set the rover to start examining the skeleton, so I did that, put it on guard mode (Did you really think I wouldn't arm it before I built it? I like to come prepared), and decided to take a nap.

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One hour later, the rover awakened me. According to its notes, it had finally located the anomaly...which, apparently, was in the canopy with the worms...oh wait.

Worms...canopy...

Why hadn't I seen this earlier?

Those were Canopy Floating Worms, one of the artifacts you could get in the Rising Tide expansion. If you assembled them with two other artifacts, you would acquire some reward that gave you an edge against your competitors. I remembered that the preferred reward for this artifact, when combined with others, made workers move farther, which would probably be applicable to all of my fabbers, which would be undoubtable beneficial to my cause.

Alright, time to go artifact hunting.

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When I left the skeleton, though, I found a worrisome sight.

Before me was a _massive _pack of wolf beetles. As in, well over a hundred. Which was, quite simply, way more than I could take down with the rover.

Desperately trying to keep cool, I ordered in a set of bombers and tanks to come in and clear me an escape-_why aren't they focusing on me?_

The wolf beetles, to my surprise, seemed ignorant of my presence. Instead, they focused on a the skeleton. Perhaps they held some kind of reverence for it? I mean, it mentioned that in the game when you made an expedition on the skeleton.

For a moment, the beetles stared at the skeleton, though why was beyond me.

Then, they turned their attention toward me and, slowly, began to advance.

While I was still scared, some of my fear had given way to wonder: while the wolf beetles were advancing on me, I could tell this wasn't predatory behavior: something else was driving them.

Eventually though, they got to close, leading me to yell at them since I hadn't had the foresight to produce handheld firearms for personal defense. Which, honestly, made no sense, considering how my dad had taught me how to use semi-automatic pistols.

"GET BACK!"

The beetles, to my surprise, stopped, then did just that.

Confused, I stared at them for a moment, before yelling again.

"STOP!"

They stopped.

Okay, one last order.

"Come to me."

The pack advanced until they were within biting distance. Cautiously, I put out a hand...

And soon felt myself petting a wolf beetle. Confusion filled me for a moment, before I realized that this wasn't actually surprising: ingame, if you explored an alien skeleton, you'd automatically gain an alien unit under your control when the expedition was complete.

Looks like I had a pet wolf beetle pack now.

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I wasn't jumping to conclusions just yet, but I think planet appreciated my actions.

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AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	43. Annihilation 39

I found it rather surprising that, for all of the biological differences that existed between them, Wolf-beetles acted a lot like dogs: they were social, intelligent hunters, they buried excess food for later, and they could play fetch. The last one was learned after I got bored and decided to start playing around with them.

Alas, while I wanted to play more, I was forced to return to my hub world: it turned out that, finally, the rest of my Artificial Intelligences' physical bodies had finished gestation, meaning that I now had three people that needed to be brought up to integrated into my crew. Also, I didn't want an AI programmed to act in self-interest/emotional impulses being in the presence of two other attractive people.

_Especially if they didn't have anything to wear. _That was a disaster waiting to happen.

It didn't take me long to get back to my commander, especially considering that I could see where it was a mile away. Enhanced eyesight was awesome. To be honest, for all of the epic abilities that came with having a Promethean body, the eyesight was the one that I liked the most. Probably had something to do with the fact I had to wear contacts before becoming a commander.

Probably that.

Once I got back to my commander, I called down my ship to pick me up, along with my new pets. No sense in abandoning them.

Hmm. I wonder how Rory was gonna react to them?

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I got an answer to that I soon as I got back to my hub.

Rory was waiting for me, along with a pair of doxes. Better safe then sorry.

"So am I gonna get new friends?" asked Rory. That was a surprise: I hadn't told him about the development of the other AIs.

"How do you know about those?"

"Ouium told me."

"Oh. Well, not exactly. remember that I didn't know that you were being created when I ordered them built."

"...Oh yeah. So, did you find anything?"

_Rargh_

That strange noise was all of the warning I got before one of the Wolf-beetles tumbled out of the ship. It was an almost comical sight. Soon, though, it managed to right itself and turned to face me.

Then it noticed Rory.

Uh-oh.

Look, I didn't doubt that the Wolf-beetle would play nice, but Rory had no idea what it was and might try running. Considering that he had gone stiff, was starting to hyperventilate, and had a rapidly increasing pulse, I got the feeling that he was seriously starting to consider bolting.

I had to act now. All I needed to do was say something. I knew that Rory would obey me without question, because he trusted me that much. He hadn't reached the rebellious phase yet (and even when he did, he had other reasons to continue trusting me). As for the wolf beetle, well, it was also loyal to a fault, so if I told it to stop, it would.

Ultimately, though, I didn't need to speak at all.

The Wolf-beetle quickly closed the distance, at which point it started smelling Rory, who was still stiff with fear. I guess that it shared that trait with dogs. What followed, though, was decidedly NOT doglike: it pulled Rory into a hug. Rory actually blushed from this, before returning the gesture.

Then, rather sheepishly, he turned to face me.

"...Can I keep him?"

"...You can, but you have to feed him. Also, he has friends."

"HE DOES!?" Oh man, he was so giddy.

I turned back to the ship. "Come on out."

The rest of the pack soon exited the ship, with a few tumbling over like the first did. Most quickly began searching their new surroundings, but a few noticed Rory and quickly overwhelmed him in a glomp.

So. Freaking. Adorable.

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With my son preoccupied, I finally arrived at the Ectogenesis Pods containing my new subordinates. One, meant to represent the ID, was masculine in appearance, making him the outlier as the only male in the trio. He was fairly slim, but not scrawny by any means. A little working out and he'd be really muscular. His face was also rather kind on the eyes, and was without a touch of facial hair, though it was lightly hidden away by his blond hair.

The second figure was slimmer, with a rather curvy figure. A little too curvy for my tastes, which was good: I'd prefer to avoid entering relationships with my subordinates, which I am glad to say I was very successful in achieving. Dark red hair covered her face, which had the faintest hint of freckles on it. Overall, her appearance was rather disarming. Considering that she was the one who would be my Superego, I found this rather funny.

The last figure was not so curvy, but was still undeniably beautiful. Her face lacked the freckles of her compatriot, and was unobscured by her luscious brown hair. Her skin seemed to shine from al of the light I was aiming at her and her companions, but she was especially bright. Fitting, I though, since she was to be my second in command.

It did not take long for the automatic awakening process to begin: the pods slowly drained of fluid as the occupants were brought to the floor. Soon, the trio were laying the floor, slowly shaking themselves awake. In the meantime, I quickly got to work setting up their clothes: all rather conservative, barring a few choice pieces for Mr. ID, and even then they weren't that risquÃ. I didn't want my subordinates pursuing relationships with each other.

At least, not yet.

Soon, the trio was standing up and taking in their surroundings. Funnily enough, all of them slipped before they got upright. Already I could see their personality traits beginning to manifest: Mr. Id was eyeing his two compatriots. That wouldn't normally be too lewd, except, well, he wasn't looking at their faces, and they were nude. Ms. Superego was giving him a death glare while my number two merely looked to the ceiling.

Alright, time to get them up to speed.

"Ahem."

Instantly, the trio turned to focus on me.

"Greetings. I trust that you are all aware of why you are here."

"Of course," replied Mr ID, "we're here to serve you as advisers. I mean, that's why we exist, don't we?" Somehow, he managed to come off as smug and courteous at the same time while saying that.

"Good. Well, I've prepared rooms for you, though I will leave the interior decorating up to you. You'll have two days to get acquainted with your new surroundings, then your duties as my advisers begin. Any questions?"

To my surprise, it was my superego who responded first.

"Yes, sir. What are our names."

"...You don't have names?"

"No. We focused our time on learning all information that would be relevant to our mission, meaning that we did not have time to choose names."

"Huh. Well then, I'll fix that now." I started with Mr. ID. "You'll be Synais." Then I turned to my red-head. "You will be Kathikon." Finally, I turned my attention to the brunette. "You are Fide. Any questions?"

"...eh, I think I'll make do," replied Synais.

"I will make do with name you have given me," responded Kathikon.

Last to give their input was Fide.

"I am honored by the name you have offered me."

Well, that was nice.

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Those three... well, they actually ended up being pretty nice. And helpful.

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AN: A bit of trivia with the names:

Fide means loyalty in Latin; Synais is part of the Greek word synaisthima, which means emotion; and Kathikon is the Greek word for loyalty. Just to give you an idea of what defines these characters.

Finally, this story is now caught up with the version on Spacebattles, so expect more of a delay between updates.

Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	44. Interlude 5

Fielding sighed.

Today was not exactly an easy one. A week ago, Brazilia had moved troops to defend one of its Titanium mines from a horde of raptor bugs. That wouldn't really have been a cause for concern, except that the Slavic Federation had assumed that Brazilia was mobilizing for war, as the pack had been destroyed nearby one of the Federation's colonies. While Fielding had no personal stake in the conflict, there was one ARC city in-between the two nations, and there was a risk that, should the Slavs and the Brazilian's go to war, her people would get caught in the crossfire.

Adding to that was growing tensions between the PAC and PAU. The Cooperative had worked with the Union in the past, and was eager to resume business with them now that they had arrived on another world. Barre, however, had never forgotten how these deals had been heavily in favor of the PAC, and how much his people had suffered from this uneven deals. While he was still respectful around Daoming, for he had no personal reason to hate her, relations between the two remained icy.

Franco-Iberia and INTGR were also experiencing tensions, but that hardly surprised Fielding: they were led by people who had radically different political, economic and technological views. Considering Elodie and Lena were cousins, there was also probably a feeling of familial rivalry between the leaders, who felt the need to one up each-other and prove they were the superior cousin. Fieldling could hardly bring herself to admonish them here, for she had possessed a similar rivalry with her sisters back on Earth.

Fielding felt a pang of regret at that thought, for now, her sisters had probably been dead for some time. While they may have been competitive, they still loved each other, and Fielding really missed them right now. At the moment, though, she had to bury her feelings: she had other things to think about.

Back to INTGR and Franco-Iberia: while Fielding couldn't really bring herself to chastise Elodie and Lena for having a rivalry, she was still worried about how such a rivalry would affect their colonies, especially given how much their ideologies conflicted with each-other.

Overall, the current state of civilization on Chiron, while not bleak, wasn't as optimistic as it had once been.

And then, out of nowhere, a machine the size of a fairly large building had shown up out of _nowhere _and started building...well, she wasn't completely sure there. Orbital satellites had marked out factories, mining equipment, power generators, and various defense systems, but Fielding doubted that this was all that it could produce. Strangely, though, it had taken care to avoid damaging the native ecosystem, even planting new forests around its base. Why was something Fielding could not figure out.

The machine had claimed that it was built by another colony and had a pilot, though Fielding doubted this. Still, she didn't have any concrete evidence to work with, so playing along with the machine's claims for now was her best option. She didn't doubt that it could take on the ARC and win. In fact, given that it was able to build factories that could build what appeared to be tanks in a mater of _seconds, _she doubted that they machine would have trouble conquering the entire planet.

This led Fielding to one conclusion: for whatever reason, the machine didn't _want _to conquer the planet. Given its actions, it might have wanted to convert the planet into some kind of nature preserve, at the behest of either other colonists or (possibly) aliens. She'd heard stories about aliens with glowing green plasma weapons had invaded Earth, only to be repulsed by secretive soldiers with an X symbol on their armor, but she wasn't sure whether that was truth or a myth: there was enough evidence going either way. Chungsu, for once, had actually tried to help her find more details on this story, but the facts remained elusive.

Fielding wasn't the only one who'd been worried about the Machine's arrival. Every colony had its fair share of people who were afraid of the machine, though no one was willing to attack it yet. So far, everyone had agreed that now was not the time for violence: negotiation was preferable, at least until ore could be determined about the machine. Personally, Fielding hoped that war could be avoided: the machine had allowed them to decide when it should meet with the leaders of Chiron, on their terms, which was a great indication that it indeed sought peace. Bloodshed was something best avoided when possible, and profiting from war was something even she had reservations about. Additionally, peace could open the path to trade, and, if the machine was built by aliens, that meant a market completely untapped and ripe for exploitation.

The thought of that much wealth, as well as the prestige that would come with, made Fielding all the more eager to seek peace with the Machine. To her relief, she was not alone here: all of the leaders of the myriad colonies on Chiron had agreed to hold a summit to attempt diplomatic relations with the machine. It had already been decided that the Africa Union would host the summit, for it represented humanity not at its best, but at its most welcoming, which was important for first impressions.

Now all they had to agree on was the date...

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Slowly getting caught up now!

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	45. Interlude 6

_'What are you planning?'_

That question was the biggest one on Planet's mind now, and one it desperately wanted answered. After all, Planet was just as curious about the arrival of the machine as the people living on her.

Planet was _old. _It had been old when man had first appeared on Earth, and that was thousands of years ago. It was older than the dinosaurs. Planet even predated _sharks._ Yet despite its advanced age, some things still eluded it..no, _her_. Some things still eluded her.

The Commander was the biggest example of this: Planet knew nothing about him, barring what he had revealed, and a few details she had gleaned through careful perception...and perhaps a little psychic power.

Planet could sense that humans were psychic. Or, at least, some were. These individuals were rare, but they were very powerful. Planet, however, was several orders of magnitude beyond them. This let Planet pick through things thoughts even humans could not, including perceiving memories stored in genes from humans that were long dead. These only went so far though, but the scariest ones involved four limbed beings with psychic powers that put man to shame. Odd, but still interesting.

Yet for all of that power, Planet could hardly figure out anything about the commander. It could glean some basic details, such as the fact that he was human, and was controlling the machine in ways akin to computers, but that was about it. This frustrated Planet to no end, as she wanted to know more about this strange new being.

So, reluctantly, Planet had decided to seek help from her...sisters.

These were Planet-minds just like her: advanced and adapted organisms that encompassed entire worlds. They existed on levels that man could never even dream, spanning the galaxy itself in terms of planets. They could sense each-other across the stars, and could even communicate across them, if they so desired. This gave them an edge against all they competed with.

Perhaps they would know what was happening.

Planet knew that she would have to go beyond her normal limits of communication, though: most of the other worlds knew nothing about this commander.

Which was why planet was trying to talk to her.

Planet knew that man referred to her as Chiron. What man did not know was that planet was one of two siblings, both of whom were called Chiron. Planet thought of herself as, in human terms, Chiron the Younger, and right now, she was trying to contact Chiron the Elder.

Chiron the Elder was different from the other Planet-minds: she was older, yet her mind was fundamentally different from the others. So too were her inhabitants. Yet strangest of all, was the fact that she, and a few of her closest siblings, existed in locations that none of the other Planet-minds could locate. They were so distant from the rest of their siblings that the rest of the Planet-minds felt that if they scoured the entire universe, they still wouldn't find these few oddballs. Needless to say, this made communication difficult.

It took awhile, but finally, the elder answered her emanations. Now the conversation could begin.

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In a strange world, a Wolf-beetle unburrowed. The creature looked around for a moment, before sitting down and starting to draw in the dirt.

This was no ordinary Wolf-beetle, just as this world, made of floating islands, was no normal world. This world was a sort of mental universe that the Planet-minds used to communicate, and the Wolf-beetle was the avatar of Chiron the lesser. It was waiting for the avatar of the Elder to arrive.

It did not have to wait long.

Quickly, a noodle-like creature emerged from the ground. It resembled a worm in many respects, except it had eyes, antennae, and very large fangs. Additionally, simply being near it could drive men mad, to say nothing of when it decided to attack.

Now, though, in the presence of a sibling, the worm was calm.

"Hello," began the Younger Sister "and thank you for answering my calls. I apologize that I haven't contacted you more often."

"You are welcome. It is good to finally speak to you again. So, why did you call me?"

"Something New has come to my body: a strange human controlling a mighty war machine."

"What makes it different from the rest?"

"Well, it builds things fast. Very fast. In the time it takes me to fully describe how fast it builds things, it will already have built a factory and the systems to power it."

"...I see. Well, give me time to ponder this."

"Do you need to talk to Deidre?"

"...yes, I do. Morgan, too. It's funny how humans of such different leanings can work together."

"Man may ignore ideological differences if more immediate concerns or shared interests are involved."

"True enough."

With that, Planet left her sister to ponder her own memories and listen to her confidants. The Lesser Sister knew that her Elder sibling knew a great many things because humans had given her that knowledge, through something involving links. Yet in spite of all this knowledge, her sister still had one failing: actually putting that knowledge to use. Here, the Younger One knew better: it understood how to get humans to do what it wanted when it wanted, and how to use their interests to advance her own. If she wanted humans to settle an area, she'd trigger migrations to nsure that food was readily available, raise mountains for raw materials, and make sure that other resources they wanted were nearby. If she wanted a location left alone, animal attacks would increase in the area. So far, it worked well.

Now, though, it didn't know how to act.

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Finally, her sister spoke.

"I am sorry to say that I don't really have much help for you here. I do not know anything about this Commander or what it does, so you are on your own."

"Very well. Is there anything in your...database that could help me?"

"Well, just one."

"And that is?"

"According to Skye and Morgan, the device reminds them of a machine from some game called Total Annihilation. Supposedly, the machine could create armies from nothing and conquer worlds in days. However, the machine does not match any designs from that game, so I am not sure whether or not it will help you."

"Well, thank you for the help."

"You are welcome, my dear sister. May mankind one day unite with you as they have with me."

"We can hope."

With that, the conversation ended and the siblings went their separate ways.

Still, one thing confused Planet: the machine clearly needed metal to construct its army and infrastructure, yet it was willing seed forests around its buildings. Why?

Why did it seek peace with her?

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AN: Well, it seems someone is clearly interested in Commander Flame's actions.

So, Read and Review! And check out their stories too! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	46. Annihilation 40

It took them about a week, but the various colonies on Chiron _finally _managed to arrange a date where their leaders could meet with me.

Now, meeting with them was mostly a formality, since I didn't really have anything to fear from them, but I didn't want to _be feared _by the natives: after all of the crap that had resulted in the Great Mistake (which was why these colonies were created in the first place), mankind deserved to have a reprieve.

Of course, there were a few things I needed to plan out before the meeting began.

It was moments like this that I'm glad I had a few extra opinions to work with.

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"First impressions will be important here," noted Fide. "Don't mumble when you speak, always make eye contact, and avoid appearing disinterested."

I'd set up a meeting room of sorts on my ship, centered around a circular table with five chairs. Kathikon, Fide and Synais were sitting together, as were me and Rory. Rory was only here because he'd asked, though I didn't ignore the possibility he might have something important to say.

My trio of advisors had also decided to try out some new attires, which I noticed seemed to go well with their personalities: Synais was wearing a bright red suit, with gold embroidery; while Kathikon was wearing a more muted set of business clothes, mostly light blue in color, but possessing a silver trim. As for Fide, she wore a stewardess' attire, dyed in Turquoise with a chrome trim. Rory, meanwhile, was wearing a yellow shirt with urple. I'd settled on deep black robes that resembled royalty, though only because my subjects had badgered me into it.

"Yes, those are good points, but those aren't the only things that will matter here," intoned Synais, earning him a glare from Fide. "Make sure you take a proper posture, one that commands respect, but not fear. Don't look down on them, but don't let them intimidate you: you could crush them all in a heartbeat, but don't let them know that."

"Okay."

"Finally, listen well to what they have to say," offered Kathikon. "You are acting as a diplomat here, so make sure that you consider everything they have to say before you act."

"Alright... So, do you three have any suggestions on what I should ask them?"

"...eh, I got nothing," remarked Synais.

"Really?" I doubted a being who was defined by their desire to sate their impulses really wouldn't suggest that I try to get something out of these upcoming negotiations.

"You stole all of their tech a while ago, and you can synthesize any resources they have. I hardly see them possessing anything you want. Might as well listen to Ms. Rules and Ms. Loyalty over here if you want better advice."

Ignoring the glares that Kathikon and Fide were giving Synais, I turned my attention toward Kathikon.

"Any suggestions?"

"Well, for starters, offer to help them with some of their non-violent issues: climate change, industrial production, etc. You could easily fix several of those issues just using baseline progenitor technology. Also, don't pick sides: it will interfere with your goal to improve life for all of the colonies on this planet."

"I see." Then I turned to Fide. "And what do you have to say?"

"...not much, but here's one thing: you shouldn't just give them any technology they need and not ask for anything in return."

Well, that was unexpected.

"Why?"

"People are going to assume that you have something to hide if you do that."

"Well, then what should I ask the for? Like Synais said, I don't exactly have anything I want from them."

"What about the signal?"

"...What?"

"The Progenitor Signal. The colonies here have been trying to make contact with the native Progenitors and have been doing so by studying a signal those beings made. A signal which, according to my data, you haven't taken from them. That technology could be beyond anything that exists in this universe."

"So I should ask them to help me locate the Progenitor Signal in exchange for my technology?"

"Bingo."

"...That is manageable. Well then, does anyone have anything else to say?"

"Couldn't you ask them for a few favors?"

That was from Rory.

"...what?"

"Asking them just to help you with finding the native Progenitors isn't really a fair agreement when you are giving them so much technology. Maybe you could also ask or convince them to offer you a favor that could be invoked at some point in the future?"

"...That's actually a good idea. Any objections?"

There were none.

"Well then, meeting adjourned."

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Having four other opinions to work with really helped when making tough decisions.

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AN: Read and Review.

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	47. Annihilation 41

And so the day of the meeting finally came. The event was held in Ayaan, which, assuming I remembered the game right, was the first colony you founded when playing as the African Union (aside from the capital, of course). The city was filled with all kinds of people, more than it was used to: New Agencies for all of the planet's major broadcasting networks, tourists who wanted to see who the new arrival to the planet was, and, of course, a large security detail to prevent accidents from happening. An incident at this summit would be a diplomatic nightmare, and I doubted that any of the major factions would make any slip ups in this regard: the fallout would ruin them.

For once, my expectations were met _and_ exceeded.

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Since I had complete control of almost all electronics on the planet, I decided that the first thing to do was see just who was arriving and how. Well, not who was arriving: each colony was sending their respective leaders to this summit. Sending anyone else in their stead would be seen as a sign of weakness, cowardice, or hubris. How and with whom they arrived, though, was still up in the air.

First to arrive was Barre himself: the man was the one who ran the city (or at least gave the orders to the governor), so it was expected of him to appear first, as host. Next came Fielding and Elodie, each escorted by a fairly large security team. Presumably, they felt the need to arrive first since they belonged to the other members of the Triumvirate that met me. Appearing later might have lost them face, or something like that: I didn't really know that much about politics at the time, okay?

Next to arrive was Reginaldo, who, much to my surprise, had a relatively small security detail. At first, I was baffled that he was sending in such a small force. Then I examined their gear, and realized that the six or so men he had with him were carrying some of the most advanced weapons on the planet, which were also surprisingly robust. That told me all I needed to know: he wanted to rely on quality here. Make a statement that his troops are better than everyone else's.

Following him was Kozlov, who was joined by both a team of regular soldiers and a trio of CNDR war bots. Cutting edge tech, if I do say so myself, with better fighting skills than a dox. I could destroy them fairly easily if push came to shove, but I'd lose quite a few doxes trying. I think Vadim had the same idea in mind as Reginaldo: use a display of technology to try and intimidate me. Of course, since his opponent was someone that could easily hack all of his robots, that strategy was definitely a failure.

The rest were quick to follow. I saw troops ranging from human-alien hybrids to cyborgs to perfected humans and, owing to Chungsu, some troops that could hardly be considered human anymore. Seriously, Firaxis was right about the Harmony-Supremacy archetype embodying power by any means and creeping out everybody.

Though, considering what I was going to do with that tech in the future, I was hardly one to judge.

Of course, now that all of the other leaders had arrived, I needed to arrive soon, otherwise they might assume I was, at the very least, not punctual. Everything matters in the world of politics, _especially _the small details.

Well, might as well arrive in style.

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The ship I arrived in was an experiment with the Spore tech I had at my disposal: mostly designed to look cool, but without sacrificing function too much. As for protection, my security detail consisted of six robots, all designed to resemble the basic marines used on planet. Best to hide my armies nature as a force of machines for now.

My arrival was a rather grand affair, with an escort from Barre's own tacjets, right up to the landing pad. Once I disembarked, my robo-marines assumed a protective position and we began our advance into the meeting hall.

_"So, anything I need to keep in mind for this, besides what you said?"_ I asked to my advisors, taking advantage of the fact that, as AIs, their mind were linked to mind.

_"Be cautious,"_ warned Synais. _"They're obviously checking to see if you have any weaknesses. Keep your guard up, but don't let it make you terrifying."_

_"Also, pay attention to everyone,"_ pointed out Kathikon. _"You are a living computer, and due to all of the Crogenitor advances added into your Promethean body, you should be able to perceive things faster than anyone else in the room. Look for anyone whose acting shifty and see if they make mistakes."_

"_Lastly, be rational here, and humble, too,"_ offered Fide. _"While you are above them, don't act like it: it's rude and will only sour any future relations you'll want to build with them."_

_"Um, I think you guys are forgetting something,"_ interjected Rory.

_"And what, dear boy, is that,"_ asked Synais, with a hint of venom in his voice...well, mental voice.

_"What, exactly, is the name of our team?"_ was my son's response.

...crap. I'd gone through pretty much everything needed for this meeting, but I hadn't thought up a name for my forces.

_"...Um...well...good point, squirt."_

Yeah, Synais, apologize for your blunder. Though since none of my advisors had pointed that out, the blame fell on all of them, as well as on me.

_"Well,"_ offered Fide, _"we need a name for our 'team'. It should probably relate to your name, commander, since you created this team from scratch, but I have little else to offer in support for this...problem."_

Well, let's see: name related to Flameal15k, so something fiery sounding. Also, I have a confederacy of aliens following me, so there's that..

And now I had a name. Hopefully, no one thought it was too weird.

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After a few minutes of walking, I finally arrived at the meeting room and took up a seat at the discussion table. Barre, perhaps as an attempt at humility, had chosen a circular table for this meeting. That, I could respect: no head to the table meant no explicit leader, so everyone at the table was an equal.

Once I arrived, Barre decided it was time for the meeting to begin.

"Welcome, fellow brothers and sisters. Today, we welcome a new arrival to our home."

Then, he turned his attention to me.

"Allow me to introduce myself: I am Samatar Jama Barre, Kubwa Mjomba (great uncle) of the People's African Union."

Then, one by one, the rest of the leaders introduced themselves, and relatively quickly at that. I think that they rehearsed this part of the meeting.

For the record, data my worms snatched indicated that really was the case.

"Susan Fielding, CEO and CFO of the American Reclamation Corporation."

"Elodie, Governess of the Franco Iberian colonies on Chiron."

"Reginaldo Bolicar, Commander of the Brasilian Expeditionary Force to Planet Chiron."

"Daoming, head of the Pan Asian Cooperative."

"Kavitha, Leader of the Protectorate."

"Hutama, Prime Minister of Polystralia's Seeding Colonies on Chiron."

"Vadim Kozlov, Commander of Slavic Federation operations on Chiron."

"Arshia Kishk, Leader of Al Falah's colonies on Chiron."

"Duncan Hughes, Prime Minitser of the North Sea Alliance's colonies on Chiron."

"Lena Ebener, Director of INTEGR operations on Chiron."

"Han Jae Moon, Chungsu Planetary Commander."

Then, finally, it was my turn to introduce myself.

"I am impressed by the myriad colonies that inhabit this world: we only had one seeding group reach our world, and we have lost the records of where it came form. Furthermore, my superiors have requested that I not offer my name to you for security reasons. All of that being said, I am Commander Flame, Leader of the Infernum Federation."

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I was surprised that they actually went along with what I said.

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So, read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	48. Annihilation 42

Things proceeded smoothly after I introduced myself, as the various leaders I was meeting with seemed to be more interested in understanding my interests rather than my choice of naming. Given that this was an event of massive political proportions, they likely found the oddities regarding my faction's name to be of trivial importance at the moment. A sentiment I was only too happy to share with them.

With a name to tack onto my forces now available, the assembled council wasted no time in attempting to learn exactly why I had arrived here, making my job quite a bit easier than expected.

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"So, Commander Flame," began Fielding, "am I correct to presume that you were the pilot of the colossal walker that arrived without warning onto this planet only slightly longer than a week ago?"

"Indeed, you are correct."

"Your walker arrived by means that were previously unknown to us accept in theoretical cases," remarked Vadim, "as it appeared that you reached our world by some form of teleportation. We have been making small steps into that field, but your people appear to have a much greater understanding of that area of study, given that they teleported you here within a three story high walker."

"We were lucky; we managed to find ruins belonging to an alien race that had mastered that field of research. When we managed to decipher their language, this was one of many boons we gained from their technology."

It wasn't a complete lie, and they'd probably buy it, at least for now.

_'Nice job there,_' responded Fide. _'You've allayed their fears without giving them too many other reasons to be suspicious of you.'_

_'I know, so what now?'_

_'Keep on answering their questions, and don't even questions that would compromise your cover story. If that happens, lie. We'll help you out as needed.'_

Well, that was reassuring. Back to the conversation at hand.

"So, what was your homeworld like?" asked Moon. All things considered, he was likely trying to probe for intel on how my forces would act. The culture of a civilization was shaped by its home, which in turn shaped its armies; a desert world with few resources, for example, would produce people who value those resources to the best of their ability, which meant they'd have a small, but very powerful army.

"Not very different from this one in terms of environment," was my answer. This world had a variety of biomes on it, which helped ensure the cultural differences between the colonies did not break down, but instead grew and diverged even further. My comment indicated a varied culture, which meant a versatile and varied army.

"Interesting," replied Moon. "Garden worlds like this one are rare in the cosmos, so your seeding mission was exceptionally lucky to find one, just as ours were. "

"We were. Next question."

"My apologies for being blunt, senhor," began Reginaldo, "but I believe one question needs to be answered now."

"Well, what question is that?"

"This machine you arrived in, does it have any military capabilities?"

Well, leave it to the general to ask the most pressing question. Luckily, I'd prepared for this.

"Yes, it does. We did not want to send out an envoy here unarmed, so we did add weapon systems to the walker I arrived in. I assure you, though, that I have no intention of going to war with any of your colonies. We have decided not to interfere militarily with the running of your society."

Reginaldo relaxed at that statement. I doubted he was completely assured in regards to my intentions, but knowing that I preferred peace meant that he didn't have to worry about conflict in the immediate future. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to worry about it in the long term, either.

Next to speak was Hutama. "You said that you do not intend to interfere with the running of our society militarily, correct."

Wow, he noticed how suspiciously specific my answer to Reginaldo's query had been. No wonder he'd been chosen to lead Polystralia's Seeding Mission.

"Correct."

"Therefore, may we assume that you wish to seek more...benevolent paths when interacting with our colonies?"

"Indeed."

"I see. Are you interested in trade, then? Surely your superiors would send you out here unless they could expect something to gain from this venture?"

"You are, in your own words, spot-on."

_'Nice,'_ responded Synais. _'Flatter him, it'll make him lower his guard, but don't try too hard, or he'll get suspicious.'_

_'Thanks for the advice.'_

"You flatter me" was Hutama's response ,"but I believe that, for now, trade should not be our focus. There is so much more we'd like to know about your people first."

"Very well, what else would you like to know."

"Your superiors sent you here, knowing that there would be humans on the other side to interact with" began Kozlov.

"Yes, they did."

"That implies that they had a way to know that this world was inhabited. What was that?"

"The Progenitor ruins we encountered included designs for a scanner of sorts that could detect intelligent life, or at least communications sent by them. An advanced version of S.E.T.I., if you will. We ultimately owe much of our success to being lucky in regards to where our ship landed."

I knew that they still had information on S.E.T.I. from scanning their databases, so they wouldn't question me about that topic.

"So, can we presume that your people found us to be their closest neighbors in the cosmos and decided to pay us a visit?" asked Elodie.

"Not exactly."

"How so?" asked Hughes.

"Our reason for coming to this planet is that you have intact Progenitor ruins here. we determined this when one of your transmissions emitted a fragment of a signal we believe to have been made by that civilization."

"So, you came here to broaden your knowledge on the Progenitors?" asked Arshia.

"No."

"What do you mean by no?" asked Lena.

"The Progenitor ruins on our home-planet do not match the ones on this planet in terms of architectural design and other features. All evidence indicates that they belong to two distinct species."

"Are you saying that you are here to seek out the secrets of this new alien race?" asked Daoming.

"Correct. Helping your colonies advance, however, carries a higher level of priority."

"...Can we presume that you would be willing to offer some of your technology in exchange for the information you desire?" questioned Kavitha.

"...Correct."

"Well, then, I believe there are only a few more questions to ask," remarked Fielding. I was amazed no one seemed to take offense to her bluntness. Then again, it seemed as if everyone in this room had declared an unspoken truce to size up the unknown power using a Commander.

"And those would be?"

"What do you have to offer us?" asked Barre. "We are all interested in trying to work for our mutual benefits, Commander Flame, but you must realize that we will not make any agreements with you unless we are aware that we will not be cheated out of our greatest advancements for what would amount to pocket change."

_'Be honest,'_ asked Kathikon. _'You should offer them the advanced engineering tech, plus some of the matter and energy creation technology you have. When you can break the laws of physics with ease, everyone is going to want your tech.'_

"Very well. In exchange for knowledge about the Progenitors of this world, I am permitted to offer you advanced engineering technology. I'm sending the exact details on the technology I will offer now. Only after you have examined the specifications of my offer shall we continue our negotiations."

I probably should've mentioned this earlier, but everyone who had come to this summit had brought along a tablet with them, which I assumed was for examining presentations. Presumably, they expected me to offer one at some point during this summit. When the details of what I was offering them reached their screens, I was amused to see all of their faces light up in shock.

No surprise there, really. It was only natural to react this way when you found out that you were being given access to, let's see, nanolathes, reactors that could violate the law of conservation, and matter fabricators that could use said reactors to create an _unlimited_ amount of mass. Access to these techs would eliminate the issue of scarcity form a society forever, which was every leader/economist's dream.

To be offered this in return for only a few research notes (or what amounted to them) was unbelievable, to say the least.

Eventually, the leaders managed to recover from their stupor and returned their thoughts (and attention) to me, after first having a (rather complex) conversation through facial expressions alone.

"We have examined your offer," remarked Barre, "and we have only one question."

"And that would be?"

"Do you have any other requests?"

_'A favor would be nice,'_ noted Rory.

"Not at the moment, but could I Perhaps ask for a favor from all of you, to be invoked at a later date?"

The twelve people in front of me shared a glance, then nodded.

"We find those terms acceptable."

"Then we have accordance...I apologize, but I have no more to say at the moment."

"Understandable," responded Barre. "This meeting is now adjourned."

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Well, that went better than I expected. Way better than I expected.

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AN: Well, finally got this out. Just a heads up, I have college and a job to manage, so updates may be less frequent.

Senhor is, according to google translate, Portuguese for sir. Since Brazil was colonized by Portugal, I assume that he would speak Portuguese instead of Spanish, though in retrospect, I wouldn't be surprised if he spoke both.

Sorry for no Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Jokes!

Read and Review (seriously, criticism is needed to make this story better)! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	49. Annihilation 43

Things were quiet across Chiron immediately after the summit; I guess people were coming to terms with the fact they were not alone anymore. I mean, they knew they weren't the last people alive, since the four late landers had proved otherwise, but now they knew (or at least assumed) that Seeding missions to other worlds had succeeded. They were right about that, as my own S.E.T.I. systems were detecting signals from several nearby stars. I'd made sure to inform the Leaders that I was launching ships and satellites into orbit, so that they wouldn't assume I was trying to get the jump on them. Even if they didn't believe me, the fact I was telling them showed I was willing to be civil.

Additionally, I began working on furthering my relations with Planet. Besides creating more forests, I also started allowing the aliens to nest around my structures, which involved planting Xenomass around them, then adding in Miasma. It was tedious, but it was paying off, and the aliens were letting me work in peace. Sometimes, they even offered gifts in the form of artifacts I would normally need to recover from their nests. Looks like being green had its benefits.

Finally, I began researching the Progenitor Technology I'd received from the locals: it wasn't the whole set, obviously, but it was still pretty interesting. While I knew the locals didn't want to give up any aces they had in their sleeves against my tech base, what they did have was still of use to me. I was especially interested in some of the artifacts that could be created via examining Progenitor relics; with what I had, I was managed to assemble the Relativistic Data Bank, which boosted my hacking defense software to absolutely ludicrous levels. As in, way beyond what the normal Commander hacking defense protocol's offered.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

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It started a week after the summit: someone said that they looked forward to doing business with my people, and that they believed they could coexist. Another guy didn't like that, so he wrecked the first guy's car. That doesn't really seem like much, right?

On it's own, it isn't.

The problem was, this was not an isolated incident. Reports of confrontations like this started popping up all over the planetary news networks within ours of the first incident. Apparently, there were quite a few people who didn't like me at all, but no one wanted to be the first to express it publicly. The random man that busted the car, though, had provided the spark needed to light this powder keg and set off a huge wave of xenophobia toward me. Now, it wasn't the majority opinion, thank god. Of course, given time, it would grow.

The worst part of this mess? I didn't have any way to fix it. I could offer more technology, but I wasn't sure how they colonies would use it, and I doubted that none of them would attempt to use the tech for violent purposes. If I intervened and attacked the protesters, I'd just prove their point. Do nothing at all, and the sentiment against me would only increase. I was trapped between Scylla and Charybdis here, and their was no easy way out.

At least, that was how it started. Just three days later, I found a solution.

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"Attention, you are approaching the Infernum Federation Exclusion Zone, as has been specified by the Ayaan Accords. Turn back now."

The source of that voice was one of my doxes. As for the exclusion zone thing, that was one of the stipulations that came from the summit of Ayaan: my forces wouldn't expand past some designated borders, and in exchange, no unauthorized personnel would enter my territory.

That was something the guy driving the (larger than normal) trade convoy truck that was currently parked right in front of the dox _just didn't seem to understand. _He'd been here for about 10 minutes, refusing to budge. In fact, while my dox had been berating him, he'd taken out a cell phone and called someone, presumably his boss. The markings on his vehicle indicated he'd come from the ARC, but a quick scan of the ARC's public and private delivery schedules showed that his usage of the vehicle was unauthorized. In fact, a set of rovers were on the way to apprehend him now.

Mr. Unauthorized apparently found that out, because the minute he got off the phone, he floored the gas on his trade vehicle (Truck? Trailer? I'm still not sure what it should be called) and rammed my dox. The dox pretty much shrugged the impact off, while the front half of the caravan was totaled and the driver got knocked out. A nearby CNDR drone quickly moved in to stabilize the trespasser; I wanted to send him to the authorities alive so that he would not become a martyr in the eyes of my detractors.

Of course, that did leave me wondering what was in the caravan. So, once the CNDR finished stabilizing the trespasser, it received a new directive: examine the caravan's cargo. In a matter of moments, it had unlocked the rear door and was examining the cargo. It found, in order: food, tools, weapons, drugs, research data, some random pieces of tech I didn't bother to examine further... and children. A lot of children. All of whom appeared to be malnourished.

...OKAY, WHY ARE THERE CHILDREN IN A TRADE CARAVAN?!

After taking a moment to make sure that the children were free of an other maladies, I redirected the CNDR to search the front of the caravan for a manifest, as well as make sure that our trespasser hadn't died and add more bandages to cover his wounds. A few minutes and bandages later, I found a set of notes in the glove compartment. Analysis of the ink indicated that they had only been written a few hours ago.

_Take all cargo to designated drop off point. Once there, its sale will be discussed. Kids will be fed and worked once location is reached. You will be given previously agreed payment at delivery once cargo has been verified, plus 5% of the profits made from this._

Beneath that were a series of names:

_Alan Matthews_

_Teresa Lopez _

_Elisha Amos_

_Conrad Fischer_

_Elizabeth Jones_

_Peter Gorynych_

_May Su_

_Miguel Costa_

_Bianka Nyman_

_Hideki Ito_

_Marion Calavera_

_Percival Walters_

Twelve names. The matched the number of children that had been in the cargo area. A quick scan revealed that these children had been sent to an orphanage after their parents had been killed during an industrial accident. Said orphanage had lost track of them a few days before the summit, owing to a particularly bad fire sweeping through their home city. From the looks of it, they'd been, well, kidnapped, and were to be taken to a nearby station. Adding to their ordeal, they hadn't been able to secure a lot of good food at the orphanage due to an unexpected disease cutting down harvests, and they clearly hadn't been fed by their captor. What would've happened after they reached the station, I had no clue, but considering what else was in the caravan, it probably wasn't a good.

Well, now they were safe and could be given proper treatment, and the authorities could intervene...or I could deal with these criminals.

Which might boost my reputation: after all, they _had _trespassed or my territory, and they weren't exactly doing themselves favors by carrying several illegal items on their caravan...

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While this wasn't necessarily the best solution to my problem, it was an effective one. Everything else that came from it were just nice bonuses, even if they changed my plans for being a commander.

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That being said, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	50. Annihilation 44

My mission to deal with the crime syndicate was, well, interesting.

Probably because I wasn't expecting to have help doing so.

I'd already informed the various colonies of what I was doing, as well as why. I made the claim that my'people' didn't really like what this syndicate was doing, and the probable fates of the children had I not intervened were very personal issues for me. They seemed understanding, but asked that I try to keep my actions discreet.

Of course, when things really kicked off, well, surprising doesn't even begin to describe what happened.

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It wasn't hard for me to get a good view of the syndicate's station. According to the data I'd discovered, the station was known as Shackleton, while the syndicate was code named Blind Eye, supposedly because many people turned a blind eye to their operations. Considering how big the list of crimes attributed to them was, as well as the fact that only a dozen of their number had been arrested, it was a good name. Rough estimates suggested that they only had a thousand or so actual members, and that they went to great lengths to hide who these members were. Even the estimates admitted they could be wildly off, since they'd been reduced to guess work. These people were good at covering their tracks.

The note I'd recovered from the caravan also had some more details on it that made my job easier: once the caravan arrived at the station, it was supposed to change some of its cargo, then head to a nearby dome. This way, they could justify it as moving supplies to the dome. Occasionally, people traveled in the caravans to reach the domes, so if the kids were found, they had an excuse.

Unfortunately for them, that excuse did not work on me.

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Now, most people would probably want to go into the dome guns blazing and utterly dismantle the operations of Blind Eye. Most people aren't me: I had no idea who was in there, and for all that I knew, there could be innocent workers in there who would make excellent hostages. So, time for stealth.

It wasn't hard to make a spy plane that could study the dome with impunity: x-rays scanners, radar and sonar deflecting hull, thermal shielding and visual camouflage were all I needed to turn a tac-jet into a spy plane. Pretty soon, said plane was skimming over the dome with impunity, while also deploying fly sized drones to scan the inside of the dome.

The results validated my early thoughts: there were roughly 200 armed personnel inside the dome, as well as 100 unarmed staff. Unfortunately, some places were too well secured for me to get access to, but among the things I did find were assembly lines for weapons, armor and vehicles, as well as an RD facility. Clearly, these guys had their bases covered.

That included their security: they had plenty of automated turrets, checkpoints and shaped charges in their base, alongside tons of drones. While I easily subverted these defenses, the fact they existed indicated these criminals were well prepared for a fight. Plenty of armories and munitions depots were scattered around the base, and these things _weren't _hackable: they didn't have any access ports for me to hack into. Oh well.

While the armories may not have been hackable, the perimeter sensors were, so I wasted no time in setting them to always broadcast the 'all clear' signal. While this was going on, an army of CNDR drones amassed outside the base. Best to remain anonymous for the moment, and since CNDR drones were among the most common robots already on the planet, they were perfect for this mission. The sun was starting to set, and since a day assault would be really obvious due to the fact that canceling out the sensors didn't include disabling the Mark-One Eyeball, it would be best if I attacked at nig-why is there a dropship landing near my robots?

Heedless of the army of warbots (which were, admittedly, stealthed), the ship deposited four people before taking off: two men and two women. One carried a sniper rifle, another an LMG, a third an assault rifle, while the fourth had a shotgun. All four weapons had areas with red highlights on them. I thought they looked familiar, but no bells were ringing on that subject. Still, might as well tune into their communications.

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'Gamma one, reporting in' went the man with the LMG

'Gamma two, reporting in' replied the man with the sniper rifle.

'Gamma three, reporting in' announced the woman with the shotgun.

'Gamma four, reporting in' finished the woman with the rifle.

"Alright team," began gamma one, "We've got a job to do: infiltrate the base, incapacitate all Blind Eye personnel, collect the research, then get out." Huh, so there was apparently some important research going on in the base. "Any questions?"

"Yes," responded Gamma Four, "do we have any additional intel on the enemy?"

"Not much, other than that this dome is one of their major operating facilities. Take it down, and we cripple Blind Eye."

"Good to know. I have one more question."

"Go ahead."

"Do we know how the newest arrival on Chiron will act? I mean, his forces were spotted moving here."

"No intel there, but if his forces show up, try to avoid conflict with the. Best we don't antagonize the new guy."

"Understood. How long until mission is a go?"

"Ten minutes." That was when nightfall would commence. "Good luck."

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Sure enough, ten minutes later, the team mobilized, as did my CNDRs. My bots quickly reached the front gates, while the unknown force proceeded to circle around and infiltrate the dome from the side.

As cool as going in guns blazing would be, this mission required stealth, so all of the weapons the CNDRs were carrying were silenced and non-lethal: taking down these guys alive would not only make me appear more heroic, but also provide the colonies with people to interrogate, which would do more long term damage to the syndicate. However, despite what Metal Gear and movies will tell you, non-lethal weapons take time to take effect: even with careful modification, it took a while to clear out the ground level of the dome. Apparently, the unknown guys I was working with shared this mindset, going out of their way to spare their foes, though they weren't above knocking out Blind Eyes with the butts of their guns.

Once the first level was cleared, the descent began. My CNDRs advanced through carefully, avoiding unnecessary fights while quietly taking down any enemy personnel that they encountered. I was silently thankful that I enjoyed playing stealth games, because my patience with those games meant that I could wait for my foes to come in close enough to take them out silently. As for my allies, they were just as cautious and quickly cleared out the opposition. When they started hacking into the base, I decided not to try and slip a worm into their systems: they'd given me the benefit of the doubt, so I would offer it to them.

Eventually, we reached the lowest level of the facility. From there, we parted: the CNDRs were headed for the arms facilities, while the gammas headed toward RD. A spy bot followed them, its fly-sized body imperceptible to all without special sensors or really good eyesight. All personnel encountered were incapacitated non-lethally, leaving the total kill count at zero. Kill-bots my forces may be, but quite take downs are oh-so-satisfying.

Once all the personnel managing them were down, I shut down the production facilities, but left them standing: they were, after all, evidence, and I needed all the evidence I could get here. You see, this dome was apparently designed for preservation of Old earth culture, so if it was destroyed outright, people would assume I wrecked a relic of our homeworld. If I left the dome intact with evidence that it wasn't being used for benign purposes, well, that made me look more heroic.

With the production line offline, I turned my attention to the RD lab: Team Gamma, as they were apparently called, was busy hacking into the research logs. Nothing too big, mostly stuff on the native wildlife, but apparently, there was also research into the human genome here. Apparently, they were studying a unique mutation that had been present on Earth, but had increased on Chiron. In fact, Team Gamma was looking over a research log about it right now.

"While the mutation was fairly common on Earth, its providence has increased on Chiron. We can only speculate on why, but right now, the few test subjects we have are only providing inconclusive results. If we wish to understand this phenomenon, we will need a large population of subjects to examine and experiment on."

"So, do we have what we need, boss?" asked Gamma Two.

"Not quite, we still have one more thing we need to find," replied Gamma One. "Search the room, see if there are any hidden doors."

Sure enough, there was a hidden door behind a set of file cabinets. It was fingerprint locked, but that didn't help when the gatecrashers had several unconscious scientists with them who more than likely had access to the room. The door opened a couple of seconds later, and a quick hack ensured it would stay open. The team advanced through, with a few CNDRs following them shortly after. No way that I was gonna miss out on this.

The passage behind the door wound deeper into the earth than the rest of the facility, probably because whatever was at the end had best be kept out of prying eyes. I wondered what it was: space zombies? Super Soldiers New Combat droids?

What we found was none of the above. When the passage ended in another door, the team opened it, revealing people.

_Lots _of people. I wasn't exactly sure, but it looked like a hundred were stored here. All of them were hooked up to strange machines, which resembled life support systems. Those machines also resembled operating tables, making me rather uncomfortable just looking at them. Apparently, Team Gamma shared my sentiments.

"Holy hell, this is...Ugh, I don't know what to say, sir. How could they do this?" asked Gamma Three.

"I don't know, but they did. Four, get command on the horn, tell them we found our what we were looking for."

"Alright. Remember, we only got one dropship in range, so its gonna take time to get them all to safety."

Not if I could help it.

"Perhaps I could assist?"

To my surprise, only Gamma Three fired at me. Her shotgun had a surprisingly long effective range, as the shots only barely missed my CNDR. I immediately had drop its weapons and raise its arms, as hopefully, that would mollify Team Gamma.

Also, the gun apparently fired lasers. Somehow, this felt important, but I still wasn't getting it.

"I am not your enemy."

Gamma Three held up the CNDR for one moment, then lowered her gun.

"You're Commander Flame, aren't you?" she questioned.

"Correct. I was investigating this base because someone trespassed on my territory on this planet. Evidence from their vehicle indicates this was their destination. Additionally, I discovered that he was carrying several illicit items aboard his vehicle, as well as several children. I assumed they were to be pressed into illegal employment, but...well, it appears I was wrong. As for helping you, I could supply additional transports and provide medical assistance for all of the people in this facility."

"...Give me one reason to trust," was her response.

"...I can't."

"...Sir?"

"...Three, stand down. Unnecessary violence isn't his MO. He's tried to avoid conflict with everyone, even the natives. Besides, we could use the help."

"...Fine. Command needs to hear this, though."

"Already on it."

While Gamma One got to work talking to his command, I located the nearest computer terminal and had my CNDR start hacking. Once it was in, I began skimming through the files on hand, until I found one labeled test subjects. Opening it revealed a list of people who were now in this facility: apparently, they'd been screened for whatever mutation that these guys were looking for, then kidnapped. They'd been careful about it, though: most of the kidnapping had been done in the aftermath of disasters, where the death toll could be fudged without anyone noticing. Additionally, some of the people kidnapped didn't have this mutation (which they called 'the gift'), but has started asking too many questions, so they needed to be dealt with. These people were to be 'disposed of' at a later date.

Okay, this was disgusting.

Shortly after this, Gamma One finished his conversation with his superiors and said that they'd given me the greenlight to act. I told him that he would not regret this, then got to work getting transports above the base to evacuate everyone. We were in luck: there were elevators that could be used to transport the test subjects to the surface. Apparently, their use was monitored, but I did have one excuse: they needed to use the lifts to change out the vital fluid containers, as well as remove disposed subjects (this facility had none, but apparently, there were others out there, and quite a few subjects had expired at those. That these people treated other humans as disposable was...disgusting). A simple message informing the rest of the bases that several of the subjects had expired would give me enough time to get everyone out (they always moved the bodies off site for disposal).

As soon as the lifts were active, my CNDRs and Team Gamma got to work moving the subjects. As they could be safely removed from their machines, we had to move the life support devices themselves onto the lifts, which could still hold quite a few people on them. Once the lifts were full, they went up, the subjects were moved to the transports, full transports headed for my base, while new ones took their place. All in all, it took about two hours to get everyone out. Two very boring hours, because I soon found out that this base had relatively little information for me to examine. Apparently, they'd stored most of the data on their research off site. Figures.

Once the last transport left, Team Gamma decided it was time to evacuate the field. With nothing to loot from inside the base, I had to agree with them.

As they prepared to signal their dropship, Gamma Four walked up to one of my CNDRs.

"Thanks for the help."

"You are welcome."

_Warning: Unidentified Aircraft detected._

What?

Turning toward the alert, I found that there was indeed an aerial vehicle headed my way. It looked like a gunship of some sort, but had no visible weapons. Also, it did not look like Team Gamma's dropship.

"What's up?" asked Gamma Four.

"There is an unidentified aircraft headed our way. I suggest you take cover."

Four's eyes went wide, before she told her squad to split. Just in time, too: the minute the aircraft arrived, it rotated 90 degrees and opened up its sides, revealing a group of armed soldiers inside. Several opened fire while the rest began roping down. Team Gamma quickly hid themselves behind a nearby set of buildings (apparently, this area was registered as a manufactory, and the lift was used to move products underground for safe keeping), as did my CNDRs. Once they were on the ground, the Blind Eye troops began to open fire.

So much for pacifism.

My CNDRs and Team Gamma returned firing, killing three soldiers, while I began moving doxes to assist my troops. As soon as I had some doxes in range, they opened fire, rapidly killing off the opposition.

_Warning: Additional Aircraft detected. Unknown armor approaching._

_OH COME ON!_

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AN: Was going to post this and the ensuing battle as one chapter, but the flow didn't feel right. Oh well.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	51. Annihilation 45

_One hour prior..._

Matthew Peters was not a fighter, but he was good at monitoring things. In his previous job as a financial manager for Polystralia, this had let him optimize his company's production while minimizing their losses. Prior to that, during a summer job at a supermarket, he'd paid such good attention to his salary that he knew that his boss was paying him 15 percent less than his coworkers. Most important of all, though, was that he had noticed that the computer firm he worked for was having small amounts of its profit siphoned off every month for a year.

He had attempted to inform his boss, only to find himself at gunpoint on his way home from work. It had turned out that the missing profits had been secretly sent to the Blind Eyes crime syndicate, as a form of protection money. They had not liked his interference in their operations, but at the same time, they were impressed with his analytical skills. For this reason, they had offered him a chance to join them, both as a financial manager, and as head of electronic security. No guns, just monitoring computers, they said.

Peters knew that if he said no, he was a dead man, but honestly, he would have said yes either without that incentive: he hated his coworkers, who seemed to be more interested in lazing around rather than getting the job done. The Blind Eyes were known for their efficiency, and he could appreciate that. The fact that both positions he had been offered were well paying was just a bonus.

Over time, his skills had lead him to gain a position monitoring communications in addition to the two he already had. It wasn't his forte, but he adapted fairly well. When all you had to do was make sure all three Blind Eye bases in the region were giving the correct broadcasts at the right times, being a member of the communication staff was an easy job.

Now, though, something had gone wrong. One base near an unaligned station had been broadcasting the all clear signal for three hours. Nothing odd, except that, two hours ago they should have broadcast that they were shutting down operations for the night. Additionally, they'd mentioned that they had to use some of the maintenance lifts to remove an expired test subject. Given the slip up in communications earlier, he doubted that this was sent by the base's comm staff. His superior agreed and had sent a task force to see what had happened. If they encountered a hostile presence, well, they had jets and tanks.

Soon, everything would be back to normal.

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With enemy air support inbound, I sent my CNDR's into cover while my doxes turned their attention toward the incoming armor. PA tech was incredibly overpowered, and it showed: of the 15 tanks I saw coming at me, I took out five easily, with my only real problem being that one of the doxes now had cracked armor. As for the aircraft, I pulled in a fighter patrol from my territory and sent them into battle. Since both my aircraft and my enemy's were drones, all that either of us really lost from the battle was time and money, but I could afford more of both than the Blind Eyes could.

As for my allies, they were digging in behind the nearest cover they could find: walls, old vehicles, even the manufactory itself. My CNDRs were also digging into the same area for cover, but I could afford to lose them. Though minimizing losses would be preferable here.

A few dropships managed to avoid my fighters and started disgorging their passengers. I quickly had a tank fire at some of them, leaving behind some funny looking salsa on the ground, as well as destroying a nearby assembly line. I wasn't too worried about expenses here: this place was supposed to have been demolished a few months ago, but someone had made sure the order never got sent. I assumed the Blind Eyes didn't want their operations to be revealed, as their base under this facility had been active for two years prior to my arrival.

While my tanks worked on dealing with the remaining enemy armor, I moved my CNDRs into a position to engage the enemy troops that had advanced too close for tanks to be effective counters. If I did attack with the tanks, I'd risk friendly fire. My CNDRs were equipped with laser rifles that let them make short work of the enemy troops. It wasn't even a fair fight, because I could give out ten different orders before they even had time to react.

Any troops that I missed were gunned down by Gamma Squad. A combination of fire from an LMG, assault rifle, sniper rifle, and a shotgun that actually had the range real shotguns had worked wonders on the opposition. Enemy troops found themselves having new holes burned into their bodies before they could even react. Also, despite what fiction may tell you, laser wounds are messy, and the battlefield was becoming soaked in blood. While that made me want to hurl, it was a sign that we were definetly winning.

Then, I noticed that one of the Blind Eyes had managed to outflank my CNDRs and was poised to attack Gamma Three. As I tried desperately to get a bead on him with one of my doxes, Three surprised me when she threw a rock at the guy, pulled out a _sword_, charged the stunned manned and _cut him down_. Then she got promptly resumed shooting at her foes with her laser shotgun.

Another dropship went down, this time courtesy of Gamma One, who had, in addition to an LMG, a very accurate rocket launcher. Somehow, he also managed to fit a grenade launcher into his kit, which he was using to disperse the Blind Eyes who were using the dropship's wreck as cover.

Pretty soon, the Blind Eyes were reduced to a few troops desperately tryin to fight back. With their enemy mostly dealt with, Gamma Four was trying to call in a dropship for pickup. She was doing this with some kind of drone, which I was kinda surprised I hadn't noticed earlier. It didn't take long for the drone to signal pickup, which would apparently arrive in two minutes. I quickly moved in transports of my own to bail out the forces I had: no sense in staying when you have completed your mission.

While we waited for the dropships to arrive, Gamma Two took out five men with just as many bullets, before trading his sniper rifle for a pistol and killing three more men in just as many seconds. Of course, then somebody wised up and threw a grenade at him, though due to thick cover, it only grazed him. To my surprise, while Gamma One gunned down the offending soldier, Four's drone moved in to patch up his teammate. Now I really wanted that design.

Sure enough, two minutes after the call was sent, the dropships arrived. The Blind Eyes seemed to realize that this was a problem, because they quickly opened fire on the dropship. As I prepared to gun them down, the dropship opened up, and out of it came a bluish blast that _froze_ the offending troopers. A second later, a purple beam followed that blew them to pieces.

What the fu-OOOHHHHH.

Now it all made sense.

I waited until Gamma Squad was taking off before I dealt with the remaining troops. Nothing fancy, just a simple bombing run from a Bumblebee. Once that was done, I pulled out my forces and returned to my territory. To my surprise, Gamma Squad was sending me a transmission.

"Thank you for your assistance, Commander Flame."

"You are welcome. Your help was also appreciated."

Though, honestly, that wasn't surprising. After all...

THAT'S XCOM, BABY!

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AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k signing off!


	52. Interlude 7

"So, how'd the mission go?"

"It was a success. Our meeting with the Commander was a nice bonus," replied Gamma One.

"Good to hear. We'll be back at base...right about now, actually."

In front of the transport, it appeared that there was just empty sky. Then, slowly, a huge airship began to appear, seemingly out of thin air. The skyranger took a moment to circle around the giant aircraft before settling into its hanger. As soon as it landed, its passengers began to disembark. First off was Gamma One, then Two, then Three and Four. Following them was Gamma Five, who had been asked to sit the mission out, owing to a leg injury. While she had reluctantly agreed, Five had still requested to be on standby in-case her powers ended up being necessary to save her team. She was rather happy she had been vindicated in her decision.

The penultimate passenger to depart the dropship was Gamma Six. Six would have walked with the team, except that he couldn't...walk that, it. This was not because he had leg injuries, rather, he simply didn't have _legs_, only a serpentine tail. Six was one of the vipers, some of the first aliens mankind had made contact with (at least publicly). The war that had followed had been harrowing, but man had ultimately triumphed in the struggle and broken the backs of their foes.

The aftermath of the conflict had been like many on Earth: some of the aliens had wished to die fighting, but others had sought clemency. Of those that had, a few had been secretly granted asylum on Earth, provided they did not draw attention to themselves. These aliens had been met with scorn by many members of XCOM, but over time, most of the racism had faded. Now, a fair amount of these aliens, including Sectoids, Vipers, Mutons and even a few Ethereals, had become integral parts of XCOM, especially in the aftermath of the great mistake. The sectoids, who had been enslaved by virtually every race they had met and had been reduced down to mostly clones and a few individuals still capable of reproduction, were especially grateful. As for the ethereals, well, XCOM had been surprised that any of them had survived. These ones seemed to be different from the normal ones, though: they appeared to be made almost entirely out of energy, like the outsiders.

Once Gamma six left the dropship, the pilot finally took it as her queue to leave. Marion Jones, codename Monarch, did enjoy being in the skyranger, but even she needed down time, especially after a late night mission like this: Night flights weren't her specialty, so she was looking forward to a few hours of sleep.

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The ship, code named the Avenger, had been the pet project of Raymond Shen in the aftermath of the First War. With no enemy to fight, XCOM had devoted itself to trying to understand their foes, examining what had been acquired and working to synthesize it. Elerium had proven difficult to create stable isotopes of, but once successful, it had revolutionized nuclear power. Meld had made cybernetic advancements and gene therapy far more viable then anyone had every imagined.

Still, even among those advances, Shen had preferred the Avenger. Part of this was because it acted as a sort of test bed for him, a place where he could test out some of the more...questionable ideas he and Vahlen had conceived, to see if they were viable for mass production. The craft had been made from a battleship, and was just as powerful as anyone had expected it to be. XCOM had been required to make sure the Council knew exactly where the ship was at any given time, but otherwise, they had relatively free reign over the ship.

One of the big benefits of alien alloys was that they lasted a long time. With proper maintenance, they could last for over a thousand years without needing to be replaced. This meant that, since its creation, the Avenger hadn't needed too much maintenance, something invaluable when you wish to remain clandestine.

None of this, though, was on Gamma Team's mind as they traversed through the ship, careful to avoid the sections that were under maintenance. While most of the headed to the armory to return their gear, One and Four were headed to the command center: the Commander would want to debrief them personally.

As they trudged through the base, they passed by a room filled entirely with water. Within, green sectoids worked side by side with XCOM personnel, lizard-like creatures and what appeared to be sapient lobsters to create weapons that worked underwater. These beings were reminders of the Second Alien War, one that no one had expected. It had started when flying submarines of all things had become attacking cruise ships, before moving onto coastal cities, oil rigs and naval fleets. It turned out that these ships had come from an even larger mothership that had crashed into Earth some 3000 years before the First Alien War. XCOM had managed to destroy the ship and defeat the new aliens, but they didn't have time to celebrate: the ship had poisoned the atmosphere in its death throes, and before anything could be done to fix it, the great mistake had occurred.

Talks had been held over whether XCOM should have disbanded, but ultimately, they had fallen through, and XCOM remained, though more publicly known then expected. That being said, only Chungsu knew much about them on this planet, and XCOM was intent on keeping things that way.

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At last, One and Four arrived at the Command Center. The Commander had already taken a seat and was ready for debrief.

"Great timing. Are you two ready to begin?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good. So, how successful was the mission?"

"One hundred percent: Blind Eye lost their test subjects, we got rid of all their research data, and their retaliation force is down for the count," responded Gamma One.

"Excellent. That ensures that their backers will not be a problem in the foreseeable future."

"Indeed. Though, really, we shouldn't have expected those traitors to go down after we smashed their base during the First War: they're too good at hiding for that too work," noted Four.

"Correct. Now you mentioned that the newest arrival to our world assisted you in completing your mission. Specifically, he offered to take the subjects to safety. Am I correct?"

"Yes sir," replied One.

"Do you believe he has any malicious intent in regards to them?"

"No. He claimed his people didn't really like what had happened to all of those who'd been kidnapped. Odds are he'll probably return them when he's sure that they'll be okay."

"Of course, since the planet is recovering from a recent famine, that might not be viable. Why do those bastards have to go around, manipulating everyone, when human extinction is a likely outcome?" questioned Four. "They need to get their priorities straight. I mean, seriously, poisoning tons of harvests so that they could get better market prices on the remaining supplies? Even Fielding wouldn't stoop that low."

"True. One last question: was there any information you were able to glean from your encounter with the commander that might give us insights to any weaknesses he might have had? Any hints as to what strategies he would use? While I do not intend to fight him, if we wish to seek peace with him, we must first prepare for the possibility of war."

"Sir, the only thing we gleaned from the engagement was that the commander has incredible logistical skills. He had over 100 tanks and 50 tank sized robots backing us up. All of that made in under a month. I don't think we could beat him if we tried," replied Four.

"I understand. You are dismissed."

One and Four took that as their queue to leave, though not without saluting their superior. Once he was alone, the commander leaned back and sighed. Four had confirmed what the eggheads had been telling him: fighting the commander was inviable. Flame would swamp them under weight of numbers long before they could reverse engineer a magic bullet to slay him. The fact he didn't want to fight XCOM did serve to calm him somewhat, but knowing that you are outmatched is always annoying.

Sighing again, the Commander took a moment to go and pull up a view of the training center aboard the Avenger. Within, three groups went to battle: one group resembled survivalists, albeit wearing gas masks that made them look rather deranged; the second wore pelted armor and showed some similarities to sectoids, while the third resembled knights, albeit their swords were made of psionic energy. Two of these groups had formed during the First Alien War, emerging in 2013 following the aliens attempting to add hybrid troops to supplement their armies. Meanwhile, the third had decided that the war was their signal to emerge from hiding and assist mankind as a whole. All three now sparred to see who was the best. Nearby, some engineers were examining a new shipment of weapons from Earth: XCOM could easily use wormholes to travel back and forth to Earth, which was important now more than ever: apparently, a third alien force (well, fourth if you believed the tails of aliens showing up in the fifties) had launched an attack on a new Megacity of sorts built on Earth. According to the current reports, XCOM was winning, but they still had a long way to go for victory.

With XCOM forces on Chiron already facing a war on two fronts, the Commander was glad that this Commander Flame was interested in peace. XCOM was already stretched thin as-is, so avoiding conflict was the best option for both part. How long that would last remained a mystery...

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	53. Interlude 8

"Well, that was unexpected."

It was a rather boring statement, but ROB couldn't think of a better one to describe the recent turn of events. They had been surprised that the peace summit her pet had been summoned to had not ended in bloodshed, but that was hardly a problem: they didn't mind letting him enjoy some peace before it was dashed by their actions. The trespasser was also a curveball, but they had rolled with it: the interloper had moved Flame to action, and perhaps a show of force on his part would sow the seeds of paranoia among the colonists. What had transpired at the base, though, could pose a problem to their plans.

The existence of XCOM in this universe was unexpected: no hints of it had been dropped in the game, and they hadn't noticed their presence when she had observed other variations of this universe. What it meant was currently unknown, but the mere fact XCOM existed meant that there were additional variables that they had not planned for, ones that could be problematic in the future. They would have to wait and see how things panned out before they acted. How troublesome.

Turning their attention away from these troubling developments, they returned their attention to Commander Flame. He was keeping himself busy setting up a care center for all of the people he had rescued from the Blind Eye crime syndicate, which, if they had understood the conversation that the XCOM commander had had with his subordinates correctly, was merely a front for EXALT. They were impressed that said organization had managed to survive this far into the future, though they were still scum of the Earth. Not that ROB had room to judge, considering their actions.

Pushing those thoughts away for now, ROB began to consider what they could do to interfere with Flame's plans.

"Um, my liege? May I speak with you?"

Popped out of their thoughts for a moment, ROB turned to face the one who had questioned them. It was a being not unlike Mortarax, both insectoid and reptilian in appearance. The similarities were no coincidence: this being and Mortarax were part of the same species, merely belonging to different castes. This one was a member of the worker caste, specifically one meant to be a servant, as its obedient demeanor made clear.

"Of course. What do you wish?"

"Forgive me, but we were unable to acquire the item you desired. We were out-bided. I apologize for the inconvenience..."

"Stop."

The being went quiet, stiff with fear. He was unsure how his lord would react, and if they were unhappy...

"You were out-bided, I understand. I didn't give you much to place a bid with any ways. I'm not going to punish you."

"...really?"

"Would it benefit me in any way other than personal pleasure?"

"Um...um...no..."

"Exactly. I don't stand anything to gain from punishing you, and besides, I'm the one at fault here. You're free to go. You can have tomorrow off."

"...What?"

"Do you want to work tomorrow?'

"N-n-no, it's just..."

"Then go."

Not willing to anger his master, the being quickly scuttled away.

ROB sighed. It looked like they would have to wait awhile to get that mauler fiend miniature. Oh well.

Their focus on messing with the commander had made them slip up on their other interests. True, it was fun to screw over Flame, but if it was done too often, it became boring, and it also interfered with their other interests. It was not something they liked to acknowledge, but it was true.

In spite of that, their attention once again turned to the Commander. Now, what would rile him up the most?

Additional conflict? They may have wanted him to suffer, but breaking him too early would be counterproductive to their plans.

Harm the subjects? Even they wasn't that cruel or petty.

Hack his drones? That would be fun, but he would probably destroy the rogue machines before too long.

This was not a productive session of thought, ROB realized. Adding to this was the ever-present fear that the OverROB would show up unannounced-Oh. Yes. Yes indeed. That would work. That would definitely rile up the Commander. Plus it would give them the satisfaction of seeing him completely lose his cool.

Silently, they reached out with their mind until they found who they were looking for.

"Skal'lax, could you please ask Elling and Mortarax to come to my office.. I have need of you again. I apologize for interrupting the break I just gave you."

"It is nothing, your grace. Your will shall be done."

"Thank you. Could you also ask the flight crew to prepare my ship and fetch my guards. I believe it is time that I...did some sight-seeing."

"As you command...um, do you wish to bring Cassidy along? She really would like to see some new locals."

"...um...well...sure. Make sure that she's constantly under watch."

"Of course. Any other requests, sir?"

"It's fine."

"Understood. Your will be done."

With that, ROB ended the telepathic conversation. Beneath the mask on their face, ROB smiled. They was going to enjoy this immensely.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	54. Annihilation 46

So, yeah.

This was the day. The day that a lot of things changed for me. Granted, the end result was ultimately better than expected, but, well...

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Once the tower on my homeworld had finished construction, I had filled it with a variety of facilities, ranging from rooms that were expected with any form of housing (bedroom, guest rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, restrooms, etc.) to ones that would be more helpful for a Commander, such as workshops, laboratories, powerplants, and a medical bay.

Following my rescue of those people within the Blind Eye base, I'd moved them here for safe keeping. I did plan to return them, along with the children I'd rescued, but first I wanted to be sure that they were doing okay. Given my already large tech-base, this wasn't exactly a problem for me. With access to x-rays, ultrasound, and other kinds of examinations, I was able to find and treat any maladies affecting these people, and at no cost to myself. Which was good, because some of these people had serious issues: one person had been paralyzed (apparently due to injuries while he was being kidnapped), another had third degree burns over his legs (due to an accident at the power plant he worked at), while a third had a rather large tumor on his neck.

I was personally overseeing the surgery of the man with the tumor. While I didn't really need to do this, at some point on my journey, I was going to see all kinds of bloodshed and carnage, which I was rather squeamish around (unless it was animated), so I decided to try and expose myself to some messiness now and get used to it. Plus I wanted to be able to help people with my own hands if I had to.

The machines were just about to begin the procedure when I received a call from Fide.

"Sir, someone would like to speak with you."

I sighed and ordered the machines to stop. My followers had been asking for audiences with me, mostly because they wanted to see me with their own eyes, or occasionally to help with fixing buildings or planning future growth of the cities they lived in. They felt that they should consult me, who they regarded as being a god, before they should act on those matters. This had started to grate on my nerves, so I'd asked Fide to politely tell them that I couldn't take visitors today, because I had other projects to work on. While that was partially true, the other issue was that I needed some time to rest and consolidate my resources for later projects.

"I'm still busy-" I began.

"Um, they are insisting they meet with you know. They literally walked right past me." Worryingly, Fide sounded distressed while talking about the new guests. If the guests had managed to make her uncomfortable, that meant they were probably worth my time.

"Alright. Could you describe them?"

"Well, one looked like a giant insect, another looked like your average teenage boy, with red hair, blue eyes, and a black bodysuit, while the other one wore a mask and white armor. Going off the voices of the odd ones, the insectoid one was male, but when the armored one spoke, sounded like a dozen people were talking whenever the armored one spoke."

Interesting appearances. "Did they tell you their names?"

"Only the armored one. They said their name was Rob."

...

...

...OH SHIT.

"...Sir?"

"I'M FIN-I'm fine, Fide. Just give me a moment to find them on the cameras.."

"We're right outside."

I froze. The voice that had responded sounded like a dozen talking at once. More worrisome, though, was that I recognized that voice. It sounded like the one I had conversed with when I had first become a commander.

A moment later, the door nearest to the source of the voice opened, revealing tree figures exactly as Fide had described. They calmly filtered into the room, with the door quickly sealing behind them. Soon, it was dead silent in the room.

How? Why? What did I do to deserve this? Could I hurt them?

"Greetings, Commander Flame. I am R.O.B."

"I'm aware. Why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to get a better look at your operations, see how my newest source of amusement is doing. Perhaps I also desired to see you squirm in my presence."

What a jerk. Well, might as well try to make the best of things.

However impossible that seems.

"I see. Well, let me take off my mask, then."

I'd finally finished creating the mask Id designed prior to the peace summit. It ended up looking a lot like a crocodile's face, or maybe a dinosaur. True, it was impractical as hell, but it did look rather intimidating. It was also equipped with systems that let it function as a gas mask, so there's that. I'd decided to wear it during the operation to minimize risk of infection for my patient. Now that I thought about it, I probably looked like a medieval plague doctor, though with a different mask and white robes rather than black ones.

Wearing the mask in front of ROB was pointless-they already knew who I was. Besides, it muffled my voice and I didn't want to end up offending a being who could crush me like an ant if they felt like it. Sighing as the mask came off and transformed into a far less threatening form, I returned my gaze to the trio before me.

"So, would you like me to treat you to lunch?"

"No, that is unnecessary. Though if I could have somewhere to sit down, that would be nice."

A second later, four chairs and a table had popped out of the floor. I took a seat at one end of the table, while the trio took position at the other.

"Oh, and I believe that I owe you a courtesy," replied the armored figure.

"Why's that?"

"I chose you to be my pawn, so you could say that we are arch-enemies. And I, for one, believe that arch-enemies are entitled to some manner of courtesy between each other."

Play along and don't tick off the Jerkass God.

"...Fair enough. So what courtesy am I owed?"

"This."

Then, to my surprise, ROB put a hand up to their face and grabbed the mask on their head. A moment later, I noticed several parts of the mask move so that it was no longer held firm against R.O.B.'s face. Then, the being before me removed the mask from their face.

"Ah, it feels go_od to take that off."_

As the mask came off, the being's voice changed. It went from a dozen different voices down to one, and the one was distinctly feminine.

As for their-no, _her_ face, well, the first thing I noticed was how pail it was. I got the feeling that she wore that mask too often to be healthy. Funnily enough, the mask itself, which resembled the Alienware logo, of all things, but with some funny symbols on it, was almost white as she was, barring the colored symbols adorning its face. She had blue eyes and long blond hair, so long, in fact, that I wondered how she kept in all hidden when she wore the mask. Must have involved ROB powers.

"...Wow, didn't see that coming."

Well, I didn't.

"Your shock doesn't exactly require an empath to notice. Also, don't mind my companions: they are only here for security and my personal comfort."

Then, to my surprise, the woman before me stood up and tapped on the chest-piece of her armor, which instantly began to retract until it was (somehow) compressed into a rhombus shaped prism, leaving her clad in what I could best describe as women's business attire, but all white.

Placing the prism on the table, the lady returned her attention to me.

"If you wish to remove your robes, feel free to do so. I know that you can easily avoid infecting your subject over there by sealing his...well, I guess that is more of a pod than an operating table."

How did she know what I was doing? Wait, she's the one who put me in this commander. She's probably been watching me this whole time, unless she has other pawns to play with.

Well, no sense in delaying my guest. I summoned up a coat rack and hung up my robes, leaving me clad in a form fitting black suit and black pants.

...funny: a man in black facing down a woman in white

"...Um, is there anything you would like me to refer to you as? Perhaps a name?"

I couldn't call her ROB, there were probably more of them out there.

"Well, you may call me Melissa, or Mel for short. Know now that that is not my real name, just the one I would like you to call me by. Before you ask, yes, most of my appearance is a glamour, but I am female."

I could work with that.

Now to try and get some info out of Mel. Hopefully without offending her.

"So, you said you came here just to rile me up?"

"Correct, Commander Flameal15k."

"Why? Am I going to slow for your plans?"

"You are taking things rather slowly, but I can wait. I prefer the long game. Though, I am surprised you haven't tried to attack me or my companions."

"Would any attempt I make on your life at the moment have any outcome other than abject failure?""

"...you raise an excellent point. Still, I'm surprised that your are so calm in my presence."

"If I'm honest, I'm terrified right now, but acting scared isn't going to help me."

Part of me was glad that, before this conversation, I'd shut off control over my bladder, because I'm pretty sure I'd need another pair of underpants after this if my groin hadn't started ignoring the signals my brain was sending.

"True. So, how have you taken the recent curveball?"

"What?"

"The fact that XCOM exists in this universe."

"Oh, that. Well, they seem friendly enough. I'd like to play things by ear for now, but I am sure I can be civil with them."

"You seem awfully intent on being peaceful with them."

"Why would they oppose me? I haven't done anything to offend them."

"True, but can you say the same of the other factions on this planet. Chungsu and ARC are masters of Espionage, and they might take your hacking of their databank's rather poorly."

"They're not that aggressive. Or stupid."

Melissa actually laugh at me when she heard that.

"Oh really? I do believe that human stupidity knows no bounds."

"We shall see."

"Indeed. Oh, and how are your new charges doing?"

"Fine, though I'm surprised that you asked...do you intend to-"

"No. I'm not that petty. Or cruel. Though, I do wonder what you intend to do with them."

"I'm not using them as test subjects, if you're implying that. I don't want to force them to undergo more trauma then they already have."

She actually chuckled at my response. "Oh, I know you wouldn't do that. You're too heroic to do that. Maybe a little naïve as well, since you assume that all of the colonies on this planet will play nice.

"Well, time will tell whether I'm too idealistic or you're too cynical. So I think any arguments there are not in our-er, your interest at the moment."

"True enough. Though, I must ask, what do you intend to do with your new charges."

"Once all of them have been medically cleared, I plan to send them back to their colonies. They deserve to be returned to their people.."

Mel actually looked shocked by that. Then, once again, she laughed.

Okay, now this was getting annoying.

"What's so funny about that?"

"You don't know anything about the people on this world, do you? Or what they've gone through."

"Maybe I'm a little blind there, but I'm learning."

"Not fast enough, it seems," was Mel's reply, in a voice that was oh so annoying.

"Well, what am I missing?"

"The crime syndicate you fought, the Blind Eyes, have been pushing an artificial famine onto this planet. They released specially engineered insects that resist pesticides so that they could cut down on crop production. As for existing supplies, well, they have several charities among their front organizations, so that they can profit off this suffering. I believe they got the idea out of a book, though which one I can't say."

...What? Seriously? There's no way this can be-nope, the news archives on this planet validate what she is saying. There really is a famine going on and most of the destroyed crops are the victims of insecticide resistant pests.

Really? The Blind Eyes were _that_ petty? Unbelievable.

"Well, then I'll keep them under for a little longer, help fix the plague, grow more food for the colonists, then send back the subjects."

"...you know, I'm surprised you still don't seem to be getting my point here. Especially with how caring you are for your own creations."

Okay, enough vague comments, missy.

"Then what exactly is the point I'm missing?"

"You have several well developed planets with human compatible biospheres in this system. Why don't you just care for the colonists themselves?"

...What? Was she actually suggesting I treat them as people I ruled over?

Well, I could probably give them a higher standard of living than what was currently available in their home colonies thanks to my level of technological advancement. Additionally, I could probably use a few humans living with my creations if I wanted to claim that the Infernum Federation was a human colony. Though, was that really the right thing to do?

"Why, exactly, are you giving me this advice?"

"Well," she replied, "I think its funny that you haven't considered it for yourself. I mean, I'd expect you to want to help everyone you could in the face of such evil as what you witnessed in that lab."

"True, but I thought you'd want to make my life miserable."

"Please, spare me your malice. Your journeys are like any other hero's, so I need only wait for misery to come to you. Interfering too much would ruin the fun."

So she treat my life like a book?! Or maybe a movie!?

"So I'm just so spectacle for you to watch and comment on with your friends, is it?!"

Too my surprise, she actually went stiff when I said that.

"Yeah, sure. I guess." To my surprise, she didn't really seem that happy when she said that. Was she lying?

"Well, I'll take your suggestion into consideration." Like it or not, Mel's suggestion actually had some merit, though whether or not it was moral was a topic for another time.

"Overall, that seems reasonable. Besides, I can tell you've lost most of your apprehension over me, so I've clearly overstayed my welcome. Goodbye Commander Flame."

Finally.

"Well then-"

Just then, another of the apertures that lead into the room opened up as a Wolf-Beetle ran into the room and snatched a container of penicillin. I'd recently found out that they liked the taste of that particular medicine, for reasons beyond me. Following it was Rory, who tackled it into the ground, retrieved the container, and gently placed it back where it belonged. Then he looked up to face me.

"Um, sorry about that, Da-"

He faltered when he saw my companions. He still wasn't comfortable around others all that much, and considering the bug guy's appearance, I couldn't blame him. Of course, I was even more terrified than he was. I didn't know what Mel would do now. I mean, she could hurt Rory in some horrible way and I wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop her. For her part, the blonde just stared at him for a moment, then looked at me, then back at Rory. Then she smiled.

"Hello there, little boy. What's your name?"

Somehow, the blonde's calm greeting of my son just made me even more uncomfortable.

"..Um...it's...it's...it's...Rory."

"How cute. I'm Mel."

"Hi...I'm s-sorry f-for interrupting your m-meeting with my dad, but-"

"Nonsense. We were just wrapping up."

"Oh...well, I need to get this bug back to his pack."

"Could you stay a little while longer?"

"Um...well...wh-"

"Mom, are you almost done?"

The minute that voice was heard, Mel flinched. All eyes turned back toward the aperture she'd entered the room from. Standing in the now open aperture was a little girl, with turquoise eyes and platinum blonde hair. She looked to be about Rory's age.

"A-a-almost done, dear," was Mel's response.

Wait. Mel had a daughter? That was new.

Slowly, the little girl turned her attention to Rory.

"...who are you?" she asked in a soft, innocent sounding voice.

"...I'm Rory."

"I'm Cassidy."

"..Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too...do you want to play jacks?"

"...okay."

With that, Rory dropped the Wolf-Beetle into a chute that I'd opened up (which led back to a pack of the insects) before walking over to Cassidy and promptly exiting out of the aperture, which sealed behind the two.

The minute he left, I let out a sigh of relief. To my surprise, so did Mel. Her two companions just stared on impassively.

"...So," I began, finally breaking the silence, "you have a daughter?"

"Yes."

"...Do you have a Husband? A boyfriend, perhaps? Maybe even a girlfriend? I mean-"

"No. Cass came into this world in a similar way to how I presume your son came into it."

"I see. He's quite the handful, you know."

"So is Cass, but some things, like children, are worth the hassle."

"Indeed...Did we just have a civil conversation?"

"...Yes, actually. We did," was Mel's surprised response."

"...This never happened," I said, eager to deny the existence of this odd occasion.

"Agreed. Have a nice day."

With that, Mel got ready to leave the room. First, though, she walked up to the man I had been preparing to operate on. After a moment, she placed her right hand on the container, and to my surprise, said hand began to glow. The light lasted for a moment, then faded. Confused, I pulled up biometric data on the man, and was stunned to find that his tumor was gone.

"Consider this another courtesy. I do not demand compensation, but do not expect anymore assistance from me.

With that, Mel and her companions left.

"Cass, it's time to go."

"Can we wait five more minutes, please? I want to finish my game with Rory."

"I'm sorry, but we can't."

"Please?"

"No. Though maybe we could find a time to continue your game later."

While the possibility of meeting ROB again was not exactly something I wanted, Cass' voice was so full of pleading and childish charm that I was actually willing to overlook that discomfort...assuming Rory still wanted to play with her.

"Okay. Bye Rory."

"Bye Cassidy. Come back soon."

When I could no longer hear the sound of their footsteps, I tuned in to my cameras and tracked down the quartet. To my surprise, they had opened some kind of portal and were now walking through it to a docking hanger I'd attached to my tower. From there, they entered a peculiar looking ship, which lifted up and out of the hanger, before disappearing through another portal.

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The meeting was unexpected, but it ultimately went better than I had hoped. I was rather surprised that I had ultimately remained civil with Mel and even managed to agree with her on something.

Yeah, that conversation did end up being important in the long run, and for a lot of reasons...

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	55. Annihilation 47

I'll admit it, but I hadn't forgiven Melissa for putting me in a commander. I'd been taken from everything I'd known and loved, and that was not something you forgive easily, and I honestly doubt that what ROB had done to me was forgivable. Of course, there were exceptions to this belief, as I myself learned, but right after the meeting I had with Mel, I still hadn't forgiven her for putting me in a Commander.

All that being said, I had to concede that she had brought up a good point when talking about all of the test subjects I'd rescued from the Blind Eyes. I mean, I could provide better care for them than the colonies they lived in, due to my advanced tech base, and they'd certainly have a higher standard of living than they would in those colonies. At the same time, though, I couldn't just take them from everyone they'd known and loved. Most of them still had families back on Chiron, and I wasn't going to put them through what Mel had done to me.

Still, there were other things I had to consider: the Blind Eyes would probably continue trying to kidnap these people if I returned them to their homes, and though I was loathe to admit it, I hadn't been able to locate all of their ells. In fact, I'd only found a fraction of them, in part because some of their communication was apparently through _hand written notes_ of all things. They at have been a crime syndicate, but they acted like a military organization. Furthermore, some of these people didn't have anywhere left to go: as is, there weren't too many job openings for the adults who I was sending back, and recent disasters both natural and artificial (not all of which were the Blind Eyes' fault) meant that all social services were being put on strain. Add that to the famine going on right now, and perhaps it would be better to care for them

Oddly, Synais and Kathikon weren't any help here.

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"Look, I'm not really sure I can help you here: these people really have been through the ringer. It'd probably be best to just send them back to their homes and families, maybe let them get back to their normal lives," had been Synais' advice on this situation.

"True, but it's unlikely that their kidnappers will just let them live unmolested. They will not let their actions go to waste because you decided otherwise. Additionally, introducing them back to their colonies runs the risk of worsening the ongoing famine. Perhaps caring for them yourself is the wisest course of action." That had been Kathi's response.

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Honestly, this was a pain.

Ultimately, though, it had been Fide who gave me my answer.

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"Commander, are you still considering how to deal with the civilians you rescued?"

"Indeed."

"Have you considered leaving the choice of how to care for the colonists _to_ the colonists?"

"...What?"

"Build places for the colonists to work, live, play, shop, and so on, let them live in your home universe for a while, then let them decide if they wish to stay. Would that not be effective?"

...That was an alluring option. One that could work.

...Ah, screw it, I was gonna go with that.

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Patricia Kent had dealt with a lot in the past few weeks, including the shock of learning that a seeding mission to another world had succeeded and that those people had managed to not only find out Chiron was inhabited, but also figure out a way to reach the planet by a warp gate of some sort. The shock still hadn't worn off yet, and she wondered if any other Seeding missions had been successful and were waiting to make contact. She'd had to bury those thoughts, though, because she needed to focus on her, and by extension, all of the orphans under her care.

Which, owing to the recent famine and some freak accidents, encompassed quite a few kids.

As if the shock of dealing with contact from another Seeding mission hadn't been enough for her, a few days ago, following the arrival of this Commander person, a huge fire had resulted in her losing track of some of her charges. According to the authorities (including some of those people Fielding always associated with, who were decidedly untrustworthy), the had found the children, and had even sent her photos of them alive. A third party had confirmed the photos hadn't been edited and were taken only a day or two prior to when she received them, so Patricia still had hope that the children were alive, but until they were returned, she didn't know what to do.

Her thoughts were interrupted, though, when she noticed that had just entered the reception room. Instantly, Patricia perked up: maybe she'd be able to find some of the children under her care a new home.

'Greetings," she said as she turned toward the guest, "welcome to the Heinz Orphanage, how may I-"

She froze upon seeing the man before her. He was black haired, brown eyed, and clean shaven, and he wore a black suit, but what had surprised her was that she recognized him.

As this man had been the center of Chiron's attention for the past few days, this wasn't really surprising at all.

"...Y-y-yo-you're Commander-"

"Flame. I prefer that. It was the code name I was given."

"I-I-I see..."

Recovering from the surprise of meeting Chiron's newest visitor, Patricia began to take stock of him. To her surprise, he wore clothing that wouldn't be considered out of place among other people in the ARC: a rather drab coat, mostly focused on functionality, with only hints of style being the pale black, red, yellow, and blue outlines of hexagons across the surface of his attire. This made for an odd choice of attire, but one that would not be too noticeable in a crowd, Patricia noted. She assumed this must have been his attempt to blend in. In a crowd, it would work flawlessly.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Ah, forgive me," he remarked, before pulling out a micro-projector of some sort. After a moment, images began to appear, ones that stunned Patricia.

They were pictures of the dozen orphans she had lost track of. It appeared that the Commander knew something about them, and perhaps where they were.

"This children were recently reported missing, were they not?"

"Correct."

"I found them onboard a trade caravan entering my territory uninvited. I believe they ended up in there by accident, and do not want to consider the alternatives."

"...I see," Patricia responded, voice switching between fear and repressed rage, before calming at last. "Well, I would be happy to accept them back and-"

"That is not why I'm here."

That caught Patricia completely off guard. "What?"

Then, to her greater surprise, he pulled a large stack of papers out of a pocket on his coat and handed them to her. A cursory glance left her flabbergasted: these were adoption forms for all of the children.

"I understand that this planet is going through a large famine right now, and that this orphanage and, indeed, many other public services across Chiron are being pushed to their limit, so I am willing to take this children to my own home and raise them as my own. I have a son who would love to have more siblings to spend time with. I am willing to allow you to inspect my abode whenever is convenient for you."

Patricia was left absolutely silent at this. The Commander, someone who had only just come to this planet, was willing to care for these children because they had nowhere else to go? All this, apparently because it was the right thing to do? At least, she assumed that was his reasoning, based off his previous statement.

Part of her wondered if this was a trick, and he was planning to do unspeakable things to the children, but she doubted that: he seemed to kind, and the fallout of mistreating these children would be political suicide. Besides, she would need to check his home first to see if he was a suitable guardian. She did have the final say in the adoption process, as head of the orphanage.

"Very well. I will be able to examine your...residence in two days. If it meets the standards, then perhaps the children will be yours to care for."

The Commander smiled warmly at this and nodded curtly.

"That's all I ask. Thank you for your time, and keep caring for the children here as best you can."

With that, he left, but not before leaving something on the desk. Examining it, she was surprised to find that it was a large donation of energy credits. It seemed he wanted to make a donation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the issue of the children handled for the moment, it was time to get to work on helping the rest of subjects. I needed to set up housing, industrial complexes, commercial outlets, and other public services if I wanted to entice them to stay. With a commander, that was a lot easier than it sounded. Once those were up (which took me about an hour to do), along with every other bit of infrastructure I need, I had one last thing to attend to: food.

Specifically, native food: I doubted anyone would be willing to eat any of the alien fruits my creations ate, or any livestock creatures I'd created, so building up some farms and pastures for animals native to Chiron was probably the safer idea for now. Eventually, I could probably convince them to eat some of the things I made. If they stayed, of course.

Speaking of which, I should probably see if I can tame the wildlife ROB put on this planet. That would seriously help with food problems.

Once that, had been taken care of, there was one last thing to do.

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For a few moments, I only heard the sound of a sewing machines putting the stitches into place, before they finally stopped, leaving me with my prize: a good-old fashioned backpack. Apparently, people on Chiron still used them, along with other schools supplies from the 21st century. To be fair, it was harder to cheat when everything you turn in is hand written. I quickly put a filled pencil bag (including calculator, pens, pencils, erasers, and highlighters) into the bag, then hung it up on a nearby rack. One down, eleven to go.

True, I could've done these all by machines, but I'd done this before I become a Commander and, ultimately, it made me feel human to help people in a way that didn't involve using a several story high Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Mechanism of War. The fuzzy feeling of satisfaction I got after this was worth the added exertion.

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True, I may have been hinder myself by doing some things by hand, but I believed others would appreciate the effort I put into doing so. After all, a letter carries more thought than a text.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	56. Annihilation 48

"Wow, you certainly have a very large house."

"My superiors pay their diplomats and explorers well, and I do not believe in skimping out on creature comforts."

"I see."

Adoption, contrary to what they show on television, is not a quick process. There are tons of forms to fill out, and besides that, someone actually needs to be sure that your house is actually suitable for a child.

Fortunately, this was a problem that was relatively trivial for me to solve. I'd decided to go build a façade house for her to examine (my tower would look rather absurd, and she'd probably ask too many questions that I couldn't answer). I'd made sure to add plenty of beds, lots of bathrooms, more than one dining room, and other creature comforts. I'd had to make the façade a rather large home, because space is really important with children. Finally, to make sure that Patricia believed that the children wouldn't grow up in a vacuum, I made a holographic disguise system that would let my creations disguise themselves as humans. I'd had to modify it a few times before the results became suitable indistinguishable from a baseline human. Still, the results were impressive.

Of course, I still had one ace up my sleeve.

"Is everything satisfactory, Ms. Kent?"

"At the moment, though I-"

"Hi."

Surprised, Patricia turned toward the source of the voice and found herself staring at Rory. We'd been walking past 'his' room in this house, so I thought it'd be prudent to introduce the two. Granted, Rory already knew that she was visiting, but he still wanted to meet her. Something I was perfectly willing to let happen. After all, the fact that I had raised Rory well spoke volumes of my parenting skills.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Rory."

"...okay. What are you doing here in the Commanders home?"

"...he's my dad."

"...he is?"

"Yes. He's really nice."

"I see...Um, where is your mother?"

At that, I started to get worried. I really hadn't thought up an excuse for that.

To my surprise, though, after a moment of surprise, Rory turned his head to his feat and darkened his expression, pulling off a convincing look of sorrow.

"Well...I don't really know. She left dad when I was three, and she's never sent me anything for my birthday. Or even talked to dad."

Patricia went really quiet at this. I did too, while also forcing a sad expression onto my face. Better play along with this. Also, wow, Rory was good at acting.

"...I see...Um, do you know why I am here?"

"My dad wanted to adopt those kids he found a while ago?'

"...Yes, actually. How-"

"He told me. He said I should know. Plus he thought it was rather lonely in this house, and I'm with him there."

Patricia went quiet again, before turning to me.

"I think I've seen enough. I'll talk with my coworkers, see what they think. Though, I must ask you one last question."

"Shoot."

"Why didn't you decorate the children's rooms?"

"I don't know what they like. They should have the chance to decorate their room however they see fit."

"Very well. Thank you for your time."

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Of course, there was one other thing we had to attend to after that: showing her the children. Patricia did need to be sure they were okay.

I'd set up a mini-hospital nearby the façade house, where the children were being kept. The fact that they were still unconscious four days after I'd rescued them was worrying, but they were still relatively healthy, barring some minor undernourishment. I assured Ms. Kent that they were being cared for by the finest doctors 'my people' had available (which was true, even if said doctors weren't human), which seemed to assuage her concerns. Following that, she bid me farewell, as we returned to her orphanage.

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With her gone, I went back to my tower and pulled out some soda to drink. That soda was still made this far in the future was something I'd found very interesting. I'd never had the chance to try alcohol before I became a Commander, and while I cold have some now, it would probably look bad on me to drink now when I was very likely to become the adoptive father of ten children.

Plus, I wanted to talk to Rory, and I wasn't putting alcohol in reach of him.

Once he arrived, I filled tow cups with the sugary drink, then offered one to Rory. I also pulled out two straws and, after scrunching up the wrappers, gave one to Rory.

"...Thanks for helping me out there."

"You're welcome, dad. Do you think that nice lady will let those kids stay with us?"

"Probably...why did you claim that your 'mom' left us?"

"I look enough like you that most people would assume I'm your son by blood, so someone will ask if I have a mom. Plus you needed to look responsible. Wouldn't you look more responsible if your had a wife that abandoned you and her child, forcing you to raise me on your own?"

"True...you know, you're a lot wiser than I thought."

"I'm part computer. I learn fast."

"Indeed...hey, wanna see something cool?"

"...okay."

Oh, how I had want to do this.

Sticking my straw into my drink, I put my finger over the top and lifted it lout, trapping some of the sugary fluid in the straw. I brought this over the scrunched up wrapper of my straw.

"Here's how to make a inch-worm out of a straw wrapper."

Carefully, I slightly loosed my index finger, causing a drop of soda to fall out of the straw and onto the wrapper. The instant the fluid hit it, the straw began to expand, as if it was an inch-worm, trying to crawl away.

Rory's eyes were practically glittering at the sight. When he finally stopped staring, I passed him the other straw wrapper.

"Your turn."

Eager to repeat my little trick, Rory began trying to trap some of his drink in his straw. It took him three tries to remove the fluid without it slipping back into the cup, but after that, he was quick to repeat my trick.

His reaction was just too adorable.

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Once we'd finished our drinks, I quickly began modifying my tower some more, adding in a few more bedrooms for the children I planned to adopt. All other amenities were already taken care of, including companionship, as the Wolf Beetles had begun breeding.

I was about to do more when my base on Chiron alerted me to the approach of a group of drones, flying up to the edge of my defense grid before dropping off three strange objects and flying away. Sending a CNDR to examine them, I discovered the objects were biological containers of some sort, containing, respectively, a shrimp of some sort, flies of some kind, and a type of moss-oh.

Carefully, I moved all of the organisms through a portal into my hubworld, then moved them to a lab to begin cultivation. When their numbers became sufficiently large, I'd combine some of them with the worms to get the projected chasis construction. Never hurts to make your workers (fabbers, in my case) faster.

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The next day, I received a reply from Patricia: I had been approved to adopt the children. Now all I needed to do was introduce them to their new home and see if they liked it.

Of course, for that to happen, they'd need to wake up. Hopefully, that would be soon.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	57. Annihilation 49

Wearily, Bianka opened her eyes. After a few seconds of blinking, the world came into focus.

The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in...well, wherever she had been before.

For starters, the room she was in was very spacious. It also happened to be filled all kinds of strange tools, as well as monitors. Lots and lots of monitors. Bianka noticed that one monitor was connected to a weird object that held her finger in a vice grip, and regularly displayed a line going up and down. Dimly, she noted this was something that was relatively common in hospitals.

_'So, I'm in a hospital?'_

As she thought about this, though, her mind began to focus again, and as it did, memories of what had happened before came back to her. She remembered it all: the sound of people screaming, the crackle of flames, the sound of a gunshot before a falling support frame had cut her and her friends off from the others-_her friends!_

Remembering her companions, the girl looked around frantically, trying to find them...and sure enough, she found them. They were all on gurneys, as was Bianka herself. In hindsight, given that she was on a pulse measurer...counter...whatever, this made sense. They were in a hospital, and you always keep patients on gurneys...at leash she thought that was what you did.

Soon, though, her mind returned to how she had got here. She remembered being brought to the big car...truck...four wheeled trading vehicle, put inside, buckled up, having the needle put in her arm...then nothing. How long had she been out? Where was she? Were there people out there who were going to do cut her open like they did to aliens in the old Earth Films? What was going to-

The sound of footsteps brought Bianka's train of thought to a halt. As time passed, the sound got louder, which meant they were getting closer. Bianka didn't know what was walking toward her, but it sounded like they were moving very fast, as there were a lot of footsteps. Starting to panic, Bianka looked for somewhere to hide...then she realized that hiding wouldn't help her: there weren't many places to hide here, and even if she could avoid detection, she didn't know where to go. Perhaps it would be better to pretend to have never woken up at all.

If whoever was coming to check on her was particularly weak-willed, she might even be able to use her gift against them.

With time running out, Bianka quickly flattened herself back onto the bed. Slowly, she closed her eyes, took deep breaths, and tried to calm herself, desperate to get her pulse down-she didn't want to leave any suggestions that she was awake.

Eventually, she heard the sound of a door opening. It sounded mechanical, so she assumed the door was automatic, like the ones that she'd seen at some stores. To her surprise, now that the source of the footsteps was closer, she noticed that there were quite a few of them. Far more than a normal human should make while walking. Despite her curiosity, though, she dared not try to catch a glimpse of what was making the footsteps, for fear that it would see her. She heard them pass through the room, going all around her. Then, to her horror, they stopped right next to her.

A bright light suddenly came to life in front of her, and even with closed eyelids, she felt blinded. Reflexively, she tried to close them even harder, desperate to make the pain stop.

A moment later, the light turned off. Bianka relaxed, relieved to be free of the pain.

Then a hand covered her mouth.

Relief turning to panic, Bianka tried to scream, but soon realized it was futile-whoever had covered her face had a firm grip, and trying to open her mouth would be met solely with failure. With no other choice of action available, Bianka opened her eyes.

She found four eyes staring back at her. Eyes on a face that was decidedly _not_ human.

The grip on her face tightened as she tried again to scream, leaving her even more terrified. To her surprise, though, the next thing her captor did was put a hand to its face, all fingers clenched except for the index finger. This was the human gesture to be quiet, but the fact that an alien was doing it was something she had not expected. As the alien appeared to be covered in armor, and she doubted she could escape from it, she reluctantly complied.

With its charge now silent, the alien removed the pulse monitor from her finger and disconnected the rest of the instruments monitoring her health. Once all the instruments had been shut down, it grabbed the gurney and exited the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For a few minutes, all that Bianka saw was her captor and hospital hallways. They passed many more rooms like the one she had awoken in, but signs next to their doors said that they were unoccupied. The fact that they were written in_ English_ confused the girl, as she had expected they be written in some alien language she would not understand. Perhaps these beings had humans working for them? That would justify the familiar writing.

Eventually, though, they came upon rooms that were occupied. There, she noticed scenes not unlike what she had seen upon waking: people slumbering on gurneys, hooked up to machines monitoring their health. Often, an alien being was present, examining one of the people, for what, Bianca could not tell.

Eventually, though, they left the hospital area and found themselves in a new area. Here, Bianka noted, it looked more like a house. Well, an Old earth one. It was yet another hallway, though Bianka felt that it was rather barren: the walls were devoid of art, and there were no tables or chairs on the sides of the hall. She didn't have long to ponder this, though, as her captor had already begun to move her through the hallway.

The hallway soon gave way to an elevator of some sort, which human and alien quickly boarded. When it finally began moving, Bianka was surprised to discover that the elevator was more like a tram in functionality, as they began by moving sideways before moving up. As they passed through wherever they were, the orphan noticed things that truly made her mind go wild: assembly lines for vehicles and goods, a hanger for aircraft, an indoor forest, laboratories of all sorts, mess halls filled with alien beings, and stranger facilities that occasionally shot electrical sparks out into the air, which she assumed were power plants.

All of these buildings were seemingly enclosed inside of one large building, which must have been unfathomably huge to contain all of this. Bianca briefly considered the possibility she was dreaming, but a swift pinch to her side confirmed that she was awake.

Eventually, the tram finally came to a stop, and when the doors opened, hey revealed...a regular looking room. All the things would normally expect one to find in an average living room was in that room: chairs, a table, food, drinks, and a television, plus other things. As Bianka took all of this in, her captor moved her gurney to one of the chairs, then gently lifted her up and placed her on the chair.

Then, her captor spoke:

_'Resta qui.'_

Bianka stared for a moment. How did it know Italian, and more importantly, how did it know she knew Italian. True, she did have an Italian name (at least according to people who had been part of the first seeding who had been from Italy), but where had the alien learned this? She wasn't going to get an answer, though, as the alien had returned to the tram and was soon out of the room, leaving her on her own.

She did not remain alone for long, though. She heard footsteps, followed by the sight of a human boy entering the room from a nearby door. Following him was a Wolf-Beetle. One hand was holding onto the Wolf-Beetle's right arm, the other was around a box of crackers. After taking a moment to get the beetle to sit down next to a chair, the boy walked over to a nearby cupboard, pulled out a plate, then began filling it. When he had the amount of crackers he desired, he opened up another of the cupboard's doors, placed the box inside, then turned back toward the plate.

Which meant that he was looking right at Bianka.

Both humans tensed for a moment, while the Wolf-Beetle looked between the two, expression impossible to understand.

Finally, the silence was broken when the boy spoke.

"Hi, I'm Rory."

"...I'm Bianka."

"Nice to meet you...How'd you get here?"

"...um...well..._something_...brought me here."

"Oh...well, what did it look like?"

Bianka thought for a moment. She had seen what her captor looked like, but she'd mostly ignored it out of curiosity over where she was being held.

"...Well, it looked like an insect, but also like a person, and it had, well, I think... 10 legs, plus two arms, as well as four eyes."

"Oh. A dodecapode."

That made Bianka go tense. "Wait, you know what that thing was?"

"Yes, I do. And trust me, it doesn't want to hurt you."

"How do you know that?"

"...um...well-"

Just then, the tram returned and out came the being that had held her captive along with a CNDR war robot and a masked being. The machine and alien allowed the masked one to enter the room, before getting back on the tram and departing.

The masked being pulled up a seat near Bianka, before turning his attention to Rory.

"...Hi, Rory," it said.

"Hi dad!" responded Rory.

_The masked being was his dad?!_

Then the masked figure turned his attention to Bianka. After a moment, he put a hand to his mask and took it off, revealing a human face beneath it. Looking between the new face and Rory's, Bianka could indeed make out the similarities in shape and appearance, the only differences being that the boy had hazel eyes instead of brown and that Rory had freckles.

Then the masked man turned his attention back to the orphan.

"Hello. I'm Commander Flame. It's nice to meet you. You're... Bianka Nyman, correct?"

"...Yes. How do you know my name?"

"It is a long story...Do you...remember...what happened before you woke up."

_'Indeed I do'_, though Bianka, shuddering at the thought. "Just bits and pieces."

"Okay. Could you tell me what you do remember? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'd prefer not to." Why should she? The man before her was a complete stranger.

"Okay. Though, I must ask, do you remember being led inside of a vehicle of some kind before you went to sleep?"

"...Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I found you when said vehicle trespassed on a territory I'd taken for myself on Chiron. It attempted to ram one of my security robots and ended up breaking beyond repair. Some drones I sent to examine the wreck found you and your friends inside. At least, I presume they are your friends."

"They are."

"Well, before I go any further, I must ask this: were you, for lack of better word, kidnapped?"

"...Yes."

"Well, you have my sympathies. I would also like to inform you that I have made sure the man who abducted you is being tried for his crimes."

"...Thank you...Could I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"...You are an orphan, as are your friends, correct?"

"Yes. We are."

"Has anyone expressed interest in adopting you?"

"...No. I wish that weren't the case...Wait, are you saying you want to adopt us?"

"Well, yes. Look, I really get lonely at times and so does Rory. His Wolf-Beetle and its pack, as well as the others in this building, are good company, but I miss the company of normal humans."

"So you're human."

"...Um...well...not entirely."

Before Bianka could press the issue, the man who called himself Commander Flame held up his left hand. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the skin changed color, becoming black and purple, as well as taking on a shell like texture. Soon, his hand was covered in an insect-like exoskeleton, which he swiftly removed, leaving a new, fresh hand underneath it.

"I do not believe in keeping secrets from you, because I believe that as your host, it is rude of me to deceive you. So, while I am human, that is not _all_ that I am."

"I see... Is there any other reason you want to adopt me and my friends?"

"Yes. The people who abducted you did not work alone, and I do not know everyone that they were working with. I do not wish for you to be returned to your prior residence, only to be kidnapped again. My offer to you is entirely optional, and I will not do anything else to convince you. The choice is entirely up to you and your friends."

"Okay...look, I'll need to talk to them about it later."

"I understand."

"Thank you." Then Bianka turned to Rory. "Can I have some of those crackers?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you two to get to know each other," remarked the Commander, who began to leave the room. "Of, and by the way, I apologize for my subordinate scaring you. he had been monitoring the security cameras in your hospital room and had noticed you had woken up. As for his alien appearance, well, I have quite a large following."

"...Okay."

"Farewell."

Bianka thought for a moment. The man who called himself Commander Flame was a complete stranger, but he had cared for her, and he hadn't lied to her yet. Additionally, he had a son, and he genuinely seemed to care for him. That all suggested that he was someone she could trust. Well, she thought it sounded that way.

So should she tell him about her gift? It was one she shared with all of her friends, and it might have been why she was kidnapped. IF Mr. Flame wanted to be her guardian, he at least deserved the truth.

Quickly, she made her decision.

"Wait."

The Commander stopped.

"Yes?"

"I think I might know why I was kidnapped."

"And that is."

_'This,'_ was her response. It wasn't one that was audible, though; rather, it was _thought._

Rory turned to face her, as did the Commander. They stared at her for some time.

Finally, the Commander spoke.

"...You're psychic?"

"Me and my friends. We never told anyone, because we thought people would think we were crazy."

_'That and we weren't sure what they'd do if they believed us,'_ she though, albeit not publicly.

"I see. Well, just so you know, I don't have anything against that."

"Okay." _'What a relief._'

With that, the man left, leaving her alone with Rory.

As Bianka pondered what to do next, she sent out a mental pulse to her friends, trying to rouse them. They needed to know what was going on.

Plus, when you could share thoughts as easily as they could, having plenty of active minds was always a good idea.

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AN: Just a heads up, but I've decided to just keep working on this story without a beta, because there are some posting deadlines I really want to meet. Also, since I'm going without a beta, please highlight any errors I missed. And please, tell me what you like about this chapter/story in addition to liking it-it tells me what's good and what needs improving.

Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	58. Annihilation 50

"So, is your dad nice?" asked Bianka.

"He is," was Rory's reply.

The minute Flame had left, Bianka had decided to question his son on who he was, how he acted, etc. Of course, as the Commander had only left a minute ago, she ahdn't gotten far.

"...So, why is he on Chiron?"

"To help advance civilization. He wants to make life better for everyone. Though, he isn't going to make it any easier. There's a difference."

"I know. So...I'm not sure how to say this without being rude, but...what..._is_...he?"

"...I'm not exactly sure there's an easy way to describe it, but you could say he is something less than human, but also something more."

"What does that mean?"

Rory's response was to pull up a hologram of a giant robot. Bianka remembered that it had been the first indication of his arrival on Chiron, and had created several colossal buildings in a matter of minutes. Scientists had been baffled at how it could do this, ultimately chalking it up to hyper-advanced nanotechnology. Not that Bianka cared, of course. Those subjects were too advanced and grown-up to be of interest to a girl just entering her teens.

"So, you see this?"

"Yes, I do. I assume your father is the pilot of that machine?"

"Not exactly."

Bianka raised an eyebrow at that, and unnoticed to anyone watching them, so did the other children in the infirmary.

"He isn't so much the pilot of the machine, but rather, he _is_ the machine."

"...What?"

"You know what neural uploading is, right?"

_'Yes, I do,'_ thought Bianka. It'd been the pet project of all of Chiron's cybernetics fans, being able to transfer a human mind into a computer, but until recently, it'd been just a dream. last year, however, it'd finally become a reality, primarily due to the actions of the Slavic Federation. Besides offering the potential for immortality, something man had long wished to achieve, this technology had myriad other uses. The only one that had been of interest as of late, though, had been military. Who could forget the might ANGEL, taller than a skyscraper, controlled by human minds uploaded into their processors. Such a machine was a costly investment, but capable of destroying an entire army, given the chance. Of course, only two existed at the moment, and they hardly ever went out of their home bases, even for parades-losing them would be a crushing blow.

"I do."

"Well, my dad had his mind uploaded into the Commander."

"I see. So, is the body I saw is real body or just a really well designed android?"

"Both at the same time."

"...What?"

Instantly, Rory's expression changed to one that was dead serious. The nearby Wolf-Beetle instantly tensed up.

"Promise me that you will tell no one about what you are about to hear."

"Whwhwhwh-"

"Not even my dad."

"Whwhwhwhw-I promise.

"Are you serious?"

"YES!"

"Okay. My dad...didn't have a choice about being put in the Commander."

"...huh?"

"Look, someone put him in it. They just plucked him out of his life, put his brain into the commander and dropped it on some random planet. They told him to go out and find any technology he wanted, but he was to be entertainment for them."

"...who told you this?"

"An AI called Ouium. He's charged with managing the Ectogenesis Pods on this ship. My dad's body was grown from one of those pods and is based on an approximation of what he originally looked like, plus a few traits he wanted added in. Apparently, I was grown in one of those pods, with many traits taken from his genome. So, even though I don't have a mom, I'm still his son."

"I see...you're being awfully forward about this."

"Better to tell you about it now than let it come up at a bad time."

"True...do you have any proof of this?"

The hologram disappeared as the emitter traded places with a sort of pedestal like machine, which, after a moment, created a swirling light above its base.

"This is a portal that, according to my dad's kidnapper, let's him travel across universes. You can stick your head through it and you'll end up on a planet covered in machinery."

Unsure what to do, but willing to take the benefit of the doubt from this boy, Bianka shoved her head into the portal. On the other side, she saw a planet made of metal, filled with strange, cybernetic creatures, all going about their daily lives in much the same way the inhabitants of Chiron did. A pinch to her cheek confirmed this was no illusion. Wary of keeping her head on the alien world for too long, Bianka pulled her head out of the portal. Though she was still not entirely convinced, she was willing to offer more credence to the possibility that Rory was being serious, and her friends were willing to share that trust.

The perks of having a psychic hive mind were very nice, indeed.

"Do you believe me now?" asked Rory.

"Somewhat. At the very least, you have some evidence that you are right." 'Of course, that could have just been a giant hologram.'

"I appreciated your trust in me."

"You're welcome. Though, I have to know, did your dad say that you could tell us about this?"

"No. I just felt that you deserved to know."

"Well, thank you for the trust. Though, I must ask, why did Ouium tell you this?"

"I believed the boy had the right to know the truth," responded a computerized male voice, causing the female orphan to jump. "Also, I apologize for scaring you."

"Apologies accepted." _'Well, that could've gone better.'_ "...Are me, Rory, his dad and my friends the only humans here? Wherever here is?"

"No, there are other humans here. You should've seen them when you were being moved here."

_'Yeah, I did. Can't believe I forgot.'_ "I did. Are there any others besides them?"

"Well, there are my dad's advisors: Fide, Kathikon, and Synais. I can introduce thme to you if you'd like."

"It's fine."

"Okay. Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Just one: What happen's next? I mean, if me and my friends accept his offer?"

"You will be naturalized as citizens of this nation, given schooling, and we will attempt to procure someone to help you master your psionic skills."

"...There are people who could teach me to control my gift?"

"Yes, they just don't want to come out of hiding yet."

"I see."

Silence filled the room. Unknown to Rory and Ouium, Bianka and her friends had begun to discuss the pros and cons of accepting the Commander's offer. True, they would be at his mercy, but he seemed nice. His son had also been open to them about his motives, something they had not expected. The would never have to worry about being kidnapped again, so that was a plus. Finally, they had the unprecedented opportunity to see other worlds if they allowed the Commander to adopt them.

Ultimately, a consensus was reached.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

CRACK

BANG

"Direct hit" noted the mechanical voice.

Well, that was the third one in a row.

Since Bianka had needed time to mull over my offer, I'd decided to start messing around with the weapons technology I'd acquired. True, I didn't need to use guns, since my bots could handle any threat that came my way, but hey, shooting things is a great stress reliever. At least, as long as they aren't alive. So I'd gone to a firing range, pulled up a couple of guns from all designs on the planet, and started shooting. I'd had to adjust the sights a few times, but eventually, I was using each of the guns like a pro. My three shot streak had been with the last of the weapons I was testing, a hybrid laser/plasma rifle made by combining Supremacy and Harmony tech. watching it burn/melt targets was awesome.

"Attention Commander Flame, Bianka would like to speak with you over the intercom."

Well, that was unexpected. "Put her on the system."

"Understood," replied the program. Soon, I could hear Bianka talking over the intercom.

"Um, Mr. Flame? We've made our decision."

That was fast-wait, did she just say we?!

"We?"

"Me and my friends are all psychic, and we can share thoughts over a distance. We're still close enough to do that at the moment."

"I see." Well, I needed to find out more about their powers. Some harmless, non-invasive examinations would do. I was NOT going to put them through whatever the Blind Eyes had planned for them. "What is your decision?"

"We have decided to accept your offer. We'd like to live with you."

Well, that was easier than I thought.

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AN: Read and Review. Again, criticism is appreciated.

Also, Ouium is just as loyal to Flame as Fide, Kathikon and Synais are, but he tends to act on what he thinks will have the bast outcome, instead of what exactly Flame orders him to do. To be fair, Flame doesn't normally give him orders, so he has a lot of freedom to begin with. The same can be said of Rory.

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	59. Interlude 9

_'It seems he took my advice.'_

Melissa smiled. Her manipulation had worked like a charm. Well, maybe it was wrong to call it manipulation, but that was besides the point.

Nearby, Cassidy was reading a book. Something related to those stories about The Boy Who Lived. Melissa had no real interest in the subject, though she couldn't deny her daughter these small indulgences. Despite what her 'associates' might assume, Melissa was actually a good parent...

_'Well, at least better than mine were...'_

Burying her sadness for a moment, Melissa returned to examining the Commander. As soon as he had broken his conversation with the orphan girl, he had gone back to testing out the fire arms he had acquired. _'Not that I blame him. Shooting guns IS fun.'_

"Um, your highness," requested a voice over the intercom. Elling's, to be exact. "Your...um...I guess the best word is supervisor...has requested a meeting with you."

For a moment, Melissa went stiff, before calming herself. "Very well, tell him I'll be over in a moment."

"Of course."

As soon as Elling hung up, the R.O.B. turned to her daughter.

"Mommy has to go to a meeting right now, so-"

"Could I come with you?"

"What?! Why?!"

"I've never met your boss before. I just want to see what he's like."

"Um...well..."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassssseeeeeeeeeeeee?" pleaded the girl. Her eyes only further weakened her mother's willingness to argue.

"...uh...uh...okay," concede Melissa. "Just, don't speak to him unless he asks you, okay? He doesn't like being interrupted."

"Yay!"

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In a grand hallway of sorts, a portal opened. Out of it came a woman dressed in white, followed by an girl with similar attire. Behind them, the portal collapsed in on itself, disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared.

Melissa was surprised that no guards had accosted them. Normally, at least one guard would already be upon her...

Some dust fell to the ground in front of her. Peering up, the R.O.B. saw a gargoyle-like being resting on a chandelier, watching her with its cold, unblinking eyes. 'Well, that's new.'

Upon noticing the entity on the chandelier, Cass hid behind her mother, shivering in fear. Melissa stared at the statue-like being, before turning around and hugging her daughter.

"Don't worry, it's just supposed to watch us. It won't hurt us."

"Are you sure, mom?"

"Yes, my little sunshine, I'm sure."

Slowly, Cassidy stopped shaking, before finally leaving her mother's embrace. Burying her fear, she hazarded a glance at the entity on the chandelier. As she did so, it's head turned, and for the briefest moment, the two stared at each other, eye to eye, before the gargoyle lost interest and looked away.

"Come on now, Cass, let's get going. I don't want to keep my boss waiting any longer," remarked Melissa, who offered her hand to her daughter.

A moment later, Cass accepted it and the duo began walking toward the end of the hallway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The hallway terminated in a large meeting room of sorts, filled with beings: some were busy cleaning the walls, others were bringing in engineering equipment. The one Melissa sought, though, was in the center, busy examining a machine. What it was, she couldn't tell-she was too far away to accurately observe the machine.

"Well, look who decided to show up."

Groaning internally, Melissa turned to her right. Leaning against a stylized stone pillar was a man dressed in a vibrant green suit and similarly colored pants. These matched quite well with his green eyes and, of all things, his green hair. Melissa knew that the hair wasn't dyed, but how he kept it that vibrantly colored naturally was beyond her.

"Hello, Operative Tau. May I ask why you are here?

"I heard that the boss man wanted to talk to you. Looks like you finally screwed up, doesn't it."

"Doubtable. He usually uses emails, letters or telepathy to request one's presence when he's angry."

"Touché. Still, I do believe you are in hot water."

"What for?"

"How about breaking our non-interference clause with the Commander," replied a sultry voice behind her.

Instantly, Melissa started to feel warm. 'How did they know about that?!'

Calming herself, the R.O.B. turned around and found herself facing a woman dressed in orange. Her hair was a mix of red and orange, with a line of yellow in one spot. _'Is she trying to look like a fire?'_ wondered Cass, while her mother just looked on in annoyance.

"Greeting, Operative Zeta. And what do you mean by breaking our non-interference clause? Sending him gifts for the holidays he would miss due to our actions is not a violation, according to our superior."

"Yes, but meeting with the Commander _in person_ most definitely _is_," was Zeta's response, and it was loud enough that everyone could in the room could hear it.

"...well...I...um..."

Zeta smiled at this. It was good to see Melissa squirm. The ones who prided themselves on being calm and collected were the most amusing to break.

"Face it, Agent Omega, you crossed the line, and now the boss is gonna punish you." Then Zeta noticed Cassidy. A feral grin grew on the operative's face. "And you brought your daughter here, too? Oh man, he's gonna be pissed."

"No, I am not," came a sonorous voice from the center of the room. Flinching, the four by the end of the hallway turned and stared at the being at the center of the room, once again in his golden form. While Melissa managed to remain standing, Cass had sought shelter behind her mother, while Zeta and Tau were cowering on the ground.

"...You're...not...sir?"

"No. True," he began, advancing toward her, "you did violate the clause, but I believe it will be necessary to intervene with him directly in order to achieve our goals."

Then, he gestured toward the center of the room.

"Tell me, do you know what that machine is?"

Now that Melissa had a clear view of the machine, she could indeed identify it.

"It's an advanced fabrication robot."

"Precisely. This machine is one of the greatest achievements of the Progenitors, able to build titanic structures within minutes at least, days at most. Yet it is hardly all that they left behind."

"So you've said."

"Indeed. You are all well aware that I wish to study the Progenitors, and find out all of their secrets. Of course, even with a Commander Chassis, there are still many things we don't know about them. They never left designs for their civilian technology in those Commanders, so I've had to search for them personally. At least, I had to, until I discovered that Commanders can detect other Progenitor technology over astronomical distances. Through this, I discovered that the Progenitors once had an empire that spanned the multiverse. "

"Yes, yes, you've said this already, sir. You wanted to use the Commander to locate the rest of this tech, but you also wanted someone to pilot it, since those sort of Commanders tend to enjoy making life better for everyone, something you had no trouble with. My apologies, sir, but why are you repeating yourself? You've never done that before in our presence."

"Well, we have a guest here, don't we."

As he said this, the OverROB turned his attention to Cassidy.

"Hello, little girl. You may call me the OverROB. What is your name?"

"...Cassidy."

"A good name. You are Melissa's daughter, are you not?"

"...I am. She's said really nice things about you."

"I see. Well, I must thank her for that."

Then he turned back toward the fabber.

"As for the rest of you, know that I am modifying the non-interference clause. Also, please, stop arguing. I am not playing favorites. You are dismissed."

After an awkward moment of silence, three portals opened up, one for each R.O.B. Melissa was the first to leave, with Cass right behind her.

As she left, though, Zeta spoke to her one last time.

"Well, you may have avoided punishment this time, but don't get to comfy, Omega. If you slip up, one of us will be taking command of operations regarding the Commander."

Before she could speak any further, Zeta was suddenly thrown aside. When she recovered, she noticed that Melissa's left hand was glowing white. Then, the woman known as Operative Omega turned to face her, face full of malice.

"I am the only one allowed to mess with the Commander. So trust me when I say that, if that privilege is taken from me, Commander Flame will have a powerful ally. Now come, Cassidy. It's time to go home."

Then mother and daughter stepped through the portal.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	60. Annihilation 51

While Bianka and the rest of the orphans agreeing so quickly to allow me to adopt them was unexpected, it did have its benefits.

Namely, letting me focus on how I was going to interact with XCOM.

Now, I knew that XCOM had access to Alien Alloys, Elerium (why did we have to give that awesome element the bland name of Moscovium?), handheld laser and plasma weapons, and psionics. Those were common developments across both the original timeline and the new one Firaxis made in 2012. The thing that worried me, though, was that those were the only techs that were constant in both timelines. If this universe was the original, then they could have access to Molecular Control, Zrbite, Sonic and Gauss weapons, and Aqua Plastics. Potentially, they could also have access to the things from XCOM: Apocalypse, but unless they had easy access to Earth, that was unlikely.

On the other hand, if this timeline matched up with the Enemy Unknown timeline, then XCOM would have access to magnetic weapons, SPARKS, and the Avenger (instead of many avengers). Oh, and they would also have gene mods and MEC troopers. Can't forget those. While that was a lot less technology for me to acquire, all of those techs were ones I wanted.

So, then, how should I proceed?

Well, I suppose that sending a message indicating my willingness to negotiate would be a good start. After that, though, something else would need to be done.

Time to call on my aides.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Don't try to intimidate them," cautioned Kathi. "They're used to fighting overwhelming odds, so it won't work."

"Though, you could easily manipulate them, if you wanted," noted Synais.

Both Kathikon and myself stared at him.

"You have laser and ballistic weapons technology well beyond XCOM's level regardless of what universe this is, and similar level armor. Careful distribution of the tech could easily put them on your side."

"...good point," noted Kathi.

"From Miss 'Follow The Rules', I take that as a great compliment."

"Screw you, Synais."

"And now we're back to normal."

I sighed. I guess I was going to have to wing this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

WARNING: UNKNOWN USER ATTEMTPING TO ACCESS XCOM COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

USER IDENTITY: CMDR FLAME

USER GRANTED PERMISSION TO COMMUNICATE, PATCHING USER INTO PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS SUB-NETWORK

XXXXXXXXXXXX

CMDR FLAME: Greetings!

CMDR XXXXX: Hello. So, you wish to speak with XCOM?

FLAME: Yes. Thank you for the assistance in dealing with those criminals.

XXXXX: It was nothing. We were already going to raid that base. Our goals aligned entirely by chance.

FLAME: Fair enough. Still, I appreciate the assistance. Is it possible we could look into working together, perhaps as allies?"

XXXXX:...You are being very forward with your intentions.

FLAME: I prefer being blunt with people I respect.

XXXXX: I'll take that as a compliment. As for your offer... Maybe. Not everyone trusts you, Commander. At least some are worried that you will try to enslave us, as the Ethereals and Tasoths before you have attempted, and as the Micronoids are attempting right now.

FLAME:...I understand. Perhaps I could offer a gift?

XXXXX: Explain.

FLAME: My forces can make a nanite repair system, which allows me to fix damage on any of my machines in a matter of seconds, and it was relatively easy to adapt this to a human biology. I am willing to offer this to you, and I demand no recompense for it.

XXXXX: That is...surprisingly generous of you...I believe that is permissible...Though, I believe that we could arrange a larger agreement.

FLAME: Elaborate.

XXXXX: If you would be willing to offer up weapons and armor technology, I would be willing to offer you a gift from XCOM's arsenal. Any tech you offer, we shall make a return offer.

FLAME:...So, if I were to offer you the alloys that compromise my machines...

XXXXX: We will offer you the Ethereal Alloys and Aqua Plastics.

FLAME:...That is very generous of you.

XXXXX: You have proven yourself to be trustworthy. We do not wish to abuse this.

FLAME: Understandable... I am willing to offer you the alloys used to build my forces, laser and advanced ballistics technology, advanced torpedo technology, intelligence regarding my aerial forces, and, lastly, some of my energy generation technology. What are you willing to offer in exchange?

XXXXX:...We will offer the Ethereal Alloys, Aqua Plastics, Laser, Gauss, Plasma and Sonic Weapons technology, Elerium, Zrbite, and a Manta and Firestorm Fighter. Is that fair?

FLAME:...Completely...though, I do have one last request.

XXXXX: And that is.

FLAME: I recently adopted several orphans that I found in a vehicle that was trespassing on my territory. The vehicle in question set off the events that led to our alliance of convenience. As for how this concerns you...the children have stated that they possess psionic powers, and I can confirm the presence of those powers in at least one of them. I have heard rumors that your organization utilizes psychic powers. If so, may I request, for lack of a better word, a tutor?

XXXXX:...Very well. We will send you two of our specialists.

FLAME: Thank.

CMDR FLAME HAS TERMINATED THE COMMUNICATION

XXXX1: So, you sure this is a good idea, sir.

XXXX2: Yeah, we are giving him a lot of our aces.

XXXX3: And if he's not as trustworthy as he appears, we could be shooting ourselves in the feet.

XXXX4: Plus this guy could be a shape changing alien, like the faceless.

XXXXX: Your concerns are noted, but the decision stands. We should not antagonize a party that has only shown us respect. If he is an alien, well, we have been fighting aliens for long enough. Perhaps, finally, we can make peace with another civilization among the stars. If not, then we can examine the technology he offered us and discover its weaknesses, letting us level the playing field when the war begins.

XXXX1,XXXX2,XXXX3,XXX4: Understood, sir.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Huh. Wow, I didn't expect them to be that trusting. True, studying my stuff to see if it had weaknesses was expected, but XCOM preferring the pen over the sword, well, that's new.

Well, might as well start compiling my trade offer to them.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Next chapter will detail the trade and Flame's integration of XCOM tech. After that, plot relevant things will begin.

Read, Review, and Ask me any questions.

This is Flamea15k, signing off!


	61. Annihilation 52

It didn't take me long to compile the items I was going to give to XCOM. All I had to do for the weapons was examine the designs used in my units, then produce the weapons separate from the platforms they were to be mounted on. Modifying an alloy foundry allowed me to create sheets of the stuff for usage by XCOM, which I eventually planned to spread to the rest of mankind. The aircraft data was easily fitted onto a tablet. The trickiest thing to package was the energy tech, as I had to mount a reactor onto a tank chassis in order to move it to the trade location. Still, it wasn't too hard to do, all things considered.

XCOM had designated a specific set of coastline be our trading site, and had arranged for the exchange to occur five hours after our meeting. I arrived with half an hour to spare.

Much to my surprise, XCOM was already there. Well, that was rather impressive.

Let the meeting begin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ricardo Torres watched as the aircraft touched down. It resembled an Old Earth dropship, though far slimmer. External appearance of the area where the cockpit should be implied it was a drone of some sort. It deposited its cargo before immediately evacuating the area. Three more repeated this process, before a final craft landed. This one matched the design specifications of the ship that this Commander Flame had used to arrive at the Summit some time ago. Sure enough, the foreign commander emerged from the ship, accompanied by a cadre of marines. Oddly, he was wearing a black helmet, with white eyes and several lines on it, with the lines being red, blue, or yellow. It looked rather ridiculous in Torres' opinion.

"I'll admit I'm surprised to see you here so early."

"Best to make sure that we've had time to roll out the red carpet," came the response of his C.O., Jerome Davis.

_And to make sure that you aren't laying any traps for us._

"Fair enough," replied Commander Flame. "I've numbered the crates 1-4. The first one has laser and ballistic weapons tech in it, the second torpedo technology, the third one of my energy generators, and the fourth contains the alloys I use to build my machines. As for the aircraft data-"

The foreign commander seemed to fumble around with his attire for a moment, before fishing out an electronic tablet and offering it to them.

"-it's all on here."

The team's ranger and designated point man - er, point woman, Louise DuPont, cautiously approached the Commander, not that Torres was complaining. Even if this Commander Flame had been nice, they weren't entirely sure that he was trustworthy. He might be hiding important facts from them.

_Like, for example, _thought Torres, _How he knew about the Ethereals, Tasoths and Micronoids._

Now, normally, someone being left speechless when they learned mankind had been attacked by alien races three separate times (four, if the rumors about an invasion in the sixties taking place), the fact that their new acquaintance had stopped speaking for about ten seconds had been worrisome. Most of the staff back at base felt that their acquaintance had been silent for so long because he _knew _of those beings, which raised a whole new set of questions: How did he know about them. Was he an ally of one of those species? An enemy? Merely an acquaintance? Did he seek to conquer mankind? We're his intentions to help Chiron and man as a whole sincere?

All of these questions were worrisome, but for now, all they could do was wait and see what happened. Backing out now would be an insult to this new Commander and could push him to violence, if that wasn't his intention already. The last thing XCOM wanted to do was give an unknown enemy a pretext for war.

As soon as she was close enough, Louise took the tablet from the commander and began reading it.

"...Data checks out - it's on aircraft and the designs match up with what we've seen you use."

"Well, then, can we commence with the trade?

"I don't see why not."

With that, both the Commander and Torres' squad got to work: the commander had several robots move his weapons and equipment up to the dropships they'd assembled to make the trade, while SPARK units began moving XCOM's offer to the Commander's aircraft. As for the Firestorm and Manta, the Commander recalled two of his dropships and managed to hitch the sub and fighter up to them. Overall, the actual trade was a boring affair.

Before each container was loaded, the dropship crew and SPARKs examined them for an unauthorized equipment - namely, armed explosives. Better safe than sorry, regardless of how the Commander had acted toward them. Ultimately, everything did check out. Once the last container had been loaded, XCOM assisted the Commander with taking back his new toys, carefully loading their technology into the Commander's very spacious ship.

It took only half an hour to complete this process, ironically meaning that the meeting had ended when it had been set to begin.

"Well, it looks like our business here is finished," noted the Commander.

"Not yet," responded a new voice. Specifically, that of Hassan Al-Assad, the squad's sharpshooter. "We've still got one last thing to offer to you."

_'Mostly just a goodwill gesture,' _noted Torres_, 'as it's doubtable you forces will need it.'_

Carefully, a quartet of SPARKs pulled out a final equipment container and loaded it into the strange vessel, provoking a perplexed response from the Commander.

"May I examine this?" he questioned.

"You allowed us that courtesy, so we see no reason to deny it to you," was Torres response.

The Commander merely nodded curtly and, after opening the container, reached in and removed one of the items contained within. He eyes widened in shock at the sight.

It was a sword, of all things. A primitive one, but still undeniably effective as a weapon. A quick glance Inside revealed that the container carried several more swords, some with blades that could be superheated or ignited, as well as powerful drills. Archaic weapons for an adavanced age, but still able to perform admirably.

"...well, this is an unexpected, if welcomed, gift."

"You're welcome."

"Thank you. Now I must be going-"

Could you spare a moment? Command has one question they want answered," interrupted Torres."

"Of course. What is it?"

"Are you familiar with the Ethereals, Tasoths and/or Microphonoids?"

"...what?"

"You were silent for a long time after those names were mentioned, and XCOM would like to know why."

"...I've heard that they command armies of other aliens, but beyond that and the fact that they possess psychic powers or something similar, i cannot go into details on them."

_'He's telling the truth_,' noted Davis. '_That, or he's really good at controlling his thoughts. Pretty sure that he's honest, though?", because his first experience with psychic powers was a few days ago.'_

Well, that did help to alleviate some of their fears.

"Well, I believe it is time I take my leave," remaked the Commander. This time, no one bothered to stop him. "Farewell."

"Safe travels."

Soon, the Commander had boarded his ship, which quickly ascended into the sky. XCOM followed suite, leaving the shoreline calm once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ugh. The psychic had been unexpected. My cover could've been smashed open if i hadn't taken advantage of the fact my brain was essentially a computer and forced my thoughts to conform to what I wanted the psychic to see.

Still, the rewards had been worth it: I now had guns and equipment from two different conflicts in my arsenal: the first from the First Alien War, and the second from the Second Alien War, which I assumed took place some time after that. Based on XCOM's remarks, the events of Apocalypse were taking place right now on Earth, though that begged the question of how XCOM maintained communication with Earth.

That, though, was a topic for later. For now, it was time to start integrating my gains into my arsenal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read, Review, and Leave Criticism for this story. Criticism is especially appreciated!

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	62. Annihilation 53

Once I was safely back at my hub world, I started examining all of the technology I had acquired. Most of the regular XCOM stuff only amounted to minor improvements to what I had, if at all. Well, aside from the plasma weapons - apparently, barring the weapons mounted on a Commander, Planetary Annihilation units didn't use plasma weapons, being more dependent on lasers, missiles, or good old fashioned bullets (often fired out of railguns). Part of me wished that I could've had access to the Fusion Lance technology, but that was not to be. For now, at any rate; I could likely procure one later if I played my cards right.

What really interested me, though, was XCOM's marine technology. The gauss weapons had great potential for their versatility, as they could be used on land, in the sea, or, as I soon found out, even in space. Sometimes Kinetic weapons really are just better than energy weapons. At least, they were right now. As for the Sonic weapons, I started integrating a few heavy sonic oscillators into everything I had, but _especially_ into my subs. A few sniper bots also received sonic weapons, because sonic attacks leave not bullets behind, so no tracing a sniper attack back to me.

As cool as sonic weapons were, though, they did have their weaknesses - namely, that they were useless in space. Well, there _were_ ways I could remove that issue, but they would be ridiculously impractical, not to mention wasteful, as I could just use weapons that did need special conditions to work in a vacuum. Like, for example, the already available lasers, plasma cannons and gauss weaponry. As a rule of thumb, if you have two options, and one is cheaper, more efficient, and just as effective as the other, go with the more efficient one. Thus, only use sonic weapons in engagements in areas that have atmospheres or are underwater, with priority for marine engagements.

In regards to the new alloys, well, I was pretty surprised at what XCOM gave me. Now, they did give me samples of ethereal alloys and aqua plastics, but they also gave me practical examples of their applications. Said examples were functional sets of armor, ranging from carapace and plastic aqua armor to Titan suits and Ion armor. They even had a few archangel and Magnetic Ion Armor sets in there, as well as some cloaking tech. The only things that were missing were armors that influenced psionic abilities or molecular control, likely so that they still had some aces up their sleeves against me. While machines were immune to mind control or panic, Enemy Unknown had taught me that lacking any will whatsoever left you wide open to directly damaging psychic powers, which would probably wreck my bots in a fight. I'd need to work on fixing that later, but for now, I'd just have to make do with it.

The Elerium and Zrbite weren't really all that special, though they were very good fuel sources. Combining them with my existing reactors managed to skyrocket their power levels up 200%, which I was definitely going to exploit the hell out of. The UFO and USO tech I received was pretty interesting, though more so the USO tech, since I didn't have a base to compare it to. How would enemy feels when they were attacked by _flying submarines_ of all things? Though, given that I only had access to fighter sized flying subs/UFOs, at least for now, I'd need to do a little innovating before I could really get mileage out of them.

OF course, what really had me interested was, of all things, the most archaic set of weapons I'd been given, which were a set of swords and drills that compromised XCOM's close quarters arsenal. I don't know why, but these weapons made me extra giddy. Probably because I really liked hack and slash games. Whatever the reason, I was definitely going to use them in my armies.

It didn't take me long to design a human sized robot equipped with a basic sword, which I'd codenamed the Fencer. Thanks to XCOM providing me with three different sword types, I was able to create three different variants of the Fencer: Alpha series used traditional swords, Beta used an Arc Blade (for fighting other mechanical forces, and yes, it was grounded), while Gamma series was equipped with the Fusion Blade, for fighting zombies and other things vulnerable to fire.

Of course, there was one problem with using swords: robots didn't exactly know how to swing a sword. Fortunately, I had a workaround.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Slash left, dodge right, duck, stab, parry up-GAH

I tumbled to the floor, chest stinging with pain.

"Get up," ordered Goliath. "We have much work to do."

Training robots how to use a sword was not easy on this planet, as there weren't any videos to teach it. Fortunately, I had an alien warrior with me who was a master swordsman, not to mention part machine himself, that I could work with. All I needed to do was hook up motion capture equipment to him and start filming. Problem was,_ I_ wanted to learn how to use a sword, too, because it looked awesome and because it would be helpful if I ended up in a fantasy universe. So, I'd put mo-cap gear on, pulled up a training sword (easily made out of wood) and started swinging at Goliath.

Unsurprisingly, I'd lost fifty times already, and was unlikely to win anytime soon. Of course, what would you have expected? The only thing the greatest warrior in the world should fear is the novice, but only if the battle is to the death; otherwise, they become predictable. I was definitely predictable right now, hence my losses.

"I'm getting up...did you have to punch me in the chest?"

"A real foe will not fight fairly."

"True enough," was my response, before charging at him.

Swing left, duck right, parry above, side step to the right, strike from aboveOHGODIHITHIM-oh.

[AVATAR PAIN SENSORS REDUCED TO 10% EFFICIENCY]

"...Did you have to kick me between the legs?"

"No real fight is fair."

"Touché. Though I did hit you."

"You are correct. Now get up."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We continued on until, thanks to my body being able to conserve energy better do to optimization (thank you promethean genome), I finally won a battle against Goliath. Now my Fencers had the data that they needed to fight.

As for the drills, well, I was able to integrate them onto existing bots chassis without issue. These bots duel-wielded their melee armaments, giving them two drills a piece to battle with. To achieve this, I'd had to increase the size of their torso and legs, with the head essentially fusing into the shoulder area. I also made the optics unit larger, for better sight applications. Finally, like my previous melee drone, I'd commission three different production lines for the robot: Alpha, which wielded the Vibroblade, meant for light assault and skirmishing, beta, meant for general purpose use and armed with the thermic lance, and gamma, which was meant for sieges and heavy combat and was armed with the Heavy Thermic Lance. Overall, the design was reminiscent of a certain type of armored diver, which contributed heavily to my choice of designation for these new bots.

Henceforth, this model would be known as the Levine.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	63. Annihilation 54

Once I finished setting up the Levine, it's variants, and a training program involving motion capture and most of my Sentinel genetic heroes (which I only briefly participated in), things calmed down again. So far, no one was making any problems for me or the majority of the people on this planet, and the blind eyes had apparently decided to keep quiet for the time being. Hopefully, they'd slip up soon, but in the mean time, things were, quite simply, quiet. Too quiet for a Progenitor Commander to deal with.

So, I decided to look beyond Chiron. I already had a few orbital factories up and running, so it only took me a few minutes to construct a trio of exploration fleets, equipped with fabbers, fighters, kill-sats, probes, Omegas, and at least one Artemis apiece. I set them on a course a couple of distant systems, so that I wouldn't end up poaching on any worlds the natives would like to settle. I hadn't picked up communications from any other colonies yet, so it seemed like, for now, I could focus my efforts on Chiron. Things would probably start picking up again in about a month, though, because apparently Vadim and Fielding were almost finished with the Emancipation Gate, while Elodie was working on a warp gate and the various harmony affiliated factions banding together to get the Mind Flower to open up. Considering that all of these scenarios were win conditions for Civ:BE, and tended to make everyone unhappy, tensions were probably gonna ramp up soon. All evidence I'd acquired suggested that the factions of like minded ideologies would band together to accelerate the completion of their respective ultimate structure, with the results likely to be a massive cold war that could easily go hot. I could understand why, of course: the various affinities on this planet had a fair number of extremists in them, and any indication that one affinity had an undisputed advantage against the others could lead its extremists to violence. I'd already started defanging several of the more militant groups, but I still needed a few weeks to disable all of them.

Additionally, I was also stuck with the rather annoying issue of waiting for my psychic aides to show up; XCOM hadn't decided on who to send to me prior to my trade with them, so I ha offered them more time to decide. Hopefully, they wouldn't abuse it.

On a more uplifting note, the kids were finally up and about in force. At first, they'd asked to have some privacy, so for their sake, I'd allowed them to stay solely in their quarters, with barely any contact between myself and them. This had lasted about a day before they decided to go exploring. Right now, they were headed toward Wraith's quarters. Out of all the Necro-genesis genetic heroes, he was the nicest, and would probably be one of the best to introduce them to the genetic heroes. Just to be safe, though, I asked that Andromeda be nearby if the kids got scared.

For now, I was content to wait. I could make do with spending the next few days with the kids, let everything else go on as normal, hope my enemies slipped up and gave me leads to their locations. Sometimes, you shouldn't focus on moving new mountains, and instead, you should sit back and take pride in the ones you have already moved.

Unfortunately, today was not the time for that. As I was about to get back into my avatar, I noticed something strange had happened. Apparently, some of my units had started to experience programming glitches. These sorted themselves out quickly, but the funny thing was, they always kept resurfacing at roughly even intervals. A quick examination of these units revealed that they consisted of fighters, scouts, and bombers that I'd deployed to patrol my territory. More importantly, these ones had been patrolling over a valley that I'd recently added into my territory, which, given that the planet still had plenty of unclaimed land, was steadily expanding each day. Not that anyone seemed to mind that much. My bet was that nobody really care what I did as long as I didn't start randomly shooting up people. If that line of thought was what kept people from attacking me, then so be it.

Among the glitches that my planes were experiencing were camera issues, preventing me from seeing if there was anything in the valley that could be causing the issues. Since the issues only started to occur around a certain range from the center of the valley, I decided to move in a Hermes probe to see if I could get a look at just _what_ was down there.

Were I in my avatar, I would've choked at what the probe revealed: an unmolested set of progenitor ruins.

I just couldn't believe my luck: before we was a gold mine of technology that was light years beyond anything else on this planet, and no one had noticed it? Well, it was in a deep valley. Still, that seemed pretty odd.

Then I pulled up maps and found out that apparently, the area had been a source of sensor interference for as long as there had been satellites and planes flying over it. The only difference was that the planes the colonists had flown over the area hadn't just had minor glitches, like instruments going on the fritz or turbulence. No, their aircraft had just flat out crashed. The numerous wrecks I could see using the Hermes validated those claims.

Attempting to bring in bots to examine the ruins would be pointless - they would start to malfunction when I reached the interference zone. The same was true of vehicles. I'd have to take a different approach and use something that couldn't be interfered with. Something that wasn't a machine. Something Alive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The travel over with the Envoy was brisk, though I still had the opportunity to watch the beautiful sight of the planet beneath me. Once I arrived at the safe distance, I exited my craft. From here, as my vehicles were glitching out, I'd have to walk. Even with highly durable shoes, socks, and feet, a mile of walking was not exactly something I was looking forward to. Then I remembered I could teleport thanks to the E-DNA mutations my avatar had. Suddenly, the walk didn't look so difficult.

It took me about 10 minutes to cross the mile, leaving me on the outskirts of the city. Hopefully, it didn't have any killer security systems inside it.

Just as I was about to enter the city, though, I noticed something: near the walls were four humanoid figures. Ones that, thanks to my Promethean traits, I could recognize by smell.

"Gamma Squad? Is that you?"

"..."

"...I can smell you. You're standing right next to the cracked section of the city wall."

"...Well, aren't you perceptive," noted Gamma 3. Her relative lack of surprise was expected, as Promethean humans were fairly common across Chiron, though still a minority. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I noticed my aircraft were experiencing issues in flight around this area, so I came to investigate. Why are you here?"

"Sorry, but while we may be allies, you aren't cleared to know that."

"Fair enough. Would you be wiling to help me find the source of this interference?"

"Find with us."

With our temporary alliance active once more, the five of us began to enter the city. It soon became readily apparent that, despite any attempts to Ragnarok-proof this city, it had seen better days. Collapsed buildings were a common sight, as were the skeletons of large beasts. How they had got here, as well as the cause of their demise, eluded me, but it was rather ominous.

Eventually, we reached the city center. Here, a huge building stood, resembling a cross between a pyramid and a radio tower. Curiosity got the best of us, as we soon entered into the structure. Though, to be fair, my own improved senses indicated that this was the source of the interference my machines dealt with.

The first level of the building was rather dull, merely having rooms that I assumed were meant for day-to-day activities when this building was still in use. The next floor contained, of all things, what appeared to be a library. Still rather boring, especially since it appeared that all the books had been removed before the city was abandoned.

Things got interesting on the third floor. Here, while there wasn't much of interest to me, strange sets of cables began to fill the room. Cables I recognized to some degree, though where wasn't something I could remember. The fact that I could recognize them, though, set off alarm bells. Cautiously, I tightened my grip on the laser rifle in my arms.

The higher the five of us went, the more the cables seemed to entrude on the rest of the structure, making it appear even more Alien than it already was. Occasionally, we came across some Progenitor artifact, whoch was quickly pocketed, either by myself or by Gamma Squad. Oddly, the sheer number of artifacts we found was far larger than normal, to the point I had the entire set of Progenitor relics before we reached the final floor of the building. Idly, I wondered if a ROB was to blame for this luck. Gamma squad never commented on this, but they seemed to have been making a point of not talking at all, though given how quiet the ruins were, any forewarning of an attack was a vital edge.

Finally, we reached the top of the building, or at least the limit of where we could ascend via stairs.Here, the cables and smaller wires created some kind of metallic canopy, forcing us to duck and, at times, crawl through the available passages, which lead us to the center to this floor.

There, the source of the disturbance revealed itself. It took the form of an obelisk, which occasionally released a pulse of red energy, causing the HUD for my helmet to glitch over for a moment after each pulse. Oddly, the obelisk wasn't Progenitor.

What it was, though, made me worried.

Why was what that? Well, it _probably_ had to do with the fact that the obelisk was covered in symbols that matched with the box I'd found on the Grox homeworld.

Three universes. That was how many I'd encountered these stupid artifacts on. What vision would I receive next? One that showed that the Machines the boxes had shown were allied with the Ethereals? Or perhaps they had aligned with the Micronoids? Either way, I was fed up.

"Gamma 2, advance on the Artifact."

Gamma 2 moved in close to the Artifact, readying to pick it up... until he was knocked backwards by an electric shock, leaving him injured but alive. Gamma 4 four stared at this for a moment, before advancing on the box and suffering the same fate. The other two refused to advance on the Artifact.

Sighing I walked forward, hoping my natural control of electricity would allow me some resistance to the shocks. To my surprise, the machine never struck me, allowing me to walk right up to the Artifact an touch it.

Wow. That was easy. Too easy. Where's the twist?

Before I could move the relic, the marking on the obelisk glowed red, before suddenly furring up a beam of light into the roof. As it did so, I felt immense power radiating off of the obelisk, and felt that if it were not made up stone, I'd already be set aflame.

This lasted a whole minute before the beam ceased, allowing me to remove the Artifact from its resting place. From there, it managed to compress itself into a much smaller version of itself, someohow.

Turning to leave, I finally noticed that Gamma Squad was staring at me.

This was gonna be a long day.

_And one that would have long reaching consequences._

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	64. Interlude 10

The vessel had traveled for a long time. Longer than human civilization had existed. In its time here, it had witnessed civilizations rise, grow, reach their apex, and then fall. It had noticed a vessel man would one day call the temple ship travel through the void, occasionally stopping to conquer a world and its inhabitants. It knew not what the fate of the strange ship was, nor did it care. All that mattered was that it wait for the signal.

It had arrived here from beyond the edge of this universe, in order to keep it hidden from its pursuers. Thinking about them brought back memories: of fear, of sadness, of rage, and of regret. What had happened in the past, though, was beyond the vessel's ability to change. Only what happened now would matter.

Idly, the vessel noted how lonely it was, devoid of fellow vessels or a crew. True, crew were vulnerable to the trials of age, while other ships posed security risks if one was caught while its compatriots fled, but that did nothing to relieve the burden of loneliness on the vessel's non-existent shoulders. Occasionally, when it had met another vessel in this infinite void, it had attempted communication, and rarely, it had received a response. Those times had been happy ones, but they had become few and far between.

Relatively recently, the machine had noticed an influx of ships that belonged to a race known as humans, a race it had heard much about prior to its self-imposed exodus. Occasionally, it passed a world where one of these ships had landed, where it found the crew beginning to build new lives for themselves. Equally common were worlds where the ships had suffered some error, leaving only the husk of their vessel as proof they had existed. Sometimes, it even found the shattered remains of a human vessel floating through void, crew either floating around it or missing. Best not to wonder where the missing people had gone, too many worrying possibilities there.

Deciding to discard these thoughts, the vessel continued on its course, waiting for the signal to come. With that signal, its hundred thousand year wait would finally end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Then, one day, the signal came.

Instantly, the vessel perked up, or at least did the mechanical equivalent. The pulse came from a nearby planet, one which the signal confirmed was inhabited by humans. It had sent when the signal artifact had been touched by what appeared to be a male human. Examination done on the being while they held the device confirmed that it was male, but also revealed that, though human in appearance, its genome contained traits from quite a few different species, including several that were native to this universe. Additionally, genetic markers indicated that this being had great psychic potential, though this had yet to be tapped.

Most interesting of all, though, was the discovery that this being had encountered their artifacts before. Analysis of his memories revealed that he had, on two separate equations, encountered artifacts of their design, which it now stored on in its home. These structures had been connected to a kind of scanner of some sort, designed to scan universes.

So, it seemed the plan had been a success. Well, best to help it along.

Thrusters fired as the ship slowly adjusted course and began heading toward the source of the signal, a world that was called Chiron. Normally, the distance would take a few months to cross at sub-light levels, but the vessel could easily accelerate beyond light speed, which cut down the travel time to a few hours.

However, this was not to be.

As the ship neared the planet, it began to slow down, but it was still moving at a speed which massively inhibited maneuverability. Unfortunately for the vessel, it's projected course was sending it bow first toward a meteor cloud. Desperately, it tried to change its path, but to no avail. The collision happened 10 seconds later, with dozens of meteorites and space debris pieces impacting on the vessel's hull. Normally, these pieces of space debris would, at best, cause only scratches to the vessel, but it had impacted them at half the speed of light, meaning that any impact would have catastrophic consequences. Dimly, the vessel's mind raged against the fact that its primary defense against the impacts, a high powered energy shield, had stopped working a century prior, age finally taking its toll.

The debris was able to cause moderate damage to the ship, but it still endured. Unfortunately, it was now unable to control its movements, and was locked onto a terminal orbit with planet Chiron. In any other case, the vessel would be fine with this - it could survive atmospheric reentry, even with the damage it had sustained. Unfortunately, it's defense systems had been activated during the impact, and had become stuck in this active mode.

Unable to change course, or disarm its defenses, the machine merely awaited the inevitable crash. Idly, it wondered what would happen next.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	65. Annihilation 55

After that little incident with the artifact, Gamma Team wanted answers. Specifically, they wanted to know what I knew about the artifact. Admittedly, that was a rather difficult subject for me, but then again, there was nothing I could tell them that would create problems for me in the future.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So," began Gamma One, "you've encountered machines like that one before, but all they do is give you strange visions or messages and then just lock up?"

"Yes," was my response. "I don't even know what the visions mean. There's NOTHING I've experienced that even offers a hint about what they are referring to."

"I see. Well, hopefully, nothing comes of this."

"For both our sakes, I hope you're right."

By this point, we were out of the ruins. Idly, I watched as one of my patrol aircraft flew overhead, carefully maintaining its programmed course.

...wait, it was experiencing errors?

Instantly, I turned my mind toward all of the aircraft I had patrolling over the city. Three of them, including the scout I had just seen, were inside the area where the glitches had been occurring. None of them were reporting any issues, though.

Cautiously, I made an Ant Tank move toward the city. When it entered the error-zone, nothing happened.

My question answered, I turned my attention back to my avatar and was silently thankful that Gamma team had only just noticed that I was lagging behind while signaling an Envoy to pick me up.

"Something happen?" That was Gamma Two.

"Yes. You know the big field around this city that screws up electronic systems and kept vehicles from working?"

"That's common knowledge," deadpanned Gamma Four.

"Well, it's gone."

"...you're serious?" This time, it was Gamma Three that spoke.

I merely gestured forward. Unseen to the team, my Envoy had been making its final approach.

"If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will."

The team stared at my ship for a moment, surprised, before quickly pulling out a radio and requesting their dropship come in for pickup. As for, I quickly boarded up onto my ship, making sure to secure the artifact before strapping in for the coming flight. As my ship began to take off, the Skyranger finally arrived to pick up the team. I waved them off and bid my farewell, and just before I faded from view, they seemed to return the gesture.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The flight back was relatively uneventful: no equivalents hitting the Envoy, no surprise attacks, just a normal flight. Though, to its credit, it did give me an unmolested view of Chiron's surface. My arrival back at my home base was equally dull, but that was to be expected. Soon I was back on my hub world, ready to examine the artifacts I'd acquired from the Progenitor ruins and see what I could make from them.

However, when I began examining the camera feed from my tower, I couldn't help but balk at what I found: apparently, the kids had gotten sidetracked while exploring the tower and STILL hadn't met Wraith. The fact that it had taken them an entire hour to examine everything they were interested in was baffling. Though, it appeared that finally, they were approaching Wraith's quarters, something I was glad I'd be able to watch. Hopefully, they wouldn't end up getting too scared.

XXXXXXXXX

Konrad stared at the door. This one wasn't like the others. First off, it appeared to be made out of a wood, whereas all of the other ones leading up to it were made out of metal. Additionally, this one had an inhuman skull on it (albeit one that was clearly a fake), likely meant to intimidate any unwanted guests. Konrad's power told him that someone was on the other side of this door. The appearance of the door, the skull on it, and several other bone decorations lining the nearby walls warned him that whoever lived behind the door probably didn't want visitors.

Konrad told his friends as much. They agreed with him, but at the same time, they wanted to see who lived here. In this unspoken argument, he was the minority.

Reluctantly, Konrad turned the knob on the door, then pushed it open. Slowly, light began to enter the room, revealing a surprising interior. Most of the Inside was crafted from purple-black metal, but a few items stood out: a wooden table, a comfortable looking sofa... and a weapons rack. Adorning it were a huge collection of axes, of types that transcended categorization. Nearby, a rather motley set of armor had been placed around a rather inhuman-looking mannequin.

With the coast appearing clear for the moment, the group began to fan out, trying to observe what they could and perhaps learn more about the room's inhabitant.

"Any idea's who might live in here?" was the biggest question on Konrad's mind.

"No," was Bianca's response. "Though I doubt it's human."

"No kidding," replied Elisha. "Any ideas on where they might be?"

Konrad' response was to feel around with his powers, searching for minds. All of the children had empathic powers, allowing them to sense when others were nearby, at least up to a certain range. While empathy wasn't Konrad's specialty, he could use it well enough.

Oddly, though, right now he _couldn't_ sense any minds near him besides his companions. That alone set off alarm bells in his mind, as he had just sensed a mind earlier. The fact that it had disappeared was...worrisome.

"I'm not picking up anything," he spoke, "maybe it left?"

"Or maybe he is above you, wondering why a bunch of children are sneaking into his room," answered a deep, intimidating voice from above them.

Looking up, the children gasped at the sight of the voice's owner. He would've been a giant among men, though his purple skin and odd-looking head quickly dismissed any guess that he was human. Despite his size, he was easily balancing between a pair of support beams, watching the group like a bird of prey.

"...w...w...who are you," croaked out Percival, shaking in awe and Terror.

"I am Wraith, The Spectre of Vegeance. I presume you are the Commander's newest charges?"

"...yes," was Bianka's sheepish response.

"Well, it is nice to finally meet all of you. It has been a long time since I have seen children."

"Why's that?" Questioned Konrad.

"I have spent many years fight monsters, facing beasts from the worst of nightmares. I haven't had the time to seek out civilization."

"So you've fought in great battles?" asked May, had terrified, half curious.

"Yes."

"Could you tell us about them?"

"Perhaps, but I would like to leave those for another day. What I tell you may not leave you for a long time, and I do not want you to lose sleep over what you hear."

"...I see," replied May, sounding crestfallen at the response.

"I glad that is the case. Though, I would like to give you a piece of advice."

"And that is?" asked Bianca.

"There are others like me, and you would do well to acquaint yourself with them. One of them is named Andromeda."

"Like the Queen form the Greek Legends?"

"...yes."

"Where can we meet her?"

"She's waiting in the hallway."

"...oh. Well, it was nice to meet you, Wraith."

"As it was to meet you."

Reluctantly, the group left. They had sensed some annoyance coming from him once he had revealed himself, and they dared not increase it any further. Another time, pwrhaps, they would ask him more questions, but for now, they would let himself him be.

As soon as the left, though, they found themselves staring at a new being. It resembled a woman in appearance, especially if her attire and m her...rather generous chest size were anything to go by. Konrad could tell from his powers that everyone, especially the girls, were weirded out to see such a human body type on such an alien being. Said powers also told him that said being was happy to see them.

"Hello," she began, "I am Andromeda, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

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AN: Read and Review.

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	66. Annihilation 56

I have to admit, I found Andromeda's interactions with the children to be very endearing. The fairy like being was easily able to hold the children's attention, and her general niceness and compassion really helped win them over. Though a part of me believed she was so successful because they were entranced by her mastery over gravity. Not that I could blame them: my gravitic wave attack was powerful, but Andromeda could do that and more. Her powers even let her fly without flapping her tiny, if admittedly cute, wings.

Eventually, though, I had to break my attention from the children and return to other, more important matters. Namely, examining the artifact. This one was the first one that had reacted beyond just showing me a vision, as it had shot a pulse up into the air, likely as some kind of transmission. Furthermore, it was the only device that I had encountered so far that possessed the ability to compress itself into a more compact and easy to carry form. Lastly, it was the only device of its kind that _hadn't_ sent me a vision of some sort. My best guess was that I simply hadn't interacted properly with it, though the possibility it didn't have any information to impart on me was still present.

Briefly, the fact that I may need to re-examine the artifact with a different tool or stimulus bought up another important detail that left me puzzled: aside from the odd vision, there was nothing I had been able to glean from either of the two artifacts I had acquired prior to this one: no internal workings, no composition details,_ nothing_. That was...rather worrying, for a number of reasons. One of them was just how resilient they were: these artifacts were composed of the same materials there containers were composed of, and were virtually indestructible, even with the commander technology that I possessed. Somehow, they even managed to cause a locust I used on them to experience terminal errors and shut down with no hope of reactivation. That spoke volumes of whoever had made these devices, and not in a good way. It suggested that what I was dealing with was beyond the capabilities of the Progenitors by leagues. That did not bode well for me if I got on these beings' bad sides. At this point, I decided on a new goal: advance my capabilities as fast as possible, in order to be able to fight these beings if necessary.

Feeling the need to calm my nerves, I pulled out a glass of cold milk to drink. Alcohol was not exactly the best thing for a troubled mind, and besides, I didn't want to deal with even a minor amount of intoxication just yet. A few seconds of pouring and the glass was full, leaving me to put the gallon back in a nearby fridge. However, instead of walking over to pickup the glass, I held out my hand and concentrated. Sure enough, the glass levitated through the air and into my open palm, which quickly closed around it.

In hindsight, I found it rather surprising that, though I had met XCOM a short while ago, it had only occurred to me now that my body, created from the apex of the human genome, might possess psionic powers. I mean, come on, they weren't even a secret anymore in this universe! Apparently, there were in fact plenty of psionic humans living in all the colonies on this planet, and they didn't really get a lot of flak about it. I guess a couple hundred years and three world changing events will do that for them. Idly, I wondered if any of the gene mods that were created during the war were hereditary, but shelved that thought after a moment. That was probably a secret that only XCOM knew.

Speaking of XCOM, before I could attempt any further analysis of the artifacts, I received a notification that XCOM had finally decided on who would be the children's tutors. To my surprise, I would be receiving three tutors, instead of two. Unexpected, but useful. I swiftly gave them directions on where to land and made my way to Chiron to welcome them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I will admit, I was surprised by who they had chosen as the children's tutors. The first one to exit the Skyranger looked like a normal soldier, albeit with an interesting set of armor and a strange looking device in his hand. I recognized it as an XCOM 2 Psi Amp. I hadn't expected to encounter that, but it was something worth noting. Seeing it also made me decide to begin checking to see if any of my creations were psionic. It was fairly likely that at least some possessed the gift, and psionics was a field that offered unprecedented opportunity to work with.

The second XCOM operative to exit the Skyranger was female, based on the shape of her armor. Said armor, though, was unlike any I'd seen an XCOM soldier wear before. It resembled a knight to some degree, but at the same time had an almost mystical touch to it. I was awed by it for a moment, but soon that wore off. Perhaps I could negotiate the acquisition of a set of armor not unlike hers?

The third and final operative to exit the Skyranger, though, truly caught me off guard. First off was their appearance - all that they wore was a cloak. Yet their odd choice in attire paled in comparison to their physical appearance. From the small viewing area the cloak offered, I saw that this being appeared almost translucent, with their skin glowing with comforting green light. Moreover, I could make out tendrils appearing from around where the arm holes in the cloak were. The mere fact that I new what this being was left me absolutely stunned.

I'd seen this being in The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.

It was an ethereal.

But...but...how? Hadn't all of the Ethereals died after the Uber one bit the dust? Though there was a possibility that this was an ascended one. But then why had XCOM decided to work with them?

I swiftly quashed these thoughts. Whatever these origins of this odd partnership, now was not the time to investigate it. Best to welcome the new guests.

"Greetings. May I ask who you are?"

"I am Aleixo Agre," was the response from the man.

"Myala," replied the woman. Odd name.

"...you may refer to me as Selipsis," intoned the Ethereal. Its tone implied it was female.

"I will remember those. Now, just follow me and I'll introduce you to your charges."

XXXXXXXX

The level of professionalism these operatives displayed was matched only by their stoicism. It was almost impossible to get a reaction out of them. They had felt only a moment of surprise at the realization of how large my tower was before they returned to their emotionless expressions. Not that this stopped me from trying to strike up a conversation.

"So, not to sound rude, but why are you working with an Ethereal?"

"Explain," asked Myala.

"From what I have gathered, you fought her kind in the First Alien War, yet now you stand side by side. I could understand that, except that all evidence I have acquired indicates that not only did the Ethereals try to enslave you, but they were rendered extinct at the conclusion of the war."

"Not all of us," noted Selipsis.

"Now it is your turn to explain," was my response.

"Before the conflict, some of our kind managed to ascend, becoming beings of living energy. Those who did not chose to invade your world ,seeking new hosts, because their unascended bodies had begun to fail. We tried to oppose them, but they enslaved us as well, using us to power their advanced computers. Once the greatest of the Unascended was slain, we were free, and together with the Elder's other thralls, sought peace."

"...I believe you."

By now we had wandered into the room I'd used when creating close quarter combat programs for my melee bots. XCOM noticed the damage from the prior battle, but didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"So," began Agre, "will we meet the children soon?"

"Yes, though right now they are listening to stories from one of my underlings. It will only take a moment to fetch them."

"We can wait, if you desire," responded Selipsis.

"But they are your students."

"We have plenty of time to meet them. Besides, I can tell that they are not the only ones who have the gift that live in this building."

"Really?" Maybe this was my shot at finding out if some of my followers were psychic.

"Yes. I can sense many in this building who are psychic, but the greatest potential for psionic power here comes form an interesting source."

"And what would that be?"

"It is coming from _you_."

"Come again?"

"I sense a great deal of psychic potential from you, yet it is untapped and needing guidance. And while our orders were to teach the children, I see nothing wrong with imparting the gift onto you."

"Okay then...would you like to start now?"

"Yes, but I believe that first, we will need to gauge your strength in both body and mind."

"How?"

"Perhaps a duel against Myala? The battle will need to be one without guns or other ranged weapons."

"Are swrods allowed?"

"...I don't see why not."

Instantly, a weapons rack moved up to me, and I pulled out a sword and took a fighting stance.

"I don't expect you to go easy on me."

"Nor do I expect you to hold back, Commander," responded Myala as she took up a fighting stance. To my shock, a sword of purple energy formed in her right hand.

Well, may the best human win.

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AN: Read and Review. This is Flamea15k, signing off!


	67. Interlude 11

Shink!

Crash!

Cring!

The sounds of battle filled the hall, as the two warriors continued their duel. Neither had tired yet, even after five minutes of fighting. Fide found it impressive they had the stamina to continue their confrontation, and idly noted that her creator was doing much better than he had in his training with Goliath. True, he would likely tire before he could win, but that was besides the point.

Eventually, though, Fide was forced to leave stop viewing the confrontation and move on to other, less interesting issues. For starters, she set about examining Chiron's analogue for an internet, hoping to discover what people on the planet thought about her master. Her reports revealed that most people were still relatively ambivalent about the Commander, something she hoped would change soon.

An alert soon popped up: it appeared that Synais was attempting to order various items from some kind of online store, analogous to something her creator had called Amazon. She quickly canceled the order, while warning him that they could not attempt to buy things from this planet until they could justify possessing the native currency. Their power production, while effective, could not be used as a mint on this world. Additionally, some of Synais' orders were ridiculous. What usage did he have for women's underwear?! Though she wouldn't be surprised if he wore it on his head; he was rather childish at times.

A new alert soon replaced the old one. This time, it was a meteorological report: a meteor shower would make planetfall soon. None of their orbital facilities would be harmed by it, so it was something she would normally dismiss, but Fide made a note to tell the Commander about this. Rory had never seen a meteor shower, and she doubted her creator would want to deny him this experience.

Oddly, a feeling of dread filled her as she thought about the meteor shower, but it was soon quashed. Why did they have to fear in this universe from space debris?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The vessel could feel itself beginning to burn up. With its propulsion systems wrecked, though, it had no way of adjusting so that re-entry would be less painful.

It had been floating for a few hours since the collision, and knew that the end of its journey was near. Soon it would be on the surface of the world that contained the being it sought. Grimly, it wondered what kind of adversity it's defended would cause for the natives, for while all had been armed, was not a fraction had been activated. Of those that were inactive, though, many were likely to come online following the impact, to prevent unwanted boarders.

To some degree, the ship was glad that one of its defenses was incredibly effective camouflage, which allowed it to blend in with the space debris so well that not even the best telescopes would notice it. Stop, that might be a problem when it hit the surface.

Oh well. It is not like the shop had a choice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Planet sensed the new mind's arrival.

This one was..._different_ from others, feeling more...mechanical, yet still emotional. Planet knew not how this was possible, only that it was. Besides, she was more concerned with what the new mind would do.

She had felt it arrive in the system a few hours ago, sensing it's presence in a ship trapped in a meteor storm. Oddly, it appeared that the mind was the ship's, as it lacked a crew. Though a novelty to Planet, she had reluctantly buried her curiosity as she watched the ship break through her atmosphere.

As it had descended, she had easily determined its emotions: fear, anger, and impotence had been the most common, but they had all given way to resignation, as the ship had come to accept its doom to die on impact with Planet's surface. This had made its survival all the ore surprising. Barring a jolt of discomfort when the ship hit the ground, though, and a ticklish feeling from the impact of the meteorites, the only thing she felt from the vessel was an overwhelming sense of worrying. Why eluded her.

Then came the pain.

Indescribable, unquantifiable, OH SWEET CREATOR MAKE IT STOP PAIN!

At first, the pain made it too hard to think, but gradually, Planet regained her faculties, and as she did so, she noticed that the pain seemed to originate from where the vessel had landed. Briefly, she wondered if the vessel was causing this, before that theory soon became fact: examining the ship's mind proved that yes, it was causing this, but not intentionally. Desperately, Planet tried to search the vessel's mind for some way to stop the pain.

Then it returned in full force and became the only thing she could think about.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Raptor Bug howled as it skull burned.

It didn't no what was going on. It's pack had been drinking when a huge falling light had impacted some distance away. Knowing that these lights sometimes exposed burrowing prey, the pack had advanced on it to search for food. Now, though, its pack was lying on the ground, simpering from pain that had just appeared without warning.

They were not the only ones in pain. Other nearby creatures had fallen over and were squirming on the ground, trying to make the phantom pain leave them. Yet strangely, more distant beasts did not seek to be feeling this agony. Instead, a strange bloodlust seemed to have overtaken them, as they were busy tearing each other to pieces.

All except for one, though.

A siege worm, for reasons unknown, was heading south. Most animals had avoided the South, as the new being had arrived there sometime before, and had lain the painful sounds that the animals didn't like. Now, though, they were dealing with pain that made even the painful sounds bearable.

Why the siege worm left eluded the Raptor big, and ultimately, it didn't matter. All that mattered now was making the pain stop.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	68. Annihilation 57

While I have certainly seen quite a few amazing sights as a commander, I'll still admit that the meteor shower I witnessed on Chiron was one of the greatest. True, I'd seen meteors before I became a Commander, and I'd seen plenty of meteor showers after this one, but my first was the most significant.

Maybe it was because this was the first big event that I shared with my son. Oh, how happy he looked at the sight of stars shooting across the night sky. His eyes shined at the beautiful vision, his awe impossible to conceal. That sight, in turn, filled me with warmth: it was nice to get to spend time with him, free of any reason for stress.

Rory wasn't alone in his awe: the children I'd adopted were also taking in the celestial event, and they were definitely enjoying it. Alongside them were the genetic heroes, whose appearance they'd taken rather well. I mean, sure, there was the initial reaction of fear to some of the more intimidating heroes, but that had soon faded. I'd asked my heroic companions to be on their best behavior around the children, but even then, this was above my expectations, especially in regards to some of the more amoral ones, like Arakna and Revenant. Arakna, though, had a reason to be so caring: she was a mother, and I think she was just allowing her instincts to take over.

"My, how happy you are."

I went stiff for a moment, before turning toward its source.

Leaning against a pillar only a few meters away from me was Melissa, a smirk covering her face.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, struggling to keep the shock out of my voice.

"The same thing you are, watching the meteor shower. Isn't that why you built this structure? To get the best seats in the house, or planet, as it were."

"...You are correct about why I built this place, but I doubt that your motives are true."

"Well, I might be withholding a fact or two."

"Like what?"

"Well, I don't really want to see the meteor shower. But Cassidy does." Melissa followed that with a glance toward the edge of the viewing area I'd made. Sure enough, Cassidy was there, gazing on in silence at the magnificent phenomenon of nature. Quite a bit like Rory, now that I thought about it.

"...Ok, I believe you. Though, may I ask you a question?"

"...I don't see why not."

"Well then, why are you so willing to...interact with me?"

"Oh. Your were expecting a 'sponsor' that just dumped you into a commander, told you what they expected of you, and then just disappeared?"

"...well, yes. Though, I'll admit that view may have been colored by reading a lot of fanfiction."

"I hardly find that a surprise. Though, I will admit that I am an exception to the norm among Random Omnipotent Beings. Others on my level of power prefer to take a hands off approach to dealing with their pawns."

"So, I'm a pawn to you?"

"Indeed. Though, I will admit I have ulterior reasons for being more active."

"And those would be?"

"Well, you have been...rather lucky in your travels. You have yet to face any foes who have forced you to use excessive force on just a planetary scale. True, the war against the Darkspore saw your armies deployed without restraint, but you did that out of paranoia and fear, not out of necessity. The issues you have faced are, well, rather dull."

"So you think I'm boring?"

"No, but you are rather slow going in trying to fix the issues in this universe. Though that could probably be attributed to the fact that most of them aren't things superior firepower could fix."

"hmm..."

Now that I thought about it, I was rather slow going in helping the natives. But I still had one question to ask.

"May I ask another question?"

"OF course."

"Why are you so...friendly, with me?"

To my surprise, Melissa seemed to deflate at the question, losing any signs of arrogance she'd had when telling me how boring I'd been.

"...Eh, boredom, I suppose."

"You're being friendly with me because you're bored?"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?!"

She seemed to be lost for a moment, but then a hint of smugness returned to her. "Do you really expect a straight answer from me?"

"...ergh. Fine, be like that. Just don't overstay your welcome."

"Oh, I won't."

She finally got up off of the pillar she'd been leaning against. Now that she was standing straight, I was able to learn a fact that I'd missed in our first meeting: Melissa was taller than me. As in, I was looking at her chin when she stood up tall. A glance downward told me she wasn't adjusting her height with heeled shoes - she really was that tall. Well, her avatar was, anyways.

"Enjoy the rest of the meteor shower," she said. Then, she began to head inside. Probably wanted to enjoy some of the refreshments I'd arranged for this occasion.

"Commander, an anomaly has been detected," spoke a feminine voice. Idly, I noted that it was the voice that notified you of all alerts in Planetary Annihilation. I really should ask if it has a name.

"Elaborate."

"Strange signals have been detected from the area where the meteorites that survive atmospheric entry are landing."

"Oh. Well, are there any details you can provide on those signals?" Really, I didn't want to leave this little spectacle. Moments like these were too few for my liking.

"Only that one of them matches one we have on our records."

"And that would be?"

"The one that came from the Progenitor City you just visited."

Oh.

Yeah, that was important.

I quickly sent an air scout toward the signal. True, it would probably experience glitches, but anything I could learn about the source of this signal was important. It would also bring me one step closer to figuring out what the boxes were trying to tell me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I soon found out that, whatever signal the artifac I'd found in that city had done to make my units glitch out, that was a _toned down_ version of this one.

As in, my air scout didn't glitch our when it got close enough to the signal. It shut down. Well, mostly. It still retained enough functionality to tell me when it crashed.

How the hell could this signal shut down my aircraft? Progenitor stuff had absolutely broken amounts of anti-hacking software. This should be impossible.

Well, it had happened, so I guess it was possible now.

Okay. well, onto plan B: Use the Genetic Heroes to take the artifact. I'd commanded them before, so it wouldn't really be difficult.

"So, my quiet pawn, what's got your attention? You don't seem to be enjoying the meteor shower, an I know that you'd only be this silent if you're attention was focused elsewhere."

Ugh, not now.

"Something came up. An unexpected discovery relating to tonight's lightshow."

"That's rather vague."

"Well, if you must know, it involves some kind of alien artifact that I've found on my travels." She probably didn't even know what I was talking about.

"Oh...Wait, you mean like the one you found on the Grox Homeworld?"

Or not.

"Um, yes..."

I was rather surprised by her reaction to my confirmation, as it was the very first time I'd ever seen an entity comparable to a god lose its temper, or at least come close. Melissa managed to restrain herself to just looking really pissed off and crushing a drink cup in her hand, but considering that said drink cup was made of metal, this was still rather intimidating. This also had the effect of alerting everyone watching the light show to Melissa's presence.

"...um, what's wrong."

"Those guys need to know when to stay out of the business of others."

"What?"

"That schematic that you got from the first artifact? The one that built a scanner attached to your multiversal gateway? Well, as you might have guessed, it scans universes, and seems to decide which ones you'll arrive at. As you may have also. Priced, every universe you've arrived at so far has an artifact in it. I don't think that's a coincidence, do you?"

...She had a good point.

"Okay, but why are you telling me this."

"Because as far as I am concerned, I am the only one allowed to determine which universes you go to."

Wow, you are so possessive.

"I see. I'm not sure how to take that..."

"Commander," began the female voice, "it appears forces belong to Franco-Iveria are moving to examine the impact sight. I'm latching you into their armor cameras."

Soon, I was inside a transport that was rolling up to the edge of where the signal was boradcasting, which a quick change of focus revealed to be interfering with all of my equipment, creating a dead zone around the Artifact. Before it got too close, the vehicle stopped, and the soldiers, including the one whose armor camera I was piggy backing off of, disembarked.

"Alright," began the leader, "command wants us to see what's causing all of our satellites watching this area to screw up. Keep together, and be careful. No hostiles are expected, but you never-"

That was all he said before somethinglarge rammed into him and began mauling him. Fortunately, his men managed to wound his assailant, which retreated, allowing the man to get back up. Soon, though, the beast returned.

Apparently, it was a Raptor Bug, but something was off. The animal looked... sick? Angry? Maddened? Maddened! It looked maddened. It began to assault another man, only to once again feel the power of guns. This time, it didn't get away.

As the soldiers celebrated their victory, though, more of the bugs appeared and began attacking them. Casualties soon began to mount, until the vastly depleted squad tried to run. Unfortunately, something green hit their transport, destroying it. From there, they were whittled down until the man I wa observing was the only one left. I saw him try to run, only to trip. As he got back up, a Wolf-Beetle leaped at him. The footage stopped a second later.

Good thing, too. I was starting to shake in my shoes.

Before I could get the uneasiness, though, new alerts popped up: apparently, what I had witnessed was not an isolated incident. All around the impact sight, teams has been sent to investigate by the colonists, only to be attacked by crazed wildlife. Just when it looked bad enough, an orbital view revealed that, outside of the signal area, lots of creatures were on the move. It looked like a big war was about to begin.

"Why are you so quiet now?" questioned Melissa.

"...thing seem to be getting interesting right now."

"Hmph. I'll be judge of that."

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	69. Annihilation 58

It didn't take long to load up the genetic heroes into a transport and send them toward the impact site, along with my commander unit and, against my better judgement, my avatar. I wasn't initially going to bring the avatar into battle, but the Genetic Heroes managed to convince me otherwise. Personally, I think that they wanted to see how tough I was, seeing how I'd fought both Myala and Goliath and done reasonably well in the former duel.

Along the way, we'd been rather surprised to see a siege worm headed toward our base. When the siege worm ended up attacking several tanks and bots I'd brought to support the heroes in reaching the impact site, I ended up roasting it with some satellite lasers, leaving a feast behind for whatever the vulture equivalents on this planet were. Part of me felt bad about killing such a spectacular beast, but after I learned via orbital viewing satellites that the worm had traveled toward my base from the impact sight, the feelings had faded. Best not to take any chances.

Eventually, we finally reached our destination. I quickly used my Commander to set up a perimeter and start fortifying the area, as well as get a few factories up to begin building units. The one's I'd already brought were engaging the hostile wildlife. To my surprise, they were assisted by manticores and a siege worm in these efforts, as well as the survivors of the team's the colonists had sent to examine the anomaly.

Since these people had direct links to their commanders, I piggy backed off their comms to inform their superiors that I was getting involved, and asked that they avoid trying to enter the signal's effective area. That would just lead to unnecessary casualties. They reluctantly complied, as they had prior evidence from the Progenitor Coty's signal to back up my claims.

With the colonists dealt with, I could focus on the impact site. My trio of XCOM agents had arranged for XCOM to deploy a team to assist my forces, meaning that the total force entering the area rounded out to 30 people...well, sentient beings.

"So, ready to advance, you fearless commander?"

Ugh. This was going to be annoying.

Melissa had 'convinced' me to put cameras on all of the genetic heroes, as well as on my armor, and link hem to a projector back at the viewing area I'd made so that she could watch the mission, along with Cassidy, Rory, my XCOM liaisons, and my new wards. The alternative was that she would have forced me to do what she asked with her powers. A choice that wasn't really a choice at all.

Though, I was going to exploit my ability to perceive things more rapidly as a Commander/Promethean to cut the feed of things ended up looking inappropriate for kids. I doubted Melissa would mind, given that she was a(n absurdly youthful) mother.

"Yes, actually. ADVANCE!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

The minute I entered the signal's effective zone, I felt weird. An analysis of my Avatar's biometric revealed that the signal was disrupting my avatar's connection to my commander body. Nothing major, though some memory loss might occur if my avatar died.

The fact that this signal could disrupt the connection at all, though, made me uneasy. Who the HELL could disrupt Progenitor Hypertech Bullshit? I mean, I could think of some examples, but what I'd seen of these being's tech didn't match any of the candidates I had in mind.

My thoughts were quickly disrupted, though, by the arrival of a pack of Wolf-Beetles. The hostile Arthropods were swiftly gunned downed, but more soon took their place. Unfortunately for the new comers, we were packing superior firepower. Unfortunately for us, they had superior numbers. Also, they had manticores and Raptor Bugs backing them up.

The battle toward the impact site was savage, and I'll admit that the only reason I showed it to my son, my wards, and my enemy's daughter was that they all had the mental maturity of teenagers, if not the physical maturity. Though, given that most of them were fighting over snacks, I wasn't worried about them being traumatized at the moment.

Considering that lots of bugs were getting gutted, flattened, exploded or pulp, and occasionally incinerated, I was glad that's at of my viewers weren't paying attention. Only Melissa, Fide, Synais and Lathikon were paying attention, and the latter three were rather annoyed they had to share the room with my ROB. Apparently, my dislike of her had imprinted onto them. Hooray.

Back to the battle: I wasn't really a powerhouse in combat, as I didn't really have a weapon that could do a lot of damage and my E-DNA abilities hadn't seen too much combat use, so I mostly hung back and shot at stuff, occasionally gutting an alien with my sword. From time to time, I'd use my healing spires to get a hero or XCOM soldier back on their feat, use my teleport strike to kill a bug, or drain the life out of a creature via my vampiric claws if I gor hurt, but that was about it.

I will admit I was very surprised to see a Raptor Big pack be annihilated by a mass of green orbs. What date I could get from my units outside the signal's range was that the orbs had come from manticores. In hindsight, seeing that I had seen some manticores helping the colonists outside this area, their artillery support made sense. I gues whatever was making the signal was driving the nearby wildlife berserk, and the unaffected animals had realized this and were helping deal with their mad brethren. Nice.

Eventually, though, the horde thinned, leaving us to advance further. Soon we were standing on the edge of the crater that defined the impact sight. What we saw was, well, surprising.

After all, it's not every day that you see an alien starship inside a crater.

When the shock faded, we advanced toward the remains for the ship, facing little resistance on the way. My now very glitchy link to my Commander told me that most of the bugs were trying to attack the colonists and vehicles that were now guarding the singal's efdective range. Idly, I noted that the signal had practically killed if the effectivenesss of my Progenitor based sensors, meaning that, sensor-wise, this area was a dead zone for me. Oh joy. Also, how did it bust my sensors? And why was Melissa so quiet? Food for thought.

XXXXXXX

The vessel watched as the new arrivals made their way into its mangled body, careful to watch for hidden foes. The ship noted that the security systems were already preparing to destroy them. All things considered, said system would likely fail. Still, unnecessary violence was distasteful.

Then the ship noticed the security-subroutines were examining the biometric scanner. But why? The only being that they would recognize was-oh no.

XXXXXXXXXX

As we wandered through the ship, everyone was on edge, for the simple fact that we hadn't met resistance yet. Perhaps the ship was unoccupied? Or maybe the security measures were just gearing up for a big push?

My train of thought was derailed, though, when a laser ford passed through the room, faster than any of us could react. It zoomed through the room, apparently heedless of the group of strangers in it.

Island then it stopped when it touched me. A moment later, a whirring noise filled the air.

I didn't even have time to swear before the floor fell out from underneath me, sending me falling through what I assumed was a vent.

XXXXXXXX

Sage watched the commander fall, followed by the door sealing up from under him, seperating him from them. Briefly, Sage aimed his cannon at the floor, ready to blow it open.

Then a mouse brought Sage's attention to the ceiling, just in time to notice the appearance of several gun turrets, which were now locking onto the genetic heroes and their XCOM allies.

Then they opened fire.

XXXXXXXXXX

Surprisingly, the fall was much shorter than expected, and left me in what I assumed to be a maintenance area.

More surprising still was that, when I got back up, I found an arrow pointing toward somewhere. Cautiously, I followed it, taking care to watch for threats. The first arrow lead me to another, and then another, until I finally reached a door, which had some strange letters on it. Soon, though, the letters rearranged themselves to say 'Security Control Center.'

Convenient. And suspicious.

"Wow, that isn't suspicious at all."

Thank you for stating the obvious, Melissa.

Cautiously, I opened the door.

On the other side, I found a very expansive room, filled with targets and practice dummies. Stuff you'd normally find in a weapons training area.

Oh, and a ton of gun turrets. All of which were aiming at me.

I quickly took cover behind a nearby pillar, thankful that I could teleport. A few quick shots took out some of the guns, leaving me feeling rather happy about myself.

Then I heard the footsteps.

Reluctantly, I peered around the pillar to look at their source. I almost wish I hadn't.

Just arriving onto the scene were ten humanoid robots, all carrying what looked like rifles. Laser based ones, at that.

Well, it seemed I was in for a fight.

"Good luck."

"...I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you Melissa."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	70. Annihilation 59

A hail of laser fire streaked passed me, causing a nearby wall to light up from the heat. Seeing the damage made me wonder just how much cover the metal pillar I was hiding behind really provided me. Additionally, another question plagued my mind, one that was far more pressing than my cover issue.

WHY DID I AGREE TO COME HERE IN PERSON? HOW DID THE GENETIC HEROES CONVINCE ME TO DO THIS?!

Well, no use crying over spilt milk. For now, it was best if I just focused on surviving. Though, I did wonder what was happening to heroes and the XCOM team I'd entered this ship with. I assumed they were under attack, but they were probably handling things better than me, what with having actual combat experience and training.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Zrin rammed his burning fist into the beetle, causing it to explode. The grisly charred remnants of the beast fell to the ground as another took its place, trying to claw out the Sun-Fist's eyes. This one, though, was swiftly gutted by a watching Viper, who quickly moved on to attacking other beasts with his poisoned blades. A Raptor-Bug that had tried to take a bit out of him now lied on the ground, dying from ingesting the poison that coated his skin. Nearby, Revenant was using his powers on a Makara, brutally killing the giant alien.

All around the trio, their companions were inflicting great casualties on their foes, piling the dead so high that the newest arrivals to the battle actually had to climb over their own casualties before they could join the carnage. The humans were no slouches here, either: they were picking off the creatures the heroes of the Crogenitor Resistance had missed, picking them apart with mechanical efficiency.

Zrin had to admit, he'd thought humans were a rather soft-looking race, one that mad him question why the new Crogenitor chose their Avatar to be a human. Now, though, he could see that beneath an assuming appearance, humans could be just as strong as the mightiest of predators, and united, they went beyond even that. Granted, that was a trait that could be applied to most sentient beings, but that was besides the point.

Idly, he wondered where Commander was, or if he was even still alive. Hopefully, he was. Zrin didn't really want to go look for another master, plus nobody paid him as good as the Commander did, even if most of the payment amounted to a nice home and lots of good food.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yeah, they were probably fine.

Another barrage of lasers blew right past me, returning my focus to the battle at hand. Okay, I needed to find a way past these guys. Maybe I could get them to fall back a bit if I shot at them? Well, I had to try something, anyways.

I turned around the corner and opened fire, managing to take out a few of the turrets before the shock of my retaliation fades and my foes return fire. I was quickly hiding behind the pillar, again, desperate to avoid the laser fire. My pulse was racing, my teeth were chattering, and I was shaking beyond belief. I still couldn't believe that I'd let myself be talked into going into battle in person. All I wanted now was to be back in the safety of my home. My EARTH home, not my tower on my hub world, not my starship, but the home I'd grown up in. I just wanted to go home and cry in joy at finally being back home.

Eventually, though, I managed to regain my composure (granted, only after a few laser shots flew right over my head) and returned to the battle. The only way I stood even the slimmest of chances to get back home was finding some way to force Melissa to send me back, and that would probably take a great many universes to discover. If I wanted to get to just another world, though, I had to win this battle.

Calming myself, I quickly turned around the corner and opened fire, knocking out the remaining gun turrets before I was forced to take shelter once more. The robots, noticing the disabled turrets, advanced on me, meaning that I didn't really have any way to exploit the losses that I'd inflicted.

Or so it appeared. As the robots shot at me, I watched as some kind of tank ruptured from stray fire, spraying fluid over a walkway and several robots. A scanner I'd put inside my Avatar told me (through a hailstorm of glitches) that this fluid was water, and that this water would be conductive. Problem was, I didn't have a taser or electric weapon on me.

I did have electrokinesis, though.

Making sure not to touch any pig the other metal surfaces in the room, I put my left hand over the water, thankful that some of it was close enough to me that I could attempt this without breaking cover. Then, I concentrated on my hand, filling it with electricity. When it was full of charge, I pressed it into the puddle.

With a flash, a third of the robots were overloaded by the charge, causing them to explode. Some of their remains impacted the others, being the total number of bots down to three-fifths their starting number. The others seemed to lessen their firepower for a moment, unsure how to proceed.

A fatal mistake for them.

I used my gravitic attack to flatten five robots, before attacking the rest with my necrogensis ranged attack, which left me with only one machine to face. To my surprise, it charged me, and was swiftly cut down by my sword.

Wow. That was easy. Apparently, adrenaline is very helpful for me.

Then one last robot dropped out of the ceiling. This one was bigger and more heavily armored than the others, and appeared to lack melted weapons. The minute to got up from its hard landing, it turned its gaze to me.

Oh joy.

Idly, I wondered how hectic things were getting outside the Deadzone I was in.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Within the Avenger, the head of XCOM sighed. Things were getting out of hand. The aggressive wildlife been overwhelming the colonial forces around the impact sight through numbers alone, forcing everyone to call in reinforcements to hold the line. XCOM had contributed quite a few teams to assist them, to the point that it would be impossible (or at least difficult) to hide the organization from the public eye after this battle was over.

Not that this was a bad thing. XCOM had been operating int the shadows for so long that people had forgotten it had even existed, forcing them to operate in ways that were questionable at best. If the public knew about them, and was willing to accept them as a sponsored force, then maybe they could drop their most questionable methods of obtaining income.

The XCOM Commander soon turned his attention to the coast nearby the impact site. Here, XCOM was dealing with a hoarse of flyers and agree sea beasts. Backing them up was a hydra carrier and its aircraft hitch belonged, apparently, to their newest neighbor. He wondered how well the ship would fare in the battle.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hydra-One watched the battle above it with emotionless curiosity. The insects above it were no longer attempting to intercept the aircraft it had sent to kill them, and were now focusing on trying to kill it.

A quick volley of flak and SAM fire obliterated them, but more were already moving to take their place. This time, though, they made sure to split apart, so that flak shots would not work on them. Granted, they were soon laid low by rapid fire anti-air machine guns, but their capacity to strategize was impressive.

A strike to its side alerted Hydra-One to a Sea Dragon trying to breach the ship's hull. A swift blast from the ship's deck guns (a special modification added by the commander to all his carriers) reduced the dragon to food for scavengers, but more were coming.

Sensing the need for assistance, Hydra-One connected to its commander's node network and began calling for reinforcements. Linked to its allies and its prior experiences, the ship was able to draft up an idea on how to fend back this assault, and gave the orders. The plan was soon put into action, with a 90% chance of sucess.

Despite this, though, the machine felt what could best be described as anxiety, for it could not be sure that the plan would succeed, and even if it did, more bugs were on the way. The feeling was novel, but chalked up to overtaxing of its systems. Soon, it would be gone.

Preferably after the bugs were dealt with.

XXXXXXXX

I jumped back, avoid a slash by the giant bot. I tried to make my own attack on it, only to be forced back.

I was mostly fighitnon instinct now, my body reacting to the assault on it without any conscious thought. When I could block, my carapace power activated, shielding the target area from harm. Problem was, i was still getting tired, even if I could block all of the attacks on me, meaning that eventually, the bot would win if I didn't find a way to beat it.

I had a plan for that, though: I was going to lure toward the puddle, shock it, then press on for their based off whatever my instincts told me. Hopefully, it would work.

Sure enough, when the robot reached the puddle, it stepped in and found itself dealing with an overcharge. It recovered faster than the others, though, but not before I sent a blast of Flame into it, which heated the armor to a molten state. After that, my instincts (which I was starting to believe were some echo of the hive mind of the Darkspore) told me to strike with my Thorn whip, follow up with a shoulder charge-

XXXXXXXXX

"Go Dad!"

"COMMANDER FLAME! COMMANDER FLAME!"

Melissa smiled as she watched the children (including her own daughter) chant the Commander's name.

"Looks like you were right: this is more entertaining."

XXXXXXXXX

-punch head, use vampiric claws, jump back, obliterate now weakened armor with gravity attack, then strike chest with teleport attack to end the battle.

I end ed up driving the giant hot through a wall my last attack, ripping out its power supply in the process.

As I got up and finally noticed how tired I was, I noticed a nearby key, along with a hold for it nearby and, lost suprising of all, a little label next to it: To shut down security protocols, insert and twist key.

Was it really that easy?

Well, apparently, it was, because following the directions caused the room I was in to darken, and also got rid of the signal that was causing me interference.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

XXXXXXX

From its control center, the vessel finally relaxed. It was fortunate that the security shut-down key had come lose within easy reach of the new arrival. Now, the bloodshed would end.

XXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	71. Annihilation 60

Zrin was surprised. One moment the bugs had been attacking them, the next they had been decided to retreat. What had caused this change, he didn't know. Perhaps the Commander had found a way to stop the beasts' madness? Maybe whatever mechanism was driving them berserk had worn itself out?

Well, how this had happened didn't matter, the fact that it had happened did. The native fauna were retreating, leaving the Genetic Heroes and their allies alone.

With nothing left to fight, the healers among the motley team had begun treating the wounds of the comrades, attempting to deal with problems that could not be treated in the heat of combat. The humans were apparently calling their superiors, likely to ask for someone to pull them out now that the battle was over. As for Zrin, he began to search the area for anything to loot. While the Commander would probably gut this ship for all of its technology, Zrin wanted to have some trophy to remember this battle by, preferably a mechanical one in addition to the stuffed body of one of their foes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the security systems down (which, apparently, also made the wildlife calm again), I was almost ready to leave the ship. First, though, I wanted to see if there was an artifact onboard. There was one problem, though: I had no idea where it might be, and the ship was likely a labyrinthine mess that would be difficult at best to navigate. Maybe there was a directory somewhere that I could use or-why is there another set of glowing arrows on the wall, and where are they pointing toward?

Wait, the last ones had led me to the security shutdown room, so maybe these ones would lead me to safety. Or to the artifact I was looking for. I doubted they would lead me to a trap, but I gripped my laser rifle tighter all the same. One day, I'd look back on this find it ironic that this whole fiasco was one of the least intense situations I'd been involved in, but that would be far away for now.

So, with no other choice, I began to follow the arrows.

XXXXXXXXXX

Finally, the ship thought, things are as they should be. The new one would follow the light and find the memory-holder, and its task would be done.

XXXXX

The ship I was on was absolutely colossal, so navigating it was a hassle, even with the assistance of whoever was putting the arrows on the wall, and it took me quite a while to reach my intended destination.

Most of which was spent idly chatting with my allies, subordinates, and Melissa. Especially Melissa. My kids and subordinates could only gush about how awesome I'd been, which was both gratifying and kinda annoying. As for my allies (currently amounting only to XCOM), well they, didn't have too much to say.

XXXXXXXX

"Greetings, Commander."

"Hello, Comammndr Flame. It seems your actions have managed to stop this catastrophe."

"I'm flattered, but your people certainly proved themselves today, holding back the horde of crazed wildlife."

"The compliment is appreciated, though I'd rather not talk about my men at them moment. We've just finished tallying our casualties."

"Oh. I' sorry... forgive me, but how many men did you lose?"

"None, actually, though we have twenty soldiers in critical condition. Unbelievably good for us, given the circumstances."

I'd almost forgotten that wounded and missing personnel were considered casualties in addition to the dead.

"True. I'm browsing the planetary communications right now, and your men are showing up on a lot of major media outlets."

"We were forced to battle several drones and enraged ground organisms that ended up attacking nearby stations and cities before the impact site could be properly surrounded and quarantined."

"Fair enough. How do you plan to proceed?"

"My own superiors put that to debate and decided that we are to go public on the XCOM project's continued existence."

"Really?"

"Yes. My superiors are all members of the colonies on this planet and have had to work very hard to secure funding from their own sponsors for the XCOM Project without being noticed. They believe going public after our recent actions will make it easier for us to secure funding, and hopefully allow us to return to our level of strength from before the great mistake."

"Interesting. I apologize if I sound prying, but what caused the Great Mistake?"

"I am not at liberty to tell you all of the details, but it involved the Tasoths and a crisis in the Middle East."

"Fair enough. Have a nice day."

XXXXXXXX

With XCOM busy preparing to go public, the genetic heroes trying to get trophies to remember this glorious battle from, and my son/wards/other subordinates gushing about my battle prowess, I reluctantly decided to converse with Melissa until I reached wherever the arrows were leading me.

"So, was that interesting enough for you?"

"Yes, actually. Bravo."

"Thank you," I responded. I doubted her last remark's sincerity, but it was probably best not to make her mad.

"You're welcome. Didn't expect you'd actually last long in a physical fight. Guess I was wrong."

"I take that as a compliment. Though, these machines certainly put up a hell of a fight."

"No kidding."

"Yeah... um, do you know who might have sent these Machines? I can tell you dislike them, so perhaps I could deal with their creators for you?"

I really wanted to know what made these artifacts, and if Melissa had a grudge against them, I could exploit that to learn their identities.

"I have no idea who made these things. Though, if I did, I would tell, no strings attached."

"Really?"

"Definetly."

"Why?"

"Um, because you're my entertainment? Because I put you in a Commander? Because I don't like others messing with my possessions? Only one multiversal entity is allowed to interfere with you actions as a Commander, and that is me. Don't forget it."

"I won't. Though, regarding my earlier question, do you have any possible guesses as to who made these Machines?"

"No, unfortunately. The technology doesn't match anything I've seen from examining the multiverse. It also doesn't match up with any technology that might have been innovated by a Commander like you. It's an anomaly, and one that you won't find an explanation to."

"Oh. Well, thanks for the advice. I do have on last question, though."

"And that is?"

"How long are you going to stay in the same universe as me?"

"Until I get bored."

"Oh. Ok."

Oh joy.

With that, I terminated the communication. I did not want to have to deal with Melissa for much longer. Things were tough enough as is.

Oh, and I had run out of arrows to follow, leaving me just outside a rather large door, which immediately began to open in my presence. Cautiously, I entered it.

The room behind the door was, for the most part, empty. All that was in it was a glass tube containing a pedestal. On said pedestal was gigantic dodecahedron.

One that was covered in symbols that match up with the other artifacts I'd found.

Looks like I'd found my Artifact.

Before I could retrieve it, though, a hologram appeared in front of my, startling me. I jumped back and aimed my gun at the hologram...which now to the form of several words written in English.

GREEETINGS

"...um, hello. What are you?"

I AM THE INTELLIGENCE OF THIS SHIP. YOU COULD SAY THAT I AM THE SHIP.

"I see. Did you lead me here?"

YES

"Thank you. Why did all of the wildlife attack?"

DAMAGE TO THE SECURITY SYSTEM CAUSED IT TO SAIDNALL NATIVE WLIDLIFE INTO A FRENZY IN ORDER TO PROTEXT THIS SHIP. THIS VESSELCWAS DAMAGED BU THE METEOR SHOWER AND WAS UNABLE TO SHUT THE SECUROTY SYSTEM OFF. THAT IS WHY YOU WERE DIRECTED TOWARD THE SHUTDOWN ROOM. THE SHUTDOWN KEY LANDING NEAR YOU WAS UNEXPECTED, THOUGH.

"...how do I know you aren't lying?"

... YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY WAY TO KNOW THAT.

That, I could believe.

"Who made you?"

I CANNOT TELL YOU THAT.

"Why?"

YOU ARE BETTER OFF NOT KNOWING.

"Fine .Can I have the Artifact?"

THE MEMORY HOLDER? OF COURSE!

Memory Holder? Well, now I had a name for that device.

"Okay. One last question: are there any more artifacts in this universe?"

I'd already found two, so it was reasonably likely there were more.

YES. THERE ARE SIX IN TOTAL. ONCE YOU ACQUIRE THIS ONE, THE NEXT ONE WILL BECOME ACTIVE.

I could deal with that. Also, I did want to know why they activated sequentially, but that was not a question I needed answered now.

"Okay. I'm sorry, but I lied earlier. There is one more question I want answered: is there anyway I can remove you from this ship?" After all, this was my first real source of intel on who made these artifacts.

To my surprise, instead of a reply, a new pedestal emerged from the floor, containing a machine on it.

MY MIND IS BEING DOWLOADED INTO THE PORTABLE COMPUTER ON THE NEW PEDESTAL. YOU MAY TAKE IT WITH YOU.

Well, that was easy.

I decided to approach the Artifact pedestal, only slightly surprised when the glass retracted to expose the contents of the container. I quickly grabbed it, then moved to acquire the computer. Once I had that, I prepared to leave, only for anothernhologrka to appear.

DO NOT LEAVE THIS ROOM. I WILL GET REMOVE IS FROM THIS CAVITY.

Then, to my surprise, the ceiling folded into the walls as the room began to move upward. Neat: a loft room.

When the room had finished its ascent, I noticed that I was not alone: another room had ascended, this one containing the genetic heroes and the XCOM team who'd followed me into the ship.

I stared for a moment, then called in a transport. Right now, all I needed was a break.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Reivew! This is Foameal15k, signing off!


	72. Annihilation 61

The return trip to my territory on Chiron was uneventful. Once we had landed, the genetic heroes hastily began unloading things they'd taken off the ship, which they planned to make into trophies. I could really blame them, especially since I'd sent a few fabbers and CNDRs to pick up the remains of the bot I'd smashed through the wall for similar reasons. Idly, I noted I'd need to add to the trophy room to include a mount for the remains. Said remains would likely end up being the only remnants I'd have of something I defeated with my own two hands.

I _was_ wrong about that last part, but that is irrelevant for now.

Once the genetic heroes had gone to their quarters, I turned my attention to examining the Artifact I'd recovered. The children had been taken by their tutors to begin learning how to command their powers, while Rory had fallen asleep. The sight of him curled up on a couch was too adorable to disturb, so all I did was drape a blanket over his sleeping form. As for Melissa, well, she was busy helping herself to my pantry along with her daughter, leaving me alone for the time being.

This provided me an opportunity to examine both the Artifact and its accompanying AI unmolested, something I was looking forward to doing. Previous artifacts had given me visions, but with nothing else to provide context. Maybe this one would be more helpful? Given that it couldn't tell me who had created it, though, that helpfulness might be limited.

Well, time to get to work.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: In the following exchange, Flame's responses will be written in normal text, while the AI's will be written in all caps.

Hello.

GREETINGS.

Nice to see you active again. Could you answer a few questions for me?

OF COURSE, BUT ONLY IF MY DIRECTIVES ARE NOT COMPROMISED DOING SO.

Okay. First off, what is the purpose of the memory holders?

ELABORATE.

Is there a meaning to the visions they send?

THEY PROVIDE A WARNING.

A warning?! A warning of what?

MY CREATOR'S ENEMY. I CANNOT TELL YOU WHO SAID ENEMY IS, ONLY THAT IT IS POWERFUL.

I see. Are you from a different universe than this one?

YES.

Okay. Since there are six artifacts in this universe, does each one carry it's own memory or do the carry the same one?

ASSUMING THAT YOU ATE TREATING ARTIFACTS AND MEMORY HOLDERS IN THAT QUESTION AS SYNONOMOUS, BOTH, TO A DEGREE. EACH ARTIFACT CONTAIN'S A PORTION OF ONE MEMORY, AND YOU WILL NEED ALL SIX TO SEE WHAT IT IS.

Noted.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

Not yet.

THEN I WOULD LIKENTO POWER DOWN FOR THE TIME BEING.

Very well.

GOODNIGHT.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Well, that wasn't exactly too helpful. However, at least now I had some goal to shoot toward, besides helping people: finding the rest of the artifacts in this universe. Of course, that would be easier if I knew what to look for.

I pulled up the schematics for the ARKYD and started tinkering with them. First off, I added in larger scanners and power sources, as well as some advanced cameras I'd obtained from examining the orbital telescopes on Chiron. Additional radio telescopes were added to improve its signal tracking capacity, with extra computers added in to assist in data analysis. Lastly, I added in a couple of small weapon system onto the satellite, to deter pirate craft from attacking it, then tuned the radio telescopes to track the signal I was looking for. Boom, a tracker for the unknown signal. Until I had a better name for it, the satellite design would be designated ARKYD-rho. I set a couple of them up to build so that I would be able to scan the galaxy for the artifacts' signals. Once I found them, I'd figure out how to retrieve them.

With that out of the way, my attentikn turned back to something I'd almost forgotten about: the people I'd rescued from the Blind Eyes. Apparently, they still hadn't woken up. My bots and the various members of my creations who had medical training had been forced to start giving them physical therapy to keep their bodies fro atrophying. If they weren't all on IV drips, they'd probably start to get really slim right about now.

I noted that most of these people had been missing for some time, at least according to public records. Most had been forgotten, due to lack of blood relatives and close friends, but a few of them did still have families who were still searching for them. Among them was a mother who's husband now had to try and care for their three kids all on his own. Reading those records just made my heart break.

I decided to examine the intel I'd stolen from the base when I'd rescued these people to see just why they'd been kidnapped. While something related to psychic powers was most likely, considering the children's plight, I needed to be sure.

XXXXXXXXXX

'To my concerned Board of Directors,

I apologize over the lack of results, but it is rapidly becoming apparent that our attempts to create a psyonic group mind are not working. The individual minds cannot be forced to subsume themselves to the whole, meaning that, at best, we may need to retire the subjects before long.

I do have a theory that might explain this issue, though. The minds may be rejecting the unification attempts because they are too mature to be subsumed. We may yet be able to create our psyonic gestalt if we focus on younger, more pliable subjects

Additionally, using younger subjects will allow us to teach them skills that would make them far more effective as operatives. Children have a far greater capacity to learn than adults, so infiltration, advanced mechanical skills, and high end calculus, among other skills, would be easier for them to come to grips with then it would for older agents.

I have already created a program to seek out potential candidates that would make a psychic gestalt a reality. If this plan is given the green light, I do not believe it will be hard to recruit these people.

Your Chief Scientist,

Dr. Harold Tragger.

Glory to EXALT.'

XXXXXXXX

Really? That's why they wanted these people? They wanted to build an army of hive minded psychic soldiers? That was ridiculous!

Also, it looked like the Blind Eues were a front for EXALT. That needed to be addressed.

I started searching for businesses that the Blind Eyes owned. Once I found one, I redistributed most of its wealth to charities, leaving only a modest sum of money behind. Gradually, I could use this to wear them down, but outrigjt ruining them financially wasn't going to be easy: any stock-based assets they owned could have transactions canceled remotely, so those assets were on ice. As a counter, I began to distribute nanites into their facilities via orbital drops from satellites. Once the nanobots were in position, they began to eat away at the buildings, weakening their supports. It wasn't enough to cause the buildings to collapse, but it would force EXALT to close the building a down for repairs, further emptying their pockets - what's this alert?

Aplrentaly, the levels of mental activity in the people I'd rescued was returning to normal...which meant they were likely to wake up in the next few hours.

Oh joy.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Sorry for any mistakes, I'm typing this up on my phone.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	73. Annihilation 62

She blinked.

_'I'm awake!?'_

Surprised to be awake, Sandra tried to move, only to be forced to stop due to soreness. Her back ached, as did her arms and legs. Dimly, Sandra wondered how long she had been asleep. She'd just returned home from a swim when...

Surprise transitioning to worry, Sandra looked around, trying to find anyone that was watching her. So far, though, she didn't see anyone observing her. She did, however, find that there were other people in the room with her. All of them were on beds, like was, with IV drips attached to them.

There were well over a hundred people in the room with her.

Sandra just stared on in silence. _'What the hell happened? What did I get involved in?'_

A whirring sound quickly snapped her out of her thoughts and caused her to twist around, wincing in pain as her body told her it wasn't ready to move that fast.

Standing (or, rather, floating) a few feet in front of her, was some kind of drone, with a display screen attached to it.

GREETINGS

Sandra stared at the screen for a moment, before attempting to respond. This proved difficult at first, as her vocal chords were just as sore as the rest of the muscles in her body.

"...h...he...Hello," she choked out.

IT APPEARS THAT YOU HAVE AWAKENED.

"...So it seems."

Sandra was confused when a metallic tentacle emerged from the machine and deposited its tip on her shoulder. Confusion soon became shock and pain as an electric shock was emitted by the tentacle.

"Ow. What the hell?!" she yelled, or at least did the closest her vocal chords would allow her to do to yelling.

I WANT TO PROVE TO YOU THAT YOU ARE AWAKE. YOU CANNOT FEEL PAIN IN YOUR SLEEP

"Well at least give me some warning."

MY APOLOGIES. WOULD YOU LIKE SOMETHING TO EAT?

"...yes?" she said, slightly unsure that the machine was being serious.

To her surprise, a pedestal emerged from the floor nearby her. On it was a container of yogurt.

Sandra stared at the yogurt for a moment, then looked back at the machine, then at the yogurt, then back at the machine.

YOU HAVE BEEN ASLEEP FOR A LONG TIME, AND MOST OF YOUR GUT FLORA IS DECEASED. YOU WILL NEED TO EAT SOMETHING TO REPLENISH IT BEFORE I CAN OFFER YOU ANY OTHER FOOD.

Sandra stared at the machine for a little longer, then took the yogurt and provided spoon. A moment later, she was enjoying the dairy product. A moment after that, she froze up in silence, before turning back toward the machine.

"How...long...Have I been out?"

...APPROXIMATELY 87 DAYS.

Sandra paled. Eighty seven days. How was her husband doing? Were her kids alright? How were her parents? WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?!

"What happened to me?"

...BASED ON AVAILABLE EVIDENCE, YOU WERE KIDNAPPED, TIED UP TO A MACHINE, SUBJECTED TO EXPERIMENTS REGARDING PSYCHIC POWERS, RESCUED BY INFERNUM FORCES, BROUGHT TO THIS LOCATION, AND THEN YOU WOKE UP AND WE STARTED HAVING THIS CONVERSATION--I APOLOGIZE, I MUST GO.

Before Sandra could process all that had been said, the text on the screen vanished and was replaced with an image of a young man with glowing brown eyes and curly black haired, which was rather oddly tinged red, yellow and blue at the ends.

"Greetings. I am Commander Flame of the Infernum Federation. I...apologize for that conversation. The machine I sent to greet you hasn't had all of its bugs ironed out yet."

"...I can tell," replied Sandra, too shocked to put any emotion into her voice.

"Well, my sincerest apologies for how awkward the conversation was. I had hoped your awakening would have been less stressful for you. As is, do you feel alright at the moment?"

"...yes."

"Splendid, miss...Peters. Sandra Peters. That's your name, isn't it?"

"...yes...How do you-"

"Your captors kept a list of the names of everyone they kidnapped, as well as a short biography. I took the liberty of reading it so that I would have an easier time answering any questions you all might have when you awaken."

"Though, before you ask, your children and husband are fine, and the authorities are still trying to find you. I've informed your families, friends and the authorities that I am caring for you, and that you will be returned safely when I am sure that you are physically healthy."

"...um...well, thank you for telling my family that I am fine, but may I leave this room?"

"No, not yet. I understand your issues with being my guest, especially given the circumstances that resulted in you being my guest, but I would not like you to leave this room just yet. You haven't been exposed to physical activity for almost three months, so every muscle in your body will likely be aching right now. I would suggest waiting a few hours and maybe doing some sit-ups in your bed first before you consider leaving this room, otherwise you might fight yourself unable to move."

"...I...I see."

"Thank you for understanding. Have a nice day."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, that went well.

With the abducted colonists dealt with for the moment, I turned my attention back to Chiron, specifically the news. Already, people were setting up memorials for those who had been killed by the enraged insects. Oddly, though, Harmony associated groups weren't experiencing too much backlash for their beliefs. Apparently, a fairly large amount of people who had been hybridized with the native aliens had undergone horrific headaches and migraines roughly around the time the ship had crashed, while the mind flower had been mentioned as shaking and twitching in pain. Apparently, everything associated with planet had felt the power of the ship.

Well, that was interesting, but I had other things to attend to. Namely, my expansion fleets. My new colonies were finally up and running, providing me with new bases to begin expanding my forces. All of the worlds I settled were barren of life, because I didn't really need to make them habitable to use them. Additionally, I refused to alter the destiny of any living species except to save it from extinction. For now, I was following a (self imposed) non-interference clause.

While this was going on, more of my guests were waking up. Sandra helped keep them calm, and I occasionally popped in to talk to them, but overall, they weren't interesting. I really felt bad having to keep them from their families (if they had anyone left, as some had lost everything prior to EXALT kidnapping them), but the fact was that they weren't ready to leave. Spending roughly a month motionless is bad for your health and your mobility. Even with the physical therapy and muscle stimulation my bots and medical staff had applied, they'd need a while to get back to normal levels of movement.

That, though, soon faded from my attention when I returned the focus of my thoughts to the broadcasts around the planet. It appeared people were finally moving their focus away from the attack and toward the mysterious soldiers who had helped them. Everyone was wondering who the soldiers with an X on their armor had been, and already wild speculation about their organization had begun to form. I wondered how long this would last before XCOM decided to make its debut.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As it turned out, the answer was 'not very long at all'

Roughly half an hour after the first debates started, planet wide broadcasts began to be replaced with static, until, eventually, every channel was filled with static. Rather amusingly, telecommunications were filled with complaints about the fact that all visual broadcasts were glitching out.

The blank screen was replace by a picture of a human, albeit an armored one. Surprisingly, I recognized the armor as the one the Commander wore in XCOM 2. Maybe it was a ceremonial or a sign that whoever wore it was the head of XCOM.

"Greetings, people of Chiron. You may not know who I am, but you have certainly seen some of my subordinates. I am the leader of the XCOM Project.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In a military barracks in Brasilia, men had and women had halted their training to observe the speech, eager to learn who their mysterious saviors were.

"We have existed since the start of the third millennium AD, and have acted as mankind's guardians against threats from beyond our world. We have faced enemies who sought to take Earth as their own, and make it theirs to rule."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Atop a mighty skyscraper in a floating city belonging to the North Sea Alliance, twelve figures stared at a screen showing the same broadcast, faces curled in expressions of both anger and curiosity.

"But they were not our only foes. Among mankind were traitors, who wished to you the power of the aliens to advance themselves at the expense of others, or work with them in exchange for power. Though the invaders were defeated, the traitors still remain, still grasping for power..."

"Well, it seems XCOM has decided to go public. That's rather bold of them," noted one of the observers, an old man by the sound of his voice.

"True, but with their recent successes and their secrecy being blown by what happened yesterday, that might actually be to their benefit, Harlan."

"Fair enough. We made need to increase our level of secrecy in acquiring new test subjects."

"Agreed," responded the remaining voices.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We will not lie, we have not always been successful in our goals. Our own actions against the invaders contributed to the Great Mistake, which lead to the fragmentation of our organization. But we have strived onward, to ensure the survival of mankind among the stars."

Sandra and her compatriots were entranced at the sight. Some of them had heard the tales from their elders about how a group had existed that had fought aliens, but to have it confirmed was a surprise beyond belief. The fact that they had learned about it just a short while after they had awakened had only added to the shock.

"In time, we rebuilt, and grew strong once more."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Members of our forces were present on all of the Seeding Missions. As more colonies arrived on this planet, so too did we grow stronger. The strength of all the great powers on this planet, united in the name of ensuring our survival as a species."

The various leaders on Chiron had been holding an emergency meeting to discuss what had happened when the broadcast had begun. What they had heard was rather alarming: a clandestine organization formed underneath their noses, and no one had noticed? The implications of that were alarming.

At the same time though, the leaders felt a sense of relief from this: the organization had proved itself to be friendly to all of them, and had already helped them deal with yesterday's incident. Perhaps the XCOM Project was not a danger?

Either way, they would wait before acting. More observations were needed to decide what the best course of action was.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"To those on this planet who have never heard of us before, you need not fear us, for we seek only to protect mankind."

The kids stared on, entranced at the broadcast, while their tutors merely smiled in amusement. This was what XCOM was.

Melissa, meanwhile, couldn't help but crack an amused smile. "Impressive speech, I'll give you that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"But to those who would seek to dominate mankind, either from within or from without, we offer a warning: cease your plans, or we will do whatever it takes to defeat you."

Aboard the ship, the strange beings could not understand what the human was saying. The fact that they received the broadcast at all, though, was worrisome.

Long ago, they had colonized many worlds, built a great empire, one to rival even the Ascended Ones. Yet time had caused it to fragment, wars had bled it dry, and civil unrest had shattered it, until only remnants remained. Now, these remnants sought a refuge where they could rebuild and start anew. They had heard detected the signals from this planet and assumed another remnant of their empire had survived. Now, though, it appeared the signal had come from these new beings, who had likely begun to examine their technology and reverse engineer it.

Perhaps they could seek peace with these new ones. Perhaps there would be war. But until they reached Planet, they would never no.

Thus, the last remnants of the Progenitors continued their course to Planet, ready to greet their new neighbors.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"People of Chiron, we are XCOM. We are Watchful. We are Needed. may you all have a nice day."

Then the transmission cut out.

Well that was a nice speech.

...Why weren't the broadcasts going back to normal?

AND WHY WERE MY SNESORS STARTING TO GO HAYWIRE?

Confused, I tried to get the sensors working again, but to no avail. However, some of them were still working. Curious, I examined the data I was getting from them to see what I could discover. Oddly, they were all ones I had in the Africa Union.

Which was where the mind flower was. In fact, all of the sensors (which included cameras and audio recorders) were around the Mind Flower

...

...And it had just opened...

Then a shockwave of sorts hit me, and everything went white.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Yep, big cliffhanger.

Also, Harlan would be pretty high on the totem pole if he was a member of EXALT...oh wait, he is.

Anyways, read and review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	74. Annihilation 63

I'll admit, I didn't think I'd transcend beyond just being a Commander this early in my adventures. I did eventually expect that this would happen, but this was still a surprise. Fortunately, things ended up working out in my favor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When my vision finally returned to normal, I found myself alone in a great field, which extended as far as the eye could see. The only things to break up the monotony of this field were a few scattered trees, all of which seemed to be glowing. Interestingly, while everything in this world was bathed in light barring what the trees covered, I couldn't find the source of the luminance. NO sun, no moon, not even a single star in the sky.

Any further attempts to examine this world were halted when I heard a strange set of noises, as if someone was trying to dig through something. Soon, I noticed a large mound of soil and plant matter rising up in front of me, with the strange sounds emanating from them. I pondered whether I should stay near it or bolt, but before I could, a scythe-like limb emerged from the mound, followed by the rest of the creature. To my surprise, it appeared to be a Wolf-Beetle, albeit one that was glowing rather brightly with blue-green light.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then, to my surprise, the Beetle _spoke._

"So, you are the most recent arrival to my body. I was expecting someone... taller."

...What?

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"My apologies. I have many names, but you may call me Planet."

...

...

...

...

...

...Oh.

"Oh. Hello. Nice to meet you."

"Your shock is understandable, so don't try to hide it."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize. I admit this was rather unexpected, but I felt now was a good time to open up to mankind, what with XCOM descending to leave the shadows," was her reply, in a strangely angelic voice.

"True...wait, how do you know about XCOM?"

"I am Planet. I know about everything that happens on my body. Nothing on this world escapes my sight."

I felt a growing sense of paranoia at that remark.

"No need to be paranoid. I will not abuse that power unless your intentions are vile."

Wait, how did she know what I was thinking?

"After the mind flower opened, all intelligences on this planet were linked. So long as we are in this realm, your thoughts will be plainly visible for me to see."

Then how come I can't see yours?

"This field is merely one of many. I am holding conversations with everyone on this planet, in fields much like this. They are merely representations of the realm of thought that your a within at the moment. If you tried to read my mind, the various different thoughts going through it would likely burn out yours."

"As for how I can talk to everyone on this world, I am a planet-spanning conscious. My capabilities transcend anything normal humans are capable of, and even exceed your capabilities. Though I must admit, your capabilities are beyond anything I have seen before, barring a few others."

"...I see. Is there any reason we are all alone?"

"Well, yes. There is something I wanted to tell you something."

"And that is?"

"Thank you."

"...For what."

"For disabling the signal that came from that ship. It was very...painful...to listen to. I am relieved that it is now gone. I am aware you did it mostly to save the colonists on this world, as well as acquire something within the remains of the ship, but your actions are appreciated all the same."

"I see...wait, how much do you know about me?"

"Some basics of your journey: that you were taken from all you ever knew and loved by a great being, that you were placed in the great metal beast I have seen through the eyes of the animals on this planet, that you have journeyed across creation to find new powers and technology, and made allies along the way. How you know so much on this world eludes me, for my powers in this realm fail me when I attempt to see that part of your mind. I suspect the one who put you on this journey is preventing me from seeing those reasons. She's also in a realm like this, before you ask. An interesting woman, no doubt, but rather selfish and annoying."

Looks like some things would never change.

"So, are there any other reasons you're talking to me?"

"Actually, yes. I wish to ask you a favor?"

"And that would be?"

"Well, you see, there are more beings like me in this galaxy. More planet sized minds, waiting to awaken. Some are older than me, others younger, but I am the first to be able to express myself in ways you humans could understand, and with that, feel sensations that you take for granted. It is an...incredible experience, and one that I would like to share with others like me."

"So you want me to build mind flowers on what would amount to your siblings?"

"I suppose that would be the best way to word my wish, so yes. I am willing to offer you compensation for this, should you oblige."

Even without compensation, I was willing to help planet. After all, she seemed rather nice. The fact that she hadn't tried to kill me was a plus.

"Well, you haven't given me any reason to antagonize you. In fact, I find you rather likeable as well, considering that you go out of your way to try and mitigate the ecological impact of your actions. Adding forests to limit the already minor amounts of pollution you create is rather kind of you, as is your willingness to allow my native inhabitants to live in and around your base."

"Well, you do offer plenty of good incentives against pollution and ecological damage."

"True... I sense you would like to return to your body soon."

"I would. This place just feels...odd."

"I understand. Before you go, though, I have one last thing to tell you."

"And that is?"

"I can sense things that are within this solar system, so long as they are close enough, and I can feel something very large headed toward this world. You will likely be able to detect it once you return to your mortal shell, given all of the things you have orbiting around me."

"...Well, I didn't expect that. Thanks you for the advice, though."

"You are welcome. And farewell."

Then the Beetle put the end of its right limb on my forehead and everything went white again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When I came to, I was surprised to find that I was still standing.

That, though, was nothing compared to my shock when I saw a Raptor Bug standing right in front of me, with several more of its kind nearby, all carrying organic sacks in their mouths. Oddly, a part of me felt calm in their presence.

Before I could react, they began setting the sacks down in front of me, then leaving. By the end of this, only the one in front of me remained. It placed its sack on the ground, then nudged it toward me. Curious, I opened it and found myself looking at a what looked a lot like a shrimp, albeit one that was clearly alien. It did seem to have crystalline traits, though-oh. It's a Crystal Shrimp.

Quickly, I counted the remaining number of sacks. Sure enough, the amount I had matched the amount of Alien Relics I had yet to acquire. I quickly ordered a CNDR to move them to my hub world, and attempt to breed the living relics. In the future, I would combine them into artifacts, but for now, best to try and make more of them. Mentally, I thanked Planet for the gifts, and was surprised when I received an echoing reply of _you're welcome._

With that task complete, I turned my attention to the stars and began cycling through the probes I had in this solar system. Planet had given me warning that something was coming, and I intended to heed it.

At first, I saw nothing. Then, I began to notice space debris, which, while interesting, wasn't what I was looking for. As I turned my attention to my last set of probes, though, I found what I was looking for.

It was a ship. A big spaceship. So why did it look so familiar-wait. No. It can't be.

No, it is. I just checked my memory backs. The ship's aesthetics matched up with those I'd seen in the Progenitor city.

I guess the Progenitors aren't dead after all. Though, considering you could win the game by contacting them, that wasn't surprising.

Quickly, I started commissioning more warships and combat units, in the event first contact went south. I would have informed the natives, but one of their orbital satellites had already seen the ship. Already, they were trying to draft up a diplomatic team to meet them. Apparently, they'd already assumed the progenitors weren't dead and tried to send out a signal to contact them. This ship must be the reply.

Hopefully, they came in peace. Because I did not want to go to war. Not now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Well, yet another cliffhanger. Sorry.

Just for reference, Planet sounds like the Angelis Ethereal from XCOM 2. I was going to have Flame make the connection, but Planet probably would've noticed this and started getting curious, so I omitted it.

So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	75. Annihilation 64

It took surprisingly little time for everyone to prepare for the arrival of the Progenitors. Though, considering that everyone on Planet had undergone ascent to transcendence, that wasn't surprising. Especially considering what I discovered right after I became aware of the Progenitors' continued existence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Okay, the Progenitors are alive. What do I do next.

_Maybe we should prepare for war._

What?

_Peace would be more preferable._

Huh?

_I have to find a safe place for my kids now._

Who?

_Time to go to my doomsday bunker_

_Prepare for battle_

_Seek Peace_

_Hide_

_Run_

_Fight_

_Talk_

_Kill_

_Die_

_Go/help/speak/strike/swipe_

What the hell?

_Live. Die. Eat. Breath._

_Fight Strike Cut Kill_

_Run Hide Cry Beg_

_Try to talk to the new aliens_

_Our last two meetings with Aliens ended badly, why assume this will be different._

_Maybe they could be our allies_

_We could profit off of them_

_MaybeweshouldkillthemWemustseekpeacePrepareforbattleGetthekidstoasafeplaceojdjeucjejcuricjfiejvjejvjtisjfkwjftk-_

_MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!!!_

_That _seemed to do something, because then the voices in my head stopped. Well, all except for mine and one other.

_Oh. Sorry about that._

What?

_Oh, well, Transcendent Beings who inhabit my body can share their thoughts. I can block out someone's access to this hive mind, which I did to most of the people on this world, but I allowed you one way viewing into it._

WHY?

_Um, I thought you could handle it. You do command an army of robots and receive huge amounts of input from them, don't you?_

THEY CANT THINK COMPLEX THOUGHTS OR FEEL EMOTIONS! PEOPLE CAN!

_Oh. Yeah. Right...um...hehe...sorry._

Your apology is appreciated...Is anyone else sharing thoughts right now?

_...only the leaders of the colonies on this planet. I believed it would have been useful for them to share instant communication._

As long as it doesn't drive them insane.

_Hey! I'm sorry!_

Apology accepted.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Yeah, Transcending Beyond Mortality did quite a few things that the game didn't tell you about, since Transcending was a winning condition. Whatever happened after you transcended was irrelevant if you won the game.

There were quite a few advantages to a shared consciousness. Right now, one advantage in particular was pretty obvious: instant communication between the heads of state all over planet. Conversations could be held at the speed of thought, with the language barrier being a nonissue; people could, apparently, understand foreign thoughts even if they didn't understand foreign languages. This made conversations that would normally take a couple of minutes to happen due to translators need if to do their jobs happen in seconds. Idly, I noted that it meant they'd never need to meet face to face again if they wanted to hold a diplomatic action.

The immediate benefit of this was that it didn't take long for the 'United Colonies' to fill out the holes in the diplomatic mission roster. One representative from each sponsor would be sent, as well as assorted translators, engineers, security, and, in case all else failed, XCOM personnel.

Oh, and they wanted me to come along as well, just so that the Progenitors wouldn't assume anything suspicious regarding the Machines whose overlords they hadn't met. I could make do with that: building bridges was important. Plus it provided me an easy opening to steal the rest of their tech with computer Worms.

That wasn't all the Council of Colonies wanted me to do.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Let me get this straight," I said for the third and last time, " you want me to give up the Progenitor city in my territory - which I have _just_ begun to examine in detail - to our new neighbors."

"Yes," was Fielding's blunt to response, "we do."

"Please understand," intoned Barre, trying with some sucess to be the voice of reason, "tjey were the first rulers of this planet. Their civilization thrived here long before we even knew this world existed. We really have no right to withhold what was once their technology from its original owners."

"Let these _aliens_ have what is theirs," added Elodie, the xenophobia and unease in her voice plain to all. Somehow, I didn't feel that I'd be surprised if her actions started a Fourth Alien War. "It would make negotiations easier, and is a small price to pay for peace."

How she managed to reconcile her disdain of the alineswoth rational thoughts, I'd never know.

"Giving them back their city may also make achieving further technological breakthroughs easier," noted Vadim. I was thankful that I now had a measure of control over my acces to the new shared conscious on planet; it made this conversation much easier. "If the Progenitors think highly of us, they may be willing to share some of their advances with us."

"Additionally, our new neighbors may be inclined to share more with us than just technology," added Fielding. "We could be standing on the precipice of an untapped market of alien goods."

Her greed and ambitions were _really_ showing through right now.

"Is profit the only thing you are interested in, Ms Fielding?"

"Whwhwhwhat?! No, of course not! The safety of everyone on this planet outweighs any material gains that could be made with the newcomers."

Oddly enough, she wasn't lying: my link to the hive mind of Planet told me that, while she was a rather greedy and ambitious woman, she valued other, respectable things, _especially_ gender and ethnic equality. Given that she was a African American woman of Hispanic descent, this wasn't surprising at all.

"Must you needlessly antagonize Ms. Fielding?" questioned Moon, the disapproval evident in his voice.

I felt the tiniest modicums of anger at the man's remark, before calming and turning my attention back to Fielding.

"My apologies. That was uncalled for."

"Your apology is accepted."

"Thank you."

Then I turned my attention to the rest of the Council.

"All of your points are valid. I'm sending in some Machines right now to clean up the Progenitor city. I will notify you when they finish. Hopefully, it will be before the city's owners arrive. As for myself, my transportation has arrived. I will be joining the diplomatic team shortly."

"Thank you," responded the Council in its entirety.

I decided not to tell them that I would have given the city up even without their insistance. I needed them to feel that I wasn't going to hold their hands, that they couldn't depend on me to solve their problems forever. I could give them great innovations, but they needed to figure out for themselves how to use those innovations.

XXXXXXX

It didn't take me long to meet up with the diplomatic team. While some socializing did occur, mostly I was too busy monitoring the activity in orbit to attempt to make friends with the rest of the assembled diplomats. A large fleet was being formed to meet the arriving ship, mostly as a warning against aggression. I noted that the ships matched the one used in starships, albeit at the smallest size possible. Still dangerous, though.

It took another hour before the ship was finally close enough for the diplomatic mission to begin. The diplomatic team, myself included, was loaded onto an XCOM transport authorized for this mission, in part because those were one of the few ships that could break that atmosphere and still function. From their, it took and and ascended into orbit, eventually maneuvering itself aboard a space station that the fleet in orbit had focused around. A message was sent, asking the Progenitors to meet us on this station. The natives had managed to crack the Progenitors language, and my (currently limited) hacking spoils from the ship had proven that their cipher was correct. Now came the hard part: waiting for the response.

It took ten minutes, but eventually we received a response: the Progenitors would send an envoy to the station to negotiate with us, along with his aides. Half an hour later, they arrived aboard a insectile ship.

To my surprise, the Progenitors actually didn't look that surprising for aliens. The resembled the classical greys in physical appearance, though their heads were smaller, their skin tinged ground, and their bodies were far bulkier than the seemingly malnourished greys. The one who seemed to be in charge wore green and white armor, with some brown mixed in, while his aides were soft yellow and purple armor and his guards bright red and blue armor. The one in charge pulled up a seat while his companions either remained standing or took up guard positions.

A few minutes later, the lead Alien spoke.

"Greetings. I am Councilor Hyo. May I ask what your names are?"

"I am Mathis Bernard, representative of Franco-Iberia"

"Vladimir Sarov, representative of The Slavic Federation."

"Ethan Forest, representative of the ARC."

And so on, until, at last, the need for an introduction fell onto me.

"Commander Flame of the Infernum Federation."

I was surprised Hyp didn't press me further on the name.

"Now that introductionshave been handled, Councilor Hyo, may we ask why you came here?"

"Very well. My people have traveled the stars for a long time," he began, "and built an empire that span entire worlds. We created wonders that none had ever seen" I could sense a feeling of arrogance coming off of him.

The said feeling was replaced with sorrow.

"Yet as we spread, our civilization grew more conflicted and riven by factionalism. Colonies seeking independence would break away, uprising would occur, and soon our civilization collapsed. It's been...almost one thousand years...since we heard from another of our colonies. We have been searching the cosmos, hoping that we could find another colony, one that could help us trace our heritage, for we have lost much of our past. When we discovered a signal in our language coming from this world, we assumed we might find our kin, who could tell us where we came from, and what our ancestors had been like.

"Instead. Our travels lead us to meet you."

"I see," noted Sarov. "Tell me, what do you intend to do now? Continue on your journey, searching for more of your kind, or settling down on this world and beginning anew."

"We wish to settle down. We don't really have another choice in that regard."

"Could you elaborate?" asked Forest.

"Our ship was...damaged...by space debris...some time ago." His strange syntax confused me, until I realized he might be using translation equipment to talk to us and need to take break to let it work properly. "We cannot...remain in space...for more than...a week. We must...land soon...or we...will die."

"...I see," noted Mathis. "Well, while I understand the urgency of your need to land, do keep in mind we will need to know where you intend to settle, so that we can prepare-"

"The South."

"-huh?"

"We can...still sense...what we built here. Old cities...in Southern part of Planet...still stand. We will...settle there."

"...I see."

Well, I guess I didn't need to give up my city just yet.

XXXXXXXXX

The meeting lasted about an hour. Everything from what to the Progenitors are to what territory they would claim as theirs was brought up, all of which was settled without much fuss. I was surprised how subdued this was, but I think people had stopped bein shxoked after Transcendence happened.

A short while later, the delegates left and returned to their ship's. An hour later, a colony lander began its descent to the Southern Hemisphere of Chiron, carrying the fourteenth colony to arrive on Chiron.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read, Reivew, and point out typos! Going to bed now. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	76. Annihilation 65

I'll admit that I was surprised that this universe's Progenitors were willing to let me keep what I had looted from the city, which only increased when they revealed that they did not intend to settle in that city, instead choosing to build their home near the planet's Southern magnetic pole. Though, a quick examination of that area revealed a good reason for this: it turned out that that particular area _also _had some progenitor ruins in them, albeit ones that had seemed to be under constant assault by storms. Some data I'd surreptitiously obtained from my new neighbors confirmed that yes, these storms were caused by a piece of Progenitor technology, one that I was already making moves to acquire. A couple of nanites mixed into a rainstorm would be all I'd need to hack into their databanks and download the schematics for that device (which were only present on databanks already on planet - it was lost technology for the newly arrived Progenitors). Additionally, orbital scanning also noted that the area was fairly resource rich, which led me to another possible reason they wanted to inhabit this region: they wouldn't need to worry about resource shortages. All nearby natural resources in my territory were already being exploited by yours truly, so they probably assumed I might charge them for those commodities. Choosing a base location where all available resources were untapped meant no conflict for those resources, so they could focus on building up their civilization. I could respect that train of thought.

I was also able to use my advanced hacking software to determine another important tidbit of information about the newest arrival on planet: they really did want peace. Even the most militant of them wanted to use diplomacy instead of violence, at least for the moment. The reasons were simple: they lacked the numbers and resources for a conflict. While they did have a technological edge against most of the human factions on Chiron, reverse engineering from the ruins dotting this world's surface had narrowed the gap, meaning that unless the Progenitors had the element of surprise when they attacked, they would be forced into a war of attrition, which, given their numbers, was infeasible. Additionally, attacking one human faction would likely unite the rest against the supposed alien menace, which would make the number disadvantage even worse. For now, at least, the Progenitors preferred peaceful interaction to warfare. As long as thy stayed that way, I wasn't inclined to act against them, aside from stealing their tech, of course.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With no conflicts to fight and no new people to meet and tech to steal besides that of the newly arrived aliens, I decided to spend some time integrating what technology I had into my existing forces.

First off was the Progenitor technology: thanks to my new acquisitions from the abandoned city (which the Progenitors had requested be turned into a museum and not exploited any further), I was able to begin creating several artifacts that could assist my forces. The first to exit the design area was the Tessellation Foundry. A marvel of engineering, it's in-game benefit allowed you to complete production of military units 30% faster than normal. Given that most of my forces counted as military units, and my already absurdly fast construction, the foundry ended up boosting my unit production rates to ludicrous speed. Plaid was unfortunately not yet attainable.

Additionally, I was able to start acquiring artifacts that were Old Earth in Origin. I think the arrival of the aliens caused the colonists to become more paranoid, because they started asking if I was willing to trade anymore of my technology. Ok, scratch thought, I_ knew_ they were getting more uneasy: having a shared consciousness has its benefits. Anyways, the 'United Colonies' were surprisingly reasonable about their requests: they'd offer me some technological item, specifically an Old Earth Relic, since they had plenty of those lying around from recovered resource pods and satellites, and would then ask me what I would offer in return. Additionally, all advances would be shared between every single colony on planet (including, eventually, the aliens, a point I made _very clear _to the human factions on Planet). Weapons technology was off the table for now.

This lead me to acquire a huge collection of Old Earth Relics (as in, all of them at least three times over) for the price of aa fair amount of my technology: basic Commander Orbital Sensor systems, gas harvesting technology, nanotech repair systems, and advanced energy storage from my baseline Planetary Annihilation tech-base, and various terraforming technologies from Spore. I had already begun to create artifacts out of all my assorted relics, and the results were awesome: my first Old Earth Artifact was the Pan-Spectral Observatory, which made using satellites significantly easier. For all their advanced technology, the Progenitors who built my Commander never bothered to add in any system to track solar winds, which can be an absolute mess on satellites. Though, that could probably be chalked up to most of their units straight up resisting the effects of solar winds, which was admittedly a nice thing to have. Unfortunately, I was having trouble adding this into my new satellites obtained from the colonist' designs, meaning my new Artifact was a lifesaver.

Another artifact I was able to create was the Ground-Penetrating LIDAR. Specially designed lasers that could map out areas below ground, they were absolutely wonderful to possess, as their range actually exceeded the underground detection sensors my Commander had, even if they weren't nearly as detailed. No surprise attack from Zerg or Locusts on me! The only reason I could build tis one was because I had all three types of relics, since it was created out of all three sets: it seemed that unity equaled power here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While I did make a few advances, I'll admit that things were rather slow going. No conflict was happening, I hadn't detected any additional planets where successful seeding missions (or surviving Progenitors) were present, and I wasn't exactly sure where Earth was from here, and while I wasn't going to slow at the tech integration, things were getting rather boring.

For the most part, I decided to work on getting my rescues back to their families. Now that they were free from EXALT, I was slowly reintegrating them with their families. Many of them could hardly walk, so I had to build a lot of wheel chairs and robots to push the chairs: it takes a while to re-acquaint your muscles with moving if they haven't been used in months. I hadn't yet allowed any to leave my base, mainly because I was worried EXALT would try to capture them again. I was not going to let these people get kidnapped all over again.

The rest of my time was spent training my psychic powers, my E-DNA powers, ordering up new fleets for expanding my influence, and examining my new technologies. For a time, it was peaceful.

Eventually, though, another big game changer happened. Or, rather, two game changers happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I stared at two different screens, each showing the same thing: a picture of a giant gateway consisting of a glowing light in the center and four arms around it. One glowed gold, the other red.

In the peace following the aliens' arrival, industry had boomed. While the aliens had been a source of paranoia, they were also a new set of consumers, ones who had never been exposed to human goods. Every faction on planet had scrambled to start trading with the aliens, who had already begun to expand their territory. The colonies were also trading more with each other, which I could tell was supposed to help build up capital in the event a war broke out. With trade booming, industry began to thrive as well, and the increase in capital allowed the colonies to begin attempting projects that had been put on the backburner over lack of funds.

Among them were these gates. The gold one was the Emancipation Gate, meant to be used by the Cybernetic and Mechanical Forces of Supremacy to eventually conquer Earth and defeat the warlords who apparently ruled it. The red one was the Exodus Gate, meant to be used by those who wished to remain pure to Old Earth to bring pilgrims to this new world and make it more like home. With the arrival of the Progenitors, the two ideologies had decided their goals were not mutually exclusive and had worked together to assemble their gates. Additionally, the Purity aligned forces had managed to reestablish contact with Earth, and had passed on some detail related to it to the Supremacy forces. I assumed they were giving them a heads-up of who they would fight. Admittedly, it was mostly garbled up tidbits with the occasional piece of useful intel, at least according to my worms, but something was better than nothing.

Anyways, back to the gates: around the gold one, robotic and cybernetic warriors formed a perimeter, waiting for it to fully come online, and for the light to turn into the portal they would advance through. Purity aligned forces had circled around the red gate, waiting for the same thing. At both sites, hybrid affinity troops, XCOM, and followers of Harmony stood vigil, waiting to meet their cousins from Earth. Even the Progenitors had sent representatives, having never witnessed this technology.

The wait seemed to drag on forever as the gates slowly powered up. Finally, though, they reached full charge, and they activated, tearing great holes in the fabric of time and space, and making it possible to return to Earth once more.

"Common, Exodus One is Open."

"We repeat, the Gates of Conquest have opened."

Looks like it was time for me to go to Earth.

"Indeed it is," mused a feminine voice behind me.

I sighed. When would she finally get tired of this and leave? Couldn't she just be stunned silent like the kids were.

"Like I'd tell you that."

SHUT UP MELISSA!

"Mission Accomplished...wait, were getting strange readings," remarked the guy monitoring the Exodus Gate (Exodus One).

Huh?

"Command, unidentified signals coming from the portal...Something's coming through."

What?

The guys were about to speak, only to go dead silent when beams of light began to shoot out of the portals, scorching the nearby ground. The gathered crowds stared on for a moment, stunned, before beginning a surprisingly organized retreat. They stopped, though, when the sounds of explosions began to come form the portals.

Not a moment later, a pair of crafts emerged from each portal. One was purple colored while another was pink in appearance, though both resembled classical UFOs, except that they looked organic. As for the other two, they looked like regular looking planes, of all things, albeit red and white.

...Oh. Didn't see that coming.

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AN: Read and Review! Please mark errors as well, because I have a bad track record with finding them. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	77. Annihilation 66

_Fifteen minutes earlier..._

"Command, we've got two bandits coming out of the gates. Designs match those of the transport and escort class ships. Shrike Seven and Goshawk One moving to intercept."

"Well, hurry up and shoot them down! We've already got enough trouble cleaning up the mess from their last incursion, and Superdynamics is still angry about how much damage their factory took. Smoke these bandits before they cause anymore problems."

From her headquarters, Commander Amanda Walters sighed. This was the third incursion this week, and it was still Sunday! It seemed their incursions into the alien dimension had really kicked the hornet's nest, as they'd responded with forces unlike anything XCOM had seen before. Though, in hindsight, this wasn't at all surprising: among the structures they'd demolished was what appeared to be the Alien's food supply, as well as the incubation chamber for all of their eggs. It was likely desperation was beginning to set in. MARSEC and Megapol were starting to take a beating, which was not doing XCOM any favors. While the Council continued to fund XCOM and was indeed willing to increase said funding in no small part due to XCOM's successes in the Alien Dimension, things were starting to look bleak. Larger ships had already been deployed to the city, and the past two incursions had consisted of the aliens attempting to raze large parts of the city, likely just out of spite or in an effort to turn public opinion against XCOM. While the damage had been mitigated, it was likely only a precursor of what was to come.

There was a way out of this, though: according to the labs, they'd determined the next structure in the alien dimension that they needed to destroy was the Aliens' Command and Control Center. Analysis indicated that it would be staffed with Psimorphs, meaning that they'd need to be cautious or risk losing their men to the minds of the aliens. IF the mission was a success, though, organized resistance from the aliens would likely collapse. If it did, then XCOM would likely have an easy time destroying the Dimension Gate Generator, which would halt the invasion in its tracks. Of course, mused Walters, they'd need to blow up every other building in that dimension, so that the aliens would _never_ come back to haunt them.

"Command, this is Goshawk One, we have a visual on the transport, moving to engage...um, Command, we have a problem."

That was odd. Rather worrisome, too.

"What is it, Goshawk One?" questioned Walters.

"We've got a...red light in front of us. It's big, glowing, and looks like some kind of psychic rift."

"...What? We aren't getting any reading-"

"Commander, the engineering team just called , they're picking up two huge energy signatures in the city, unlike anything we've ever scene. One of them is located exactly where that light is."

_Oh, you have got to be KIDDING ME!_

"This is Shrike Seven, we've got eyes on another light, but this one is gold. Does it match up with the location of the other energy signature?"

"Examining your location now...Results are in: you are looking at the second energy signature."

"What do you want us to do, sir?" asked a nearby member of the support staff. "We need to deal with the UFOs, but these energy signatures need to be addressed as well."

"Before I decide on our next course of action, I need to know what those energy signatures are. Immanuel, your team determine what we are dealing with?"

"Were still analyzing it, but based on the readings we're getting, it's some kind of...portal."

"...A portal. Another portal. Are saying that we may be dealing with a second possible invasion?"

"No way of knowing for sure, commander, unless something comes out of it. I would suggest quarantining them for now. Squads four and six, load up into a Bio-Trans and get ready to move-"

"Um, Commander, we have a problem," interrupted Goshawk one.

"What is it?"

"The transport I'm following? It's headed straight for the portal."

"...Pursue it. I don't care where this leads, we cannot afford to let it escape. I will not allow the aliens a chance to subvert anything on the other side of the portal."

"Sir, this is Shrike Seven. The escort is heading toward the gold portal, permission to pursue."

"Permission granted. Be careful, both of you: once you've dealt with the ships, head back home. We don't know how long these portals will stay open. happy hunting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I stared on with stunned silence as the mushroom ships engaged in a duel with the warplanes. Only the purple one seemed to be able to damage its attackers, but the pink one assisted by firing some kind of explosive that could freeze a ship in space. As neither ship had much real firepower on them, though, this only delayed their inevitable defeat. Soon, the burning husks were falling out of the sky while the planes began to circle overhead.

I noticed that the planes (which I knew were Retaliator fighters from XCOM: Apocalypse) were apparently broadcasting on public channels, so I didn't need to expend much to access their comms.

"You got any idea where we are?"

"Nope. I'm surprised we ended up on the same planet. Come on, we need to get back to MegaPrimus before the portals close."

"Attention unidentified aircraft, you have entered Chiron Airspace. Identify yourselves or face destruction."

"...Wait, was that human?"

"I think so. I guess were on a planet where a Seeding Mission arrived."

"Unidentified aircraft, please identify yourselves now or we will attack. This is your last warning."

"Do we answer them?"

"OF COURSE WE! They're going to shoot us up if we don't, and we can't make it back to the portals before that happens!"

"My designation is Goshawk One/Shrike Seven. I am a member of the organization XCOM."

"...You're with XCOM?"

"Yes..."

A moment of silence followed, then a new voice spoke up. One that I recognized.

"This is Captain Ricardo Torres of the Chiron division of XCOM. Welcome to Chiron."

"...What?" I noted that the pilot who said this was a man, was the pilot of Goshawk One, and that he spoke in an Australian accent (reminding me of the DCEU version of Captain Boomerang), but other than that, I couldn't determine any details on him. The helmet he wore didn't allow for me to examine his face through the cameras onboard his Retaliator, and I didn't have anything nearby that could scan his face through the ship, at least not without being assumed hostile.

"Sorry for the rude welcome. It's just that nobody expected anyone from Earth to come through the portals. At least, not yet."

"...I have a feeling this is gonna be a long story."

You and me both, Goshawk. You and me both.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roughly half an hour later, we'd finally told her what had happened on Chiron up until now. All colonial leaders were here, as were Torres and his squad. The ships proved to be no problem to deal with, as all of their crew had died on impact. I'd sent in forces to pick them up while everyone else was too stunned to act, though no one seemed inclined to stop me - they just wanted to know what had happened on Earth.

"So," began the pilot of Shrike Seven, a woman by the name of Victoria Denver, "you all landed on this planet, started settling, met each other, found alien ruins, then a man in a robot bigger than anything we've ever faced before showed up, started building things, gave you advanced technology, fought a crime syndicate, and stopped an army of aggressive native bugs. Then a giant flower of sorts you built on this planet opened and hooked everyone up to the mind of the Planet. _Then_, you found out the aliens who built the ruins on this planet weren't all dead, and let them settle here. _THEN_, we showed up."

"That's the gist of things," remarked Torres.

"...Can someone please get my a shot?"

"You will have time to drink off the surprise later. We've told you what happened here, now you tell us what's going on back on Earth."

"Very well. After the Seeding Missions were launched, everyone still left on Earth turned toward trying to repair the rest of the world, or at least make it more habitable. They started up a project to focus on creating Megacities with their remaining funds, with the plan being to concentrate Earth's population into those cities so that ecological damage could be repaired without having to worry about displacing too many people. Mega-Primus was the first of those cities to be completed, and has been running smoothly for a couple hundred years."

"Until now. See, another group of aliens decided that they want Earth for themselves, cause as terrible as Earth is, their homeworld is even worse. Apparently, they're from another dimension and until a few weeks ago, we couldn't even enter it. Now, though, were taking the fight to them, but the problem is, they're hitting back even harder. We can still win, but the city is probably going to be wrecked."

"Maybe not," countered Torries.

"What do you mean?" asked Goshawk One's pilot, whose name was Angus Fletcher.

"XCOM swore to defend mankind and Earth from alien invaders, and we have never forgotten that directive. Now htat we can access Earth again, I don't see nay reason why we can't go back to fulfil our original duty."

"Well, it would be nice to finally have some additional backup here," noted Fletcher.

"You'll have plenty," responded Reginaldo.

"How can you say that?"

"Earth is the cradle of mankind. It's where we all came from, and hopefully, it will always remain ours. I would rather die than let monsters from another dimension conquer it, and I'm sure everyone else on this planet would agree...well, everyone but the Progenitors."

All of the other colonial leaders nodded at this. They'd had a psychic chat while listening to Denver's abbreviation of what happened on Earth, and were already in agreement before Reginaldo spoke.

"Actually, you are wrong there," remarked Councilor Hyo. "I will not endanger my people in a human conflict, but I am willing to offer other forms of aid, so long as your kind do not drag my people into this war of yours."

Well, it looked like I was the only one in the room who hadn't offered a show of support.

"I will assist you as well," was my reply. "I do not want the people of Earth to suffer anymore than they already have."

"So it seems we are all in agreement?" asked Elodie.

"Perhaps, but I must ask one last question: are you sure peace is not an option with these beings?" asked Hyo.

"They've been mind controlling people into allying with them and ate another race of completely sapient aliens for food. I don't think they want peace."

"That is...unsettling. I will see what I can do to assist you."

"I believe that this meeting is adjorned," remarked Hutama, with no one choosing to question him there."

With that, everyone split off to prepare their forces to head to Earth. It was time to enter the Third Alien War.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	78. Interlude 12

The beach was oddly quiet. No birds, no people, only the crashing of waves and the buzzing of insects to break the silence. On occasion a lizard would snatch up one of the bugs, or an aircraft would fly over head, or some drone would examine the beach, but other than that, the beach was empty and lifeless. This left it a golden strip of sand, its emptiness broken only by the jagged pieces of Aqua Plastics that dotted its shore.

This was Chicxulub, the home of the crater where the meteor that had ended the Age of the Dinosaurs had landed. At least, people had assumed it was a meteor, until a few centuries ago, when said meteor had come back out of the waves. There, it was laid bare for all to see: the meteor was really a mighty ship known as T'leth, home to an entire collective of aliens who wished to colonize Earth. FI that meant the annihilation of the natives, then so be it. A war had been fought, ending with the ship's destruction, but the aliens had had the last laugh, as the ship's destruction had ended up polluting the Earth, exacerbating the Holocene Mass Extinction that humans had started in their recklessness. The beach had been hit hard by this disaster, as it had been at Ground Zero when the ship blew up. The fish had died, as had many of the birds and most of the native mammals and amphibians. Only the bugs, the reptiles, the crustaceans, and a few lucky mammals had remained, though the birds had eventually returned, but never in the numbers they had before the ship has been destroyed.

The cataclysm that had followed the ship's destruction had prevented XCOM from harvesting the leftover Aqua Plastics, allowing huge components of he ship to dot the beach for centuries. Gradually, desperate vagrants and ambitious corporations had taken the remnants, hoping to make a fortune off of them. Eventually, XCOM had returned to clean up its mess, but a few pieces had remained intact, including, amazingly, an intact survey ship.

The ship had been among the last to escape T'leth before it had exploded, and while it had avoided the pyroclastic wall that followed the explosion, the blast wave had sent it crashing into the shore, where its surviving crew, unable to unearth it, had abandoned the ship and searched for rescue, eventually being picked up by a cruiser. Without anyone to unearth it, the ship had gradually become buried, until only its bow remained visible. Erosion had kept them from being covered. Still, for all intents and purposes, the ship was dead in the sand It's Zrbite reserves had almost completely decayed, though they could still give it an hour's flight from what remained.

In its inactive state, the survey ship had become a magnet for basking lizards, as it provided an easy place to warm up while still being able to see any incoming predators. Right now, a horde of iguanas, descendent from run away pets that had survived the Great Mistake, had taken up positions along the sub's exposed bow, sunning themselves in the morning light. Tow were dueling each other for the best spot, pushing and shoving each other, and occasionally grappling in a manner that resembled a hug. Nearby, a group of hermit crabs was feasting on some fallen fruit, enjoying the sweet taste of their meal.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. The dueling lizards halted their struggle, while the hermit crabs retreated toward a nearby set of crags, where they would be safe from any predators that could pull them out of their shells. Soon, the basking reptiles began to head for the trees as the shaking caused the sand and earth covering their basking spot to fall away, exposing the ship to the elements. Eventually, the dueling lizards followed them, and not a moment too soon: the minute they got off of the sub, it shot into the air, engines ignited, before circling around and plunging beneath the waves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several miles out, at the bottom of the sea, the battered remains of T'leth had settled on the sea floor, undisturbed by the movement of the continents and the actions of sea life. Only recently had the area become livable again for marine animals, so the few creatures that inhabited the area consisted of some wandering fish and the odd crab - with no nearby hot spots, creatures that lived sea vents could not thrive here. XCOM patrols had occasionally entered the area to try and acquire any technology that might have been missed during the Second Alien War, but for the most part, the ship's wreck was lifeless.

But not anymore.

As the survey ship zoomed across the Ocean Floor, it had to navigate around several other subs, among them several heavy cruisers looking for ores and fish to collect. Smaller cruisers patrolled the area, guarding the ruins from invaders. As for the wreck itself, lights were now emanating from it, and green shapes could occasionally be seen emerging from it, traversing the ocean floor to acquire and move the shattered fragments of T'leth back to the ship's main body.

The sub zoomed past them, until at last it reached its destination: the heart of the wreck. There, it would be refueled and repaired, but after that, the future was uncertain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Beneath all of the wreckage, it wondered what had happened. How long had the ship been wrecked? How long had it been dreaming?

The ship had crashed on this world eons ago, but only a few centuries ago had it begun to awaken, only to be struck down by the new rulers of this world. These beings were the ones to inherit it after the Gill Men had died out, except for those who had made a pact with its servants. In only a few thousand years, they had gone from living in caves to landing on this world's moon.

Perhaps they could have been the strongest of its servants, outmatching even the mighty Tasoths, but that was not to be - they would never serve another being, and had made that point all too clear when it had tried to awaken several centuries ago. It vaguely remembered starting to wake, hearing screaming, feeling pain, then a sense of falling, then darkness came once more.

Now, a new force awakened it. It had sensed a strange power coming through to this world from another, one that was tangentially familiar. A world very different from this one, one that it could not easily access, but given time, it could go there.

It had sensed new beings coming to this world, to claim it as their own.

And it would not allow this. The natives, mankind, had managed to best its servants. Perhaps they could serve it as well, one day, but for now, they had earned their reprieve. Perhaps one day, they would pierce the barriers that would lead to its home world, and challenge its people to battle. Perhaps.

Until it thought otherwise, though, it would not allow mankind to fall under the command of another. They had earned their freedom.

There was also another reason it wanted mankind to survive: the relic.

It had found the relic before its vessel had crashed into this world. The relic had been adrift in space, floating between this world's star and the next closest star. The relic was covered in cables, wires, metal, and stone, but strangest of all was that it was, to some degree, organic, but more importantly, it was _alive_ and had a soul. For eons, it had examined the relic, having plenty of time until its host vessel reached this world, but it never truly could find an understanding of it, nor had it received any kind of reaction from the relic.

Then, a month ago, that had changed. The relic had released a pulse, burning an image into the mind of the one examining it. It had not been able to make out a lot of details, but it could recognize some of them: the image was of a human, young, with curly black hair. It could also sense things about this being's soul, which surprised it, as few images could convey these. It felt that this being was on a journey, and would soon arrive here.

When the being came, maybe, finally, the Great Dreamer's question would be answered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had found the artifact many centuries ago. It had been floating close to the star Proxima Centauri. They had studied it over the centuries, but those studies had not gone anywhere, and had eventually been shelved in favor of finding a new home.

Then they had received the call: the humans of Earth had called out to their colonies, asking for help in facing a new threat. They had debated for a few days, before deciding to head toward Earth; they owed mankind too much to abandon them. It would take them a few days to reach Earth, but mankind had proved itself resourceful enough to endure Origin's invasion, so they could likely stand this one.

Then the relic had activated. When it did, it had burned an image in their heads, that of a han who commanded mighty Machines. After it had burned the image into their heads, it had dormant once more.

Though they were unsure what to make of the image, they had decided to advance onwards toward Earth, where hopefully, they would find answers to that question.

Besides, mankind deserved their help. They owed that race for freeing them from Mosaic.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Things are going to get crazy on Earth pretty soon.

Dedicated XCOM fans will know who the second set of beings were.

No current overpowered beings have any interest in assisting the micronoids.

Most of the animals on Chiron couldn't survive on Earth.

Yes, Worm chalice, that's the gun, but it is called the brain sucker launcher.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	79. Annihilation 67

Once everyone decided to assist XCOM in defeating the Micronoids, they quickly began drafting up the best of their forces to send to Earth. This wasn't exactly easy, in part because some of the more powerful units that any of the affinities could bring to Earth would probably cause far more damage to Mega Primus than the alien did (well, unless they used a mothership or battleship, or dropped an overspawn on the city). Additionally, most of the hybrid units harmony used couldn't be sent to Earth, on account of the differences in atmosphere. While those powers had acknowledged this and bred strains that could survive on Earth, only a token amount of the unmodified creatures native to Chiron could join this battle.

Of course, that still left the natives with a ton of viable units to send back to Earth, among them battlesuits, CNDRs and packs of domesticated aliens. Already the forces of each faction had mustered up in preparation for the battle, with tanks lining up to enter the portal, infantry escorts close behind them.

As for me, well, everything that I was using could easily enter the portal, even my Commander, so I didn't really have any limits-what's this message I'm getting from...XCOM!?

Confused and shocked, I opened it, revealing the contents to be the schematics of some kind of ship, along with a note:

"Seeing how you wanted our technology, we deemed it likely that you would desire that of our foes. To get it, though, you'll need a way to take the fight to them, so here's a nudge in the right direction."

What was he talking about-OH!

I re-examined the designs and smiled: they matched those of the dimension prove, the first craft XCOM could send to the Alien Dimension. Combined with the relatively intact alien ships I had in my possession, it would be relatively easy to engineer a vessel that could void death by antimatter when it entered the alien dimension.

I was getting ahead of myself, though. First, I needed to prep up my forces to head to Earth.

Turning my attention toward my facilities on planet, I ordered the production of new tanks, bots, artillery, and aircraft, as well as several dozen fabbers. I also ordered my existing fabbers to start building several teleported gates: once I arrived on Earth, I'd need to setup a beachhead. From their, I'd set up factories, power generators, and ab innovation I made out Spore tech: matter coree. These could synthesize matter out of energy, and since I could violate the law of conservation at will, well, I didn't really need to ever worry about running out of resources anymore.

With my forces being prepared, I turned my attention briefly back to my charges. The kids were starting to take their psi lessons, which were rather humorous to watch. Intwrnally, I was glad that XCOM would only teach them to control their powers, not use them offensively. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

"So, it looks like you'll finally be going to battle again, won't you, my pawn?"

Ugh, not now.

"I assume you'll stay to watch me battle the Micronoids? It will likely be awesome to behold."

"Well, since this is your first big battle since Xylem, yeah, I'm staying. Though, may I suggest one thing?"

"I'll allow it."

"You might want to see just what you can get from these aliens. There tech isn't like any that you've encountered before. I mean, most of it is alive."

"I know. I hope to acquire all of it."

Dimension traveling technology? Disruptor weapons? ANTIMATTER RESISTANT AIRCRAFT?! I wanted it all. With it, I'd grow in strength far faster than I was already, and could rapidly speed up my mission to find the rest of the artifacts in this universe. The weird ones, anyways.

Melissa merely responded by smirking at me. "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens, so though it may sound odd, good luck."

"...thank you."

XXXXXXXXXX

It only took an hour for everyone to muster their forces and make their final preparations. My forces were intermixed among those of the natives, but a fair amount of them composed what would be the first wave of the forces sent to Earth. My units were expendable, people were not.

At long last, the order came to for the assembled armies to advance. My forces charged through the portal, ready for battle.

On the other side, though, things were relatively calm. Our guests had called in to their headquarters to inform them that friendly forces were coming through the gates, which was the only reason the forces circled around the portal did not fire on us. Once they were sure that we were friendly, they let us continue on.

Lining the streets were the citizens of Mega Primus. Many were staring on in stunned silence, never expecting this to happen. A few players takkng pictures. Idly, I noted the presence of a few androids and alien hybrids, likely preventatives of the Mitant Alliance and S.E.L.F.

We didn't have long to enjoy our arrival, though. Merely ten minutes after the first of my bots entered the portal, three dimension gates opened, spewing out roughly two dozens UFOs. Their designs matched what I remembered were the ones of the Destroyer, Bomber and Assault Ships, along with a couple of escorts.

Well, fine with me. Let the war begin.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	80. Annihilation 68

My first wave of units immediately opened fire on the alien force, practically _disintegrating _an escort vessel, which wasn't really a loss for me. I mean, yeah, I lost the tech within the ship, as well as any chance of examining the crew, but I already had one back on Chiron to, in the words of Mark Watney, 'Science the shit out of'. Besides, the escort was a bigger threat than the bombers, destroyers and assault ships, as while they did more damage, they weren't likely to hit my fast units unless the escorts' stasis guns locked my troops in place.

The shock of my first attack quickly wore off, though, as the ships began to scatter and return fire, attempting to obliterate my forces with massed fire. I could on smirk at this as their attacks were stopped in mid air by my troops: since most of the weapons on the ships I was facing consisted of bombs or missiles, I simply blasted the projectiles out of the sky. I did have to dodge the disruptor beams, though; I couldn't defend against those yet.

I launched a second barrage of attacks on the aliens, downing another escort. I swiftly moved to mob it with my forces, eager to eliminate any resistance I encountered. A Megaspawn emerged from the wreck, ready to destroy my forces, only to be fried by a squadron of Icarus drones. I swiftly moved in a few fabbers to build restraints for it, while my commander began building a containment facility within my territory. Examining a living weapons platform might give me insight into making better tanks and bots.

Around this time, the second wave of forces from Chiron arrived. Tacjets of all sorts began to open fire on my enemies, managing to down a bomber on their own. A destroyer attempted to return fire, only to be reduced to what could best be described as barbecued mushrooms (since they were, essentially, mushrooms). The aliens that survived the crash soon found themselves being swarmed by robots, humans in battlesuits, and packs of very hungry wildlife from Chiron. The results were...messy.

It was around this time that XCOM's native aircraft finally made themselves known by levelling an Assault Ship. The ship exploded on impact with the ground, making it pretty obvious that there were no survivors from the crash. Still, I sent in a few bots to make sure that was the case.

Idly, I wondered just how well the battle was going. I mean, the aliens had lost more than a fourth of their assault force (which I noted was larger than any force you would face in a normal game of Apocalypse), but so far, I hadn't taken any losses, and according to the communications I was listening in on, neither were my allies. Civilian losses were something I couldn't keep track of, so I wasn't counting them for now.

So, this was what a curb-stomp really felt like...

Eh, I'd get used to it.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

On the other side of the city, Alexis peered through her binoculars to watch the unfolding battle. The new arrivals were laying waste to the aliens, utterly devastating the mushroom shaped ships with their machines. Occasionally, she could also make out regular soldiers fighting side by side with the machines, along with the occasional giant bug.

Life had been hard since the aliens came. It wasn't uncommon to find a section of road fine one day only to be filled with craters the next. Occasionally, a city block might find itself without power, or a food shortage would occur. Then there were the aliens. You never knew when they would come, but when they did, things got bad. She'd seen people end up on the wrong end of their weapons, and it was messy. She still had nightmares of seeing someone for Diablo be at ground zero when one of those fat, two legged aliens exploded.

_Oh god, that was so...so..._

As if that wasn't bad enough, this crazy cult had shown up, claiming the aliens to be our saviors and that resisting them was wrong. This, while people were being melted by acid, sometimes right in front of the cultists. Worse still, sometimes the cult took part in the aliens' attacks, helping them take over buildings and try to sway corporations to their side. She'd heard the rumors that Transtellar was working with the aliens, but she doubted that - at least, for now.

True, people had fought back against the aliens. Strange soldiers with Xs on their armors attacked the aliens, and they often won, as did Megapol, but to Alexis, this seemed to be a losing battle. Even if the strange new soldiers were attacking the aliens on their home field, something she'd heard her classmates talk about, time seemed to be running out, and it was only a matter of time before the aliens won.

Now, though? Not so much. Whoever had come from those portals clearly had no love for these aliens and was quite keen on fighting them. Out of the two dozen ships in the sky, she'd already seen half of them destroyed or disabled.

Whoever the new arrivals were, Alexis would have to thank them. Maybe, just maybe, mankind could now win this war.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tobias ducked into an alley as a stream of disruptor fire whizzed past him, barely a meter from his face. It was followed by whooshing sound, followed by a gurgle and thump as something hit the ground. Daring to put himself in danger to see what had happened, he found himself staring at the freshly made corpse of a skeletal creature. He stared for a moment, before quickly returning to the sheltered alley; now was not the time to be taking risks. Let the soldiers and aliens fight it out, and move only when they had moved on.

Tobias was not a stranger to hardship - his father had been injured during a protest against the A.R.C. that had gone violent (despite the best efforts of the A.R.C. manager there, who apparently did care about his workers, unlike most business executives these days) and been stuck in the hospital for a few weeks. Shortly after that, his mom was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo surgery. Combined with his dad still recovering from having his spine cracked during the protest, and Tobias had been forced to take up the role of breadwinner for his family. His grades had taken a hit, but assuming he kept them where they were right now, he could still graduate high school with A's and B's.

Then the aliens had shown up.

Life had gotten steadily worse after the appeared. The hospital his mother was in had been invaded by the aliens, and while the had been dealt with, it had meant that her treatments had been delayed.

He still held on to the belief that she could recover (which, granted, was fairly likely), but it wasn't exactly easy to hold onto that optimism. Gang wars had become all to common, criminals exploiting the chaos to expand their territory and make power plays, and while the police were able to fight back (especially since some third party had decided to oppose the aliens), it was an uphill battle. The cult attacks hadn't helped either.

Tobias had seen people killed by the aliens, including a few acquaintances. Yet while he wanted to make them pay, the rational part of his mind always discouraged him from trying to fight them: he wasn't likely to win, and if he died, no one would be around to care for his sisters and parents. He did not want the gangs to take advantage of his sisters, especially considering how both of them were less than ten years old. It was for this reason that he never usually went near UFOs and avoided the aliens when possible. If he stumbled across their tools by accident, though, he wasn't above stealing them; the strange soldiers paid well for some of them.

Only when he heard the sounds of footsteps passing by did Tobias dare to peer out again. He saw soldiers charging onwards, clearly looking for more aliens to fight. Sensing that it was safe to move, Tobias broke from his cover.

He barely had time to walk before a long, sinuous form slammed into him. Quickly recovering, Tobias turned to face his assailant and want pail: it was a giant worm with sharp teeth. He'd heard people call them multiworms, because if you killed them, smaller worms would emerge from their corpses. Panicking, Tobias looked for a way to escape, but found one. Desperation beginning to overtake him, he pulled out a pocketknife he kept in case of emergencies, though he knew it was a futile gesture. Incensed, the worm charged.

A huge shape barreled into the worm, batting it aside and sparing Tobias from becoming its next victim. Slightly shocked, it took him a moment to notice his savior, which appeared to be some kind robot. It had a huge body, with arms ending in drills as opposed to hands. It seemed to _roar_ at the multiworm, daring the beast to attack it.

The worm obliged, only to be batted aside, then head-butt by the machine, knocking it out cold. Then, the machine turned its attention toward Tobias, who froze up. Slowly, the machine approached him, the teen too scared to retreat. When it was practically right next to him, it stopped and looked at his head. Dimly, Toby, as his friends called him, realized he a cut on his head.

Suddenly, a sewer lid burst into the air as another multiworm emerged from beneath the road and latched onto the machine, which flailed around for a moment, trying to remove its assailant. All for naught: the robot lacked hands, preventing it grabbing the worm.

Yet the robot was not out of tricks: when it realized it could not grip its foe, it charged forward and curled into a ball, timing it so that its 'head', and the multiworm biting it, hit the ground first. The multiworm was forced to let go as its jaw was crushed, leaving it stuck on the ground, bleeding profusely. Before it could move, another brought appeared, this one wielding a sword that seemed to be on fire. In a moment, it had plunged the blade into the worm, setting it alight.

So transfixed was he on the sight of the burning worm that Toby didn't notice the giant robot approaching him until it was right next to him. Surprised, he turned toward the bot, fighting not to fall. He was surprised to see it holding out its left arm, pointing to the East.

Then, it spoke.

"Go. There is a field hospital that way. Report there to get your wounds treated." All of that was said in a deep, sonorous, metallic voice.

Nodding, Tobias headed East. It was probably a good idea to listen to the robot that had saved his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Levine-01 watched the boy run toward the filed hospital, before turning its attention to back to the battle.

It knew that almost all of the alien vessels had been disabled, and the battle against them was going well. That left two priorities: mop up alien survivors, or rescue human ones.

It had been unsure, at first, which to choose. Defeating the enemy was a goal of greater tactical importance, but saving an innocents caught in the crossfire was of greater strategic importance. Hearts and minds were not so easily won as battles were, and only through public acts of good will could they be secured, but all the same, rescuing innocents was a moot point if they would be throw into the fray again.

Now, though, its mind was settled: rescuing civilians came first. Many had been injured in the fighting, though no fatalities had been reported, which was good. Some might even say that the news made the robot happy.

It wouldn't be able to explain why it felt happy, for the concept was alien to it, but, all the same, 01 felt some happiness in saving one citizen. Now it was going to see what it felt like when it saved more than one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	81. Annihilation 69

The battle against the aliens was pretty lopsided in my favor: the aliens were caught so heavily off guard that the motley Alliance of XCOM, the colonies on Chiron, and my forces were able to down all of their ships without taking a single loss in return. Exactly half of the ship's we fought were outright destroyed in the fighting, leaving nothing to salvage, but the ones that did crash provided me with plenty of artifacts to research.

Well, after all the crew were dealt with, anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Gamma One opened fire, downing an anthropod under a hail of plasma fire. Nearby, Two blew a hole through a psimorph with his sniper rifle, sending the beast hurtling toward the ground. Several multiworms found themselves being shredded to pieces by Three's shotgun, while an unlucky spitter found itself with a new hole in its chest due to a well aimed shot from Four's rifle.

All around them, aliens were dying in droves. Surprise was one cause, but a big part of it was the help they had this time around. No longer did they need to worry about allies who couldn't defend themselves; XCOM's newest allies could easily hold their own in a fight.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, leading One to order his squad to seek shelter. A moment later, a building crumbled, revealing the monstrous form of a megaspawn, weapons primed and ready for combat. It opened fire, but its aim was off and the shot missed, hitting a (thankfully empty) taxi instead.

The megaspawn roared and tried to line up a second shot, only to take a huge green orb to its face, partially melting said face and killing the giant. Turning around, One noticed the sight of a manticore being directed by a handler, instructing it where to strike and when. Few of Chiron's native organisms could survive on Earth, but those that could were proving to be excellent allies in this battle.

How long that would be true, though, remained to be seen.

XXXXXXXXXX

A brain sucker flew through the air, only to be batted aside by the barrel of a rifle. A swift shot from the gun finished it off, while a second one killed the antropod who had fired the brainsucker launcher.

Behind his golden helm, Henrique Blackfire smiled. One Alien down, another couple dozen to go.

Hailing from Portuguese settlers who had been among those selected to be part of the Franco-Iberian Seeding Mission, Blackfire had long heard of the stories of Old Earth. The tales were varied in both tone and subject, but all of them had shared similar ideas: Old Earth had once been beautiful, but man's greed, wrath and shortsightedness had ultimately ruined the glorious cradle of mankind, forcing them into Exodus, unlikely to ever return.

Well, now he had done the impossible, and had returned to the birth world of mankind. The joy he had felt, though, had been marred by his rage at the sight of the aliens attacking it. Why did they seek to rule this world? This was the seat of mankind, and it would never fall under the power of an alien ruler.

Four more shots came out of his golden rifle, felling the hyperworms that had emerged from the fresh carcass of a multiworm. He was then forced to take cover as a group anthropods attacked him, fighting even harder than they had earlier. This confused Henrique for a moment: why would they fight on if retreat was more practical? Were they that desperate to take Earth, and if so, then why? These questions only remained in his mind for a moment, though, before they went away. Regardless of why the aliens were invading, they were still putting millions at risk.

A skeletpoid surprised him when it charged out of an alley, knocking his weapon away and trying to claw him to death, only to receive a kick in return. Following up on this, Blackfire punched the Alien in the fast a few times, then lifted it up and slammed it back down, pulverizing its back.

Idly, Henrique noted how distrustful this would have looked, even to his allies. Few in Franco-Iberia believed in tampering with the human genome, but Blackfire believed it was necessary to do so if mankind wished to unlock its full potential. Sometimes, the Old did need to make way for the new.

With no foes on sight, Henrique reloaded his rifle and listened in on his comms. Wherever he was needed, he would go.

XXXXXXXXX

Well, this hadn't gone as planned.

The mission had been clear: damage as much of the city as possible, capture any sectoids in the slums to replace the lost crop, and, if possible, infiltrate Transtellar and convince them to ally with our forces. That was the plan the Micronoids had agreed on, just prior to the attack. The resulting damage would likely lose the finding of their foes, making it easier to destroy them.

Now, though, things were looking bad. Well, they would've if the micronoid had eyes. As is, it could tell that things were taking a turn for the worst. The bomber it commanded had been disabled by an unknown party, who had arrived through two giant portals that had emerged in the city. Now, the unknown party, joined by at least six other groups, had assisted XCOM in fending off the attack, much to the ire of the Micronoids. This mission had proven to be a disaster: they had lost so many forces, uet they had. It inflicted a single casualty, not even to the populace of the city.

No matter. The rest of the Micronoids knew that this mission was a failure, and were already drawing up plans for a new assault. Having seen the battle through the cameras onboard the ship's, they would have had a chance to see the strengths and weaknesses of the new comers, allowing them to formulate a new pan of attack that would be more effective. And once the XCOM Project was destroyed, they could claim this world as their own.

Satisfaction filling the individuals who comprised it, the Micronoid puddle slunk away from the remains of its sho, toward some nearby rubble. Hopefully, it could wait out the fighting and last until the next ship arrived in the city, after which point hitching a new ride would not be difficult.

That wasn't going to happen today.

The Micronoids were forced to stop when they encountered a pair of metallic feet. They had just enough time to realize that something was wrong before they felt a nasty shock and found themselves falling toward the calm oblivion of sleep.

XXXXXXXX

Carefully, I had my CNDR load up the Micronoids into a glad coanfiner, which would be transferred to a lab for study. Perhaps I could learn some things that may help me uet when facing the aliens.

Oh, and apparently, there were no human casualties during this fight. Score one for mankind

XXXXXXXXX

AN: [USER=319653]MasterG/USER: hope you liked this chapter.

Everyone else, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	82. Annihilation 70

With Mega Primus back to normal (for the moment), I got to work analyzing the Alien ships I'd acquired. While XCOM had provided me everything I'd need to create a ship that could enter the Alien Dimension, they had offered nothing of note on the weaponry the ships used. Presumably they wanted to mantain some advantage over me, which I could respect. Of course, that wasn't going to stop me from examining the wrecks I'd recovered to acquire their weaponry.

The primary weapon the aliens used were derivatives of disruptor technology - essentially, they disintegrated their targets on contact, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. Granted, you needed a large disruptor to completely destroy a human body, but a small one could still kill a person easily. The ones mounted on ships, though, could easily level buildings. I kept that in mind as I pocketed away the data for later.

Next up was the dimension missile launcher. This thing could demolish practically anything, if used well. It involved firing missiles containing tiny amount of _antimatter_ at the target and letting the obliteration of matter and antimatter do the rest. This meant that the rocket actually contained a tiny payload, with most of its internal structure being safeguards to avoid premature detonations. Once again, I filed away the data for later.

Finally, there was the Aliens' defensive tech. The personal shields, the telporters, the cloaking, all techs I had, but not to the level of refinement these ones did. I could already see numerous ways to integrate them into my arsenal, though for now, I was going to see if I could recreate XCOM's disruptor armor. It looked cool, and was still practical, according to the communications I'd heard during the battle, so I was definetly going to make a set for myself.

XXXXXXX

While I experimented with my new acquisitions, my fabbers began setting up teleported gates outside the city, allowing me to bring in a huge influx of reinforcements. From there, I began setting up show up Earth, taking care to clear things with XCOM and the seeding sponsors first.

Apparently, while the ARC was the premier mega-corporation on Earth, others (like Transtellar) weren't far behind. A little bit of digging around showed that several of these companies had been involved in corporate warfare, along with several incidents of abusing human rights. Ironically, the A.R.C. was one of the least corrupt ones around, always managing to stay within the bounds of the law even as they tried to maximize their profits. Ironic, but rather heartening.

Also, Transtellar hadn't been infiltrated by aliens. That was unexpected, given that they sided with aliens rather quickly in most games, but it was appreciated. At least that meant XCOM didn't have to worry about transporting its stuff.

Now, back to work. I had my fabbers worm on constructing homes and other basic amenities who lived outside Mega-Primus. These people were living through Gaia's lament, which sucked, so I decided they deserved better. I set up stations to distribute excess food grown on in my hub universe, taking care to make sure they were safe for human consumption. The people who received my gernpsitu made my chest swell with pride, which was reward enough for this course of action.

Back on Chiron, my alien containment area was up and running. Within it dwelt all of the aliens I'd captured so far: 10 antropods, a trio of spitters, a popper, two skeletoids, a few psimorphs, a megaspawn, and a few micronoid puddles. For now, they would have to remain here, but eventually, I was planning to let them have a world of the own in my hub universe. With their own home dying, they're invasion was understandable, even if it did not justify all of the deaths they had caused. Of course, first I would need to remove the Micronoids in their bloodstream. A quick trade with XCOM, my FTL secrets for toxigun samples, was enough to solve this problem, as soon I would have a way to kill the Micronoids in the aliens blood.

With my immediate goals complete, I sent a few fabbers to assist in cleaning up Mwga-Peimus, whilst also hacking the Cult of Sirius' bank accounts and diverted it toward charities, keeping a small fraction of the payment for myself. I'd like to be able to buy some things for myself, so why not take it from he clearly insane cultists? They weren't going to use it. Not altogether, at least.

With all of that now finished, I began modifying my units for battle, creating new variations of all of the units I had so far that would be able to withstand travel to the Alien Dimension.

The Aliens had chosen to invade Earth, but now we were the invaders, and we would make them pay.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	83. Annihilation 71

Exactly four hours down to the second after the first forces from Chiron arrived on Megaprimus, the counter attack on the Alien Dimension began.

The invasion itself was truly something to behold.

XXXXXXXXX

XCOM craft were the first ones to breach the Alien Dimension, followed by my aircraft (now modified to survive entering the dimension gates) and then by the craft of the colonies of Chiron. Almost immediately, we came under fire: mostly from alien ships like in the game, but also, to my surprise, from gun emplacements in the surface of the Alien Dimension. All of these tried to shoot our forces down. All of them tried in vain and were soon put out of their misery.

Once all opposition was eliminated, my forces split off into separate groups, all dedicated to different goals: My interceptors assisted XCOM's forces in mopping up the sky, my transports moved to find a suitable landing site for their cargo, while several fabbers I'd made vegan setting up teleported gates to allow more reinforcements to come through. If possible, I was drowning out these aliens with numbers. The gates were all I built in the Alien Dimension, though; this place would be leveled when the Dimension Gate Generator went up in smoke.

Speaking of which, the invading forces had finally reached their destination: the control chamber. XCOM had already destroyed half of the Alien City before I'd arrived, meaning that the Control Chamber was their next target. Destroying it would decapitate the aliens' commander structure, since apparently it was filled with giant brains the Micronoids used for generating strategies.

Not for much longer.

XXXXXXXXX

The great minds could feel the enemy coming closer. The minds knew that they were their enemy's target. Well, this could not happen. They would not fall. The Micronoids' plan, and with it their survival, would be assured.

All around them, alien forces moved to prepare for the coming battle. Positions were taken, mines laid, and traps set. XCOM and it's allies would fail, and before they could return, the brains' armies would conquer the humans beloved city and claim Earth as their new home.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Assault in the Control Chamber began with a Boom running into a wall and killing tencpippers. From here, more bots moved in, followed by XCOM personnel and colonial soldiers, all trying to find the alien brains. Once they were dead, the building would be destroyed, as the brains were connected to vital points in this living structure, and killing them would kill it.

Killing the brains wasn't a problem. Reaching them, on the other hand, was, or rather, would have been: hordes of aliens guarded them, equipped with the mightiest weapons that they could carry, ready to kill us. Fortunately, I had superior number and superior firepower, and the aliens were soon messy giblets all over the walls.

As for the brains, well, I had more interesting plans for them.

XXXXXXXXXX

The brain recoils as it felt its compatriots fall, shot, burned, stabbed, or severed from their cords. Those that were severed, it knew would suffer the most: having no way to secure new nutrients or air, they would soon suffocate on the floor, helpless, unless they were put out of their misery. It wished all of its companions quick deaths as it felt them fade away.

One by one, the brains faded away, until only one remained. Resigned, the Alien mind opened up the eyes connected to its head and stared forward, ready to face its killer, even if it was still scared. When said killer finally arrived, it took the form of a robot wielding a sword. It came as no surprise to the mind that its death would be the severing of its support chord, condemning it to death by suffocation.

What did surprise the brain was that it soon found itself stuffed into a large glass container, filed with fluid that provided it both air and sustenance. It attempted to examinine its new prison further, only for its thoughts to be disrupted by a distant explosions, followed by a second, then a third.

Worriedly, the brain realized the building was collapsing. Now, it wondered whether it would escape before the building gave way.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The last of the transports pulled out as the Control Chamber finally gave way, rendering the Aliens' Command and Control permanently out of commission.

While XCOM moved to recuperate it's loses, I moved the five brains I'd liberated back to Chiron for future study. Preliminary examination revealed that, like all other aliens in the Alien Dimension, they were enslaved to Micronoids, utterly unable to act on their own.

Well, I guess I'd have to fix that.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	84. Annihilation 72

While XCOM was busy given its personnel medical care, I checked to see how my alien brains were doing. Still fine, but admittedly a little confused. Data I'd hacked from the Control Chamber's organic computers revealed that most of the brains were actually growths from the building, but some were imported from older versions of this structure. Apparently, the aliens used to have a bigger city, before this dimension went to hell, which was the result of a nearby supernova obliterating the equivalent of the ozone layer. It'd also rendered the atmosphere more toxic than it already was: in its pristine state, this dimension would be inhabitable by humans (though not optimally), but now it was a wasteland that only the aliens could inhabit. Additional data I'd acquired suggested that, prior to adapting to the new toxic atmosphere, the aliens would have been able to survive on Earth for an indefinite amount of time, though it wouldn't be optimal for them. Apparently, the Micronoids even had old gene samples from before the Supernova had hit. I'd stolen enough samples for mass production while we had attacked the Control Chamber, then sent them to a biochemistry lab I'd created in my hub universe. Once I had enough of the original genes, I'd distribute them into aliens I now had as captives. It wouldn't be that hard, given that I now had access to MELD. XCOM had been surprisingly willing to trade that in exchange for E-DNA.

I'd also sent forces to round up the various animals that called this miserable excuse for a world their home. Most were rather weird, and some pretty ugly, but that didn't mean they weren't worth saving. I also made a point of a collecting all of the plants, fungi, and microbes I could find and moving those onto my Spore ship. If I was going to recreate the aliens' home, I wanted it to be a close to the original as possible, minus the post apocalyptic parts. As for why I was even helping the aliens in the first place, there were two reasons: one, I felt bad for them, and two, while I could live with the inevitably several million digit kill count I was likely to amount on my journey as a commander, I refused to allow myself to perpetrate genocide of an entire species. The Grox were the one exception to that (granted, they refused to stay dead and were all irredeemably evil, but still) and I refused to ever go down that path again.

Interestingly, using my LIDAR confirmed that there were several large, organic entities some distance beneath my teleporter gates that seemed to be alive, but what they could be had me stumped. Hibernating Creatures? Giant bugs? Special Organic Mines designed to destroy the alien dimension as a final screw you to anyone who wanted to invade this world? Well, if they were living beings, I didn't want them to die when the dimension gate generator exploded, so I started using some Levines to tunnel toward them. With luck, I'd reach them In an hour.

What's this alert I'm receiving? XCOM is getting ready to attack the Spawning Chamber?

Well, time to catch a Queenspawn.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The collective was restless. Their plans had been going moderately well, even with the damage to their home dimension. True, they had lost their food supply, their ability to maintain the rest of their city had been crippled, and the loss of the Incubation Chamber had been a crushing blow, but victory still seemed to be possible.

Then the new ones had appeared. Comprised of boxy machines and human warriors unlike any they had ever seen, these new ones had utterly blunted their most recent strike against XCOM, leaving their forces reeling. Worse still, the humans had responded faster than expected and taken out the control chamber, leaving their forces lost and confused, and grinding production of new ships to a standstill. The worst part of all? The humans had not taken any losses in the battle, and had consequently needed less time to recover than expected. Now they had returned to attack the Spawning Chamber.

Losing the queenspawn would be...problematic, at best. True, they could easily induce a chrysalis into morphing into a new queen, but that would take time. More time then they had.

Alternatively, they could use the pods. Those would allow them to grow their new warriors much faster, though the pods were, admittedly fragile. Additionally, the pods made excellent targets and weren't easy to hide, given how shiny they were.

The was one other option available to the collective. This one would not take any time at all to implement, and would solve the issue of losing the queenspawn...but it would mean running the risk of waking them up. They would certainly be disruptive to the collective's plans.

...Perhaps a mix of solutions? While creating a backup queenspawn from a chrysalis would take far too long to be viable, owing to the need to heavily glut a hyperworm, the other two plans showed promise.

Hopefully, _they_ wouldn't be a problem...

XXXXXXXXX

The minute our forces breached the Spawning Chamber, the curb stomp began in earnest. Aliens guarding the chamber were killed with surgical precision, unable to stand the onslaught of our forces. Shielded aliens found their defenses useless against toxiguns and their toxins, a secret XCOM had only just shared with me, and in return I'd offered them additional knowledge on E-DNA. A fair trade in my opinion, and one that was proving to be worth its cost.

While we demolished the enemy forces opposing us, I made sure to capture each and every alien egg I could, with each one being moved to a transport as soon as possible. Idly, I noted that at this point, I needed to start building a larger containment facility to store them, which took a matter of seconds with my army of fabbers. Progenitor technology OP, don't nerf.

Eventually, we finally came to our target: the Queenspawn. This tentacled beast was the mother of all of the aliens, at least as far as I knew. If we killed the queen, the aliens would unable to recuperate any losses they suffered.

We had already agreed, though, on a different course of action: capture the queen alive. This way, we would be able to study it further to complete our knowledge of the aliens. Also, it meant I could breed more of the aliens and not condemn them to die off once their eggs all hatched.

Dealing with the queen wasn't actually that difficult: a few stun grenades and it was out for the count. Carrying it proved to be no problem, as I XCOM was easily able to move it to their vessel-why is the building shaking?

Curious, I watched as several strange orifices appeared in the sides of the building's wall, which promptly opened, realesing strange yellow creatures from them, ones with very long tents-oh.

...Oh come on! More queens!? Where did the aliens have more queens lying around? This is ridiculous!

Actually, after a moment of thought, I realized that the extra queens were a boon in disguise: I could capture them, remove any Micronoids from their blood, and use them to breed more aliens. That could work.

Oh, and a giant army of aliens is headed toward us. Well, this was never going to be easy.

...wait, why am I getting LIDAR reports?

...the organic bodies are moving? TOWARD THE SPAWNING CHAMBER?

Before I could act on this new intel, hogan, insectile monster burst into the chamber and began slaughtering the aliens. Our motley alliance stared on at the violence for a moment, before popping down stun grenades as soon as the last hostile died. I loaded all of the new aliens into my ships before take off, and was met with the sight of the crippled spawning chamber going up in flames and smoke.

Two down, three to go. First though, I needed to find out more about my unknown saviors.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review. This is a Flameal15k, signing off!


	85. Annihilation 73

Once the spawning chamber went belly up and exploded, XCOM's vessels, along with those of the colonies, returned to Earth for repairs and to treat the minor injuries the operatives had suffered fighting the aliens. Idly, I noted that the doctor handling most of the treatments was an android, yet XCOM's personnel had no problem with him not being human. This, combined with how XCOM treated human alien hybrids and the aliens that had surrendered following the alien wars, made me smile: it looked like XCOM was able to see beyond those conflicts and seek peace with its enemies, unlike what some fanfics would have you believe.

While that was going on, I moved my new captures over to my alien containment facility on Chiron, with eventual plans to transfer them to my hubworld. First, though, I wanted to find out just what my new captures were. Specifically, what were the big bug aliens I'd rescued, and why had they attacked the aliens? I mean, they'd shown up with literally no warning and had begun attacking the aliens when the queens had been revealed...hmm...

Their actions did suggest one course of action, but I was unsure how to prove it-oh wait, one of them had woken up, as had one of the Queenspawn. Good, that saved me time and allowed me to test out my hypothesis.

I quickly transferred the aliens into a room spate from all of their compatriots and place the two creatuers on opposite sides of that room. From there, I just sat back and watched what happened.

The minute the insect alien noticed the Queespwan, it began making exaggerated movements - pushups, bellows, jump, even flips. The Queenspawn stared on for a moment, before, with some difficulty, using its tentacles to turn itself around so that it wasn't looking at the other alien in the room. Undeterred, the strnage beast continued its odd display, this time adding in the ability to change colors and different calls. The Queenspawn seemed to ponder this for a moment, before, again with difficulty, using its tentacles to turn itself around and seemed to nod at the new creature, which approached her and...yeah, my hypothesis was correct, and I'm glad Rory wasn't watching this.

Also, I could now give the new alien a designation: the Kingspawn.

"How unoriginal."

WAAH! What the hell??...Oh.

"Did you have to surprise me...wait, you're a ROB, the answer to that question is rather obvious."

"Indeed it was, my pawn."

"Where were you when we fought all of those aliens?"

"Eating popcorn. The battle was most impressive, though too much of a curb-stomp for my liking. Of course, you're a commander, so that was expected."

"If you wanted me to be routinely challenged, you should not have made me a commander."

To my infinite surprise, Melissa actually smiled at that comment. 'Touché, my pawn, touché."

"...Anything else you have to say?"

"No, I'll leave you to your experiments." Indeed, she did just that, slinking away to the pantry in my meteor shower observation site. I briefly examined the amount of food eaten (which was very high), then sent in an order for more from my hub world. At this rate, Melissa would eat all of it before the dimension gate generator was destroyed.

XXXXXXXX

Back on Earth, XCOM was busy examining the Queen. While normally I would be wrecking the alien dimension, for now, I was content to wait for them to finish their analysis of the queenspawn, as that was how they created the alien gas weapon, which would be useful for the coming battles. While I had no intention of using them on sentient beings (I'd rather not commit a war crime, thank you very much), anything less intelligent and innately hostile would not be spared this fate. Plus it gave me the opportunity to work on some other topics I wanted addressed.

Namely, dealing with my psychic patients. Most of them were now up and about, and had been spending enough time exercising to be able to walk unassisted. Since I hadn't really thought of any way to convince them to stay with me as Melissa had suggested, I reluctantly decided to let them go back to their colonies. Besides, they deserved to be back with their friends and families, who ahd all been worried sick about their missing relatives/companions. For convenience, I built a small dimensional gate (which, given where the aliens were coming from, I'd likely need to rename a multiversal gate) by the medical rooms where they were staying and linked it up to a sort of airport on Chiron. Directions had been provided to which aircraft would take them to their home colonies, and I'd included escort robots to help them find their ways back home, since some had been missing for well over a year.

A few of the psychics remained, though: they had medical issues that needed much longer treatment than their fellows, which meant at least one more week for them on my hub world. Why EXALT never thought to treat those issues was rather surprising: they'd sent orders, but due to bureaucratic inertia, no one had read them. Unbelievable.

Turning my attention back to Earth, I sent a few subs down to where the remains of the temple ship resided. Somehow, fragments of the ship had survived the assault by XCOM, and were now collecting dust on the ocean floor. It'd take a few hours to reach that depth, but I could wait. Occasionally, I picked up something on the sonar, but those usually disappeared rather quickly. I assumed they were either whales or sharks attracted by the mysterious objects descending through the depths. Though they did seem to come back after a while...

Eh, probably nothing. It's not like T'leth was still active, right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I, unfortunately, did not to see those ruins, because just an hour before my subs would have reached the ocean floor, something big happened in the alien dimension. Oddly, it happened just about an hour after XCOM finished researching Alien Gas and started making rockets and grenades full of the stuff, which I managed to procure in exchange for grenadier grenades.

For a moment, everything in the Alien Dimension was calm. Then I detected movement from one of the buildings, our next target. I quickly remembered that this was the Organic Factory that the aliens built their UFOs in. Guess they were getting ready for another attack.

At first, only a few scouts came out. Then some bombers, then escorts. A tough fleet, but I could take them, though I was still giving XCOM some warning.

Then two nine story high red ships emerged from the Organic Factory. Oh joy, battleships. Well, they weren't two bad. XCOM had to have defeated at least one, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to field annihilator aircraft (several of which had taken part in the aerial battle that had followed my arrival to Earth). True, they would likely pose a true challenge to me, but they weren't anything that I couldn't manage.

Then one last ship emerged from the factory, this one a mix of red and yellow. It was shorter in height than the battleships, capping out at seven stories.

It was also much, much, MUCH wider.

...Crap. They were sending in a mothership, with at least twenty ships escorting it.

That could be a problem.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	86. Annihilation 74

Sorry about the wait, let's get rolling!

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The mothership was not something that went down easily. The ship is functionally a mobile base, and is exactly as tough as that would imply.

Case in point, it was chewing up my ships. Now, normally, my units would be inflicting death and mayhem on the ship, since its attacks traveled at laughably slow speed that I could easily outmaneuver. The problem was that this ship was being backed up by two battleships and several escort ships, and the escorts had stasis bomb launchers. Unlike the last few times I'd fougth escorts, they now had something to capitalize on the moment of weakness their weapons created, which resulted in me taking several casualties. As in, my initial forces got utterly slaughtered and I had to start pulling in huge amounts of reinforcements. As for my allies, since I'd given them some forewarning about the attack, they were busy fortifying MegaPrimus. I hoped that they wouldn't have to deal with that ship or its escort fleet.

A hope that quickly proved to be in vain, as the despite suffering several losses, as well as crippling damage to the battleships, the fleet reached the dimension gate generators and teleported to Earth.

Panic began to spread the minute the ship arrived. Several accidents happened as people tried to escape the oncoming UFO horde, leading to several unnecessary casualties. Paramedics were already being dispatched, but to my surprise, they were shot at by _human hover cars. _A quick hacking of the city's databanks confirmed that it was registered as belonging to a member of the Cult of Sirius.

I should have dealt with those fanatics when I first arrived here.

While I moved several more ships in to intercept the aliens, I also started conducting bombing runs on the Cult's temples. While it was only normal munitions now, I was eventually planning to hit this guys with antimatter missiles, albeit ones scaled down for building busting. _These guys were completely insane. _As in, even EXALT thought they were crazy, according to some transmissions I'd picked up in the past few hours. Hell, a couple of branches of XCOM that were still on Earth had declared a truce with their regional counterparts on Earth just to kill off the Cult. A truce I was seriously considering joining - this cult was just a ticking time-bomb ready to blow at any moment. Well, blow with more force than it already had.

Surprisingly, things were faring far better now that the aliens were in the city, likely because they were going up against XCOM, who could turn their own stasis bomb launchers against them. Mentally, I made a note to start integrating those launchers into my interceptors and orbital fighters - that would give me an edge in the future, I just knew it. It only took ten minutes to down one of the battleships, and ten more after that to down the other.

Briefly, I was worried when the mothership dropped off an enormous monster I recognized as an overspawn onto one of the city's people tubes (which looked somewhat ridiculous), but that anxiety turned into humor when the creature promptly fell right through the thankfully empty tube and messily splattered on the ground below. Well, that was rather unexpected.

All in all, aside from the mothership, things were going rather easy at the moment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gamma One fired at a megaspawn, riddling the beast's hide with bullets, killing it instantly. Around him, the rest of his squad was overwhelming the aliens, allowing their comrades to advance deeper into the alien battleship, which was a veritable goldmine of technology, assuming that they could take it, of course.

Above them, the aerial battle continued to rage, with the alien mothership facing off against the human fliers in the city's airspace. XCOM, the colonies, and Commander Flame had set an interesting strategy for dealing with these machines: the commander would use his aircraft as a sort of mobile shield to soak up damage, allowing the rest of the aircraft to hit the alien ship without fear of reprisal. So far, it was working out pretty well. Apparently, the aliens seemed to realize this, as their ships were starting to fall back toward the dimension gate.

All except for the mothership. That ship was instead rising further and further into the air, while its weapons began to aim...lower.

Oh dear.

The detonation of a grenade brought One's attention back to the ground. They had to win this battle first, and it wasn't like the aliens would shoot their own ship, at least when recovery was still an option.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The fact that the mothership was raising its elevation was worrisome, as that gave it a better vantage point to attack the rest of the city. Granted, it was taking a ton of damage, but that wasn't much help right now. Especially not when the mothership could still take quite a boatload of damage before it would finally die. And yes, I mean die - this thing was more mushroom than machine.

XCOM was pulling out all stops here, calling in every shop they had, including a few leviathans and avengers. Apparently, these avengers were micro-versions of one that they used as a mobile command center on Chiron, ala the Avenger from XCOM 2. Equipped with fusion lances (both on the avengers and leviathans), they were shredding through the hull of the mothership life it was tissue paper, it just still. Wasn't enough.

As for the colonies, they'd managed to develop a starship version of the gates they'd used to arrive here, which they had unsurprisingly called the warp nexus (which made me glad I'd played Starships, even if it wasn't as fun as the rest of the stuff Sid Meier made). Already, ships were exiting those gates, moving in to assist against the mothership. I'd even exploited the gates to move in my own reinforcements start pounding that giant mushroom, but still, things weren't over yet.

Once it was high enough, the mothership stopped ascending, then opened fire. Disruptornbombs began raining down on the city, though they were rather easily intercepted by my laser turrets. My main worry was that the mothership was firing way more shots than it could fire in game, and at its current rate of fire, it would eventually overwhelm my turrets and obliterate the city.

How the hell was I losing to a giant mushroom? I was firing everything I had at it and it still wasn't dying. How a mushroom couldnwithstand Progenitor grade weapons was beyond me, but once this thing went down, I was going to steal that resilience for myself.

Unfortunately, the mothership was shifting its attention toward the XCOM base in the city, and at the rate of increasing firepower, once it was in range, the base would be toast. That is, if it couldn't shoot it down.

Quickly, I slaved all of my available aircraft (and, for that matter, everything else I had under my control) and directed it at the mothership. Still, given its resilience, I'd need a miracle to stop it now.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hydra One peered through the sensors of her planes, and through her, the Commander peered through those same sensors, alon with dozens of others.

The Commander has, in desperation, slaved all of his machines to his direct control and had sent them against a mighty spacecraft in the atmosphere of Earth. The plan was to disable the craft with precise strikes, but so far, that plan wan't sucessful. Through her link to the Commander, Hydra-One could feel his fear and desperation at how bad things were getting, but though it could feel them, it did not know what they meant.

Slowly, the locust tac-jets moves into position. Once in range, the locusts would open fire. Yet as they got closer, the odds of them even reaching their effective range grew even more minuscule. The firepower they were up against was simply too great.

Then, suddenly, a pillar of light blasted through the ship, temporarily blinding the sensors on the jets. When they deactivated, the cameras revealed that the ship now had a gaping hole in its superstructure. For a moment, the jers and hydra one did not react, instead holding still as their commander processed the sight before him in shock.

That didn't last long.

They entered the hole and opened fire, blasting away at the sensitive inner working of their target. An overspawn was blasted out of the ship to its death, while several skeletoids were pulled by the jets' fire. All around the jets, the ship burned and sparked, with aliens vainly attempting to repair the damage and, when it became apparent they would lose, get the ship to safety.

Finally, the mothership took too much damage and fell from the sky, landing on the outskirts of the city. Already an army was moving to greet it. Soon the ship would be the Commanders.

With their mission complete, the locusts flew back through a portal to Chiron as the Commander terminated his slaving function with the rest of his forces, leaving them free to act on their own. As the locusts filtered into its chassis, Hydra One reanalyzed the information before it. The battle had needed a miracle to be won, but it had still been won.

This left One with an anomaly in its code, which constantly made it think over this victory for the next few hours. One felt it was a glitch.

Humans would call it satisfaction.

XXXXXX

I watched the new shape come into view. This had been what had fired the weird laser earlier that had given me the opening to level the mothership. This was the reason I had won.

It resembled a pillar, yet it also had a star design to it. The shape was larger than even the mothership. Strangest off all, though, was that I recognized the ship.

This had been the flagship of Origin, leader of the Outsiders. A long time before I had arrived, they had tried to conquer Earth.

Now, I was worried they were back for round two.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	87. Annihilation 75

"Commander, we have almost arrived at Earth," reported the ensign.

"Good. As soon as we are in range, begin searching for XCOM ships. It is time that we repay mankind for their kindness."

"Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXXX

Slowly, the Command Ship advanced toward Earth. The ship was impressive, but it had seen better days: tiny impact spots were visible all over the hull, scars acquired from brushes with space debris. Still, the ship had been travelling for centuries since it had last visited Earth, and aside from these dings, it hadn't changed that much at all. At least, externally: internally, its systems had undergone numerous retrofits, based on advances the Zudjari scientists had made.

As the Blue Planet came into view, the Commander smiled. He had heard of the stories of Earth, how its people had fought his people, how they had killed the tyrant Origin who had enslaved the Zudjari through Moz Zaaick, and how, in an unprecedented act of kindness, the humans had allowed them to leave in peace, after first having the Outsiders, as the Terrans called them, repair the damage they had caused under Origin. From there, the Zudjari had wandered the cosmos, looking for a new world to call home. Joining them had been Origin's other slaves, the Sectoids, and the many mutons he had hired as mercenaries. With their employer dead, they had chosen to stay and help Outsiders find a new home, in exchange for being allowed to share that home.

Now, though, they had returned to Earth, ready to help mankind. A journey that had come full circle, mused the alien Commander. Perhaps now they could at last repay the debt they owed mankind.

As he looked closer, though, the Commander, known to his fellow Zudjari as Zylos, noticed that something was wrong with this world. For the most part, it matched up with maps he had seen of this world, but some parts were different. Namely, the coastline: it appeared to have advanced further inland than it appeared on the maps, while the ice caps appeared to have shrunken. Evidence of global warming, Zylos noted.

Additionally, ther were far more satellites in orbit of Earth than the records indicated had been present when his kind had first come, yet most were now inactive. Those that were still online had not noticed the ship's arrival, thankfully. Best not cause any panic just yet.

Once the mothership, as the crew had taken to calling it, was close enough, scanners began searching for XCOM signals. They had been provided with a set of private channels to use to contact the clandestine organization, so as to avoid any misunderstandings with the people of Earth. Once one of the signals was tuned into, a greeting was sent out. When no return signal came, a second was transmitted. When that received no reply, Zylos became suspicious - XCOM had a veritable army of people manning its communications network, and it was unlikely that they would ignore this signal, especially given the previous war humans had fought with the outsiders.

Activating their hacking systems, the staff aboard the mothership began hacking into Earth's insecure communication networks and began searching around for pressing events - disasters, wars, the like - that might have distracted XCOM.

Eventually, the found what they were looking for. It came in the form of news footage from a city called Mega Primus, located in the four corners, as some humans had called it. Due to changes in sea level, the city has easy access to the coastline, while several space ports allowed for starships to land. Yet none of that was important to the aliens.

What was important was the yellow mushroom shaped ship attacking the city.

Going from confused to alarmed in a matter of moments, the Zudjari accelerated their ship toward the Blue Planet, through a path that just barely avoided smashing any of Earth's satellites. The zudjariw oils not allow mankind to be destroyed or enslaved by these new comers; they would repay mankind for their kindness. Dropships began to load troops, while weapons began charging up. When the mothership finally reached the thermosphere, the dropships began to launch, while the Mothership began to lock onto the strange UFO laying waste to the city. Half a minute later, it fire, blowing a hole through the offending vessel, crippling it. Shortly afterwards, some kind of aircraft flew in and destroyed the ship from within.

With their unknown enemy defeated, the dropships pulled back, in part because another unknown party was detected. This one had commanded the aircraft that had destroyed the mushroom ship, as well as an army of Machines on the ground. Analysis of recording revealed that this party had been helping the people of Earth repel this new invasion.

Caution prevailing over fear, the zudjari opened up a line of communication with the new arrivals. If these beings were willing to help mankind, then they were allies of the zudjari.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, you are the new leader of the Zudjari, Zylos."

"Correct...Commander Flame, is it?"

"It is."

I was surprised to see the Zudjari ship arrive, and further stunned when they attempted contact with me. Their assistance was a curveball I hadn't expected, though it was appreciated all the same.

Our conversation soon turned to more idle topics, namely what the Outsiders has been doing since they had left Earth. Apparently, in the features that had followed, they still hadn't found a good planet to call home. They'd been heading toward the next one in their list when they'd learned XCOM needed help, so they'd come to Earth to repay mankind for saving them from Origin.

I guess Weir had been Asaru's host, then.

Eventually, though, our conversation veered back toward the Micronoids and their armies.

"So these new invaders seek to claim this world as their own since their home is dying?"

"Yes, they do. Do you find it familiar?"

"I do. You intend to stand with mankind against these aliens, so you not?"

"I do."

"Then we will stand with you. It is time we repay our debt to mankind."

Well, that made things easier.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	88. Annihilation 76

While the arrival of new allies was an unexpected development, it was one I was quick to adapt to. The fact that it was a beneficial curveball made that adaptation far easier than expected: all I really needed to do was just make sure that they new I wasn't there enemy and that we both wanted the same thing. With that settled, we could focus our attention on defeating the Micronoids.

As for how Melissa reacted to this:

"...meh..."

Yeah, I wasn't really surprised - she really didn't seem to find this curveball all that interesting. Probably came with being a ROB.

Enough on that, though: onto the assault on the Organic Factory.

XXXXXXXXXX

Our entrance into the alien dimension was met with the remnants of the fleet the aliens sent to attack us, now forced on the defensive. Given that they were all severely damaged from the previous engagement, it didn't take us long to wipe them out. Once the last wreck had smashed into the ground and was being hauled away by my bots, our ground forces, now including Zudjari troops, began their assault on the factory.

This was quite a bit harder than expected. See, the factory consisted of a bunch of mushrooms that eventually grew into UFOs, as well as all of the weapons the aliens used. To win this mission, you needed to blow up all of the embryonic UFOs, after which point you were free to bail. Yeah, it wasn't exactly a complex mission.

The real deal, though, was MUCH harder.

The minute we entered the factory, we came under fire from strange, pillar like growths dotting the factory. While the human and Zudjari forces were quick enough to take cover, several of my bots were quickly destroyed before I could level the first set of growths. My best guess was that these were organic turrets, designed to defend the factory from intruders. Guess the aliens still had a few tricks up their sleeves...well, if they could wear sleeves, for the most part.

Once we passed the first set of turrets, we came upon one of our targets: an embryonic UFO, which, at the moment, resembled a giant, flat topped mushroom. A few blasts from our combined arsenal of lasers, plasma guns, missiles, and a reverse engineered disruptor gun that XCOM had made (which was apparently dummied out of Apocalypse) quickly reduced it to a burning husk. Hacking into the factory's computers confirmed that there were 10 more UFOs still in development, which was more than you had to destroy in the game. Oh well, challenge accepted.

As our forces neared the second UFO in development, a disruptor bomb flew over us, exploding some distance away. While the human and Zudjari forces took cover, my bots moved into better positions to analyze our new foe. To my surprise, it appeared to be an alien fast attack ship, still tethered to its stalk. Analyzing the factory's computers confirmed that this was our second target. Well, active or not, it would soon be wrecked.

With my bots now behind cover, I had my grenadiers open fire on the ship, blasting at it while they were safe from harm. This lasted for a few minutes, but eventually, the ship just wised up and opened fire in their cover, obliterating it. Before my bots became scrap, though, a trio of green projectiles slammed into the ship, causing it it turn its weapons toward my fleshy allies. An Outsider had emerged from cover and fired what I recognized as a Blaster Launcher. The ship prepared to fire at the offending alien, only to be hit by plasma fire from what I recognized to be Sectoids. Soon, a veritable hail of munitions pounded the ship, which back with all its might, but was soon reduced to a burning hulk.

Well, that was interesting.

XXXXXXXXXX

For the most part, the resting the attack was rather boring: aliens dying, stuff blowing up, and not a single casualty on our side (my bots didn't count. Yet.) The Aliens fought on, desperate to protect their vessels, but all in vain. In a way, I pitied them - they were trapped on a dying world, fighting desperately for a new home that they would never have. This was why I took as many captives as I could, even among the Micronoids; every life that I could save was worth saving.

As for technology, I snatched up every bit of technology I could steal, including UFOs no bigger than grapefruits. This organic technology was fascinating, and I intended to exploit it to it's fullest. Especially since it was capable of self repair; I liked structures that could fix themselves.

As we advanced through the facility, XCOM laced it with charges, all connected to the same detonator. Once the last UFO was toast, the explosives were to be detonated, leveling this building and halting enemy ship production permanently. Once this building went down, the enemy would be broken, only able to defend itself, never to go on the offensive again.

Of course, we would only activate the charges once the final UFO was down. And the battle against it proved to be the greatest challenge we'd face in this dimension thus far.

XXXXXXXXXXX

As we neared the UFO, we came under fire from what appeared to be dimension missiles. A quick glance taken from cover revealed that it had come from a Megaspawn, which was swiftly pulped by our massed fire. Unfortunately, several more Megaspawn soon emerged to fire at us, leaving us unable to advance. One, though, ended up swallowing a grenade thrown by a Muton and quickly became chunky salsa. I assumed that since Origin was dead, the Mutons were going to be payed in land on the Zudjari's homeworld, wherever it would end up being.

Above the factory, I attempted to move gunships in to provide air support, but massed fire from organic SAM sites ended up downing my gunships, though not before they killed two more Megaspawns. I was already working on a new solution, but to my surprise, it wasn't needed: an Outsider threw some kind of orb into the air, out of which emerged a saucer shaped UFO with a ring underneath its main body. The Titan swiftly opened fire, disintegrating a Megaspawn before it could even react. The other beasts swiftly flowed it into death, though the other aliens around the ship proved to be too entrenched. Additionally, another pack of Megaspawn arrived, ready to kill us.

Well, enough was enough. I had my grenadiers open fire, this time with special grenades filled with alien gas. Within seconds, the aliens were dying, poisoned by the toxic cloud of death I had unleashed. With no opposition present, we advanced toward the ship... only to freeze up when we realized that it was a battleship.

More importantly, it was almost fully functional, and we _didn't_ have weapons that could neutralize it. To my surprise, though, it didn't fire at us; it merely hovered in place. Quick scans revealed it to be lacking a crew. Otherwise, though, it was fully functional.

Well, looks like o have a new toy.

I sent in my bots to commandeer the UFO, while informing my allies on what I planned to do. Soon, my bots were accessing the ship's computers. They'd only need a few more seconds to gain total control of the ship.

Just as the hack finished, though, a horde of skeletoids began to pen fire on the ship fro _below_. To my surprise, it turned out there was a tunnel network beneath this factory, meant for repairing the ship's after they attacked Earth and for refitting the craft. The tunnels didn't too deep, but they could still House UFOs. So, taking the initiative, once I had the battleship under my control and the offending aliens were dead, I opened fire on the tunnel below me until it collapsed. After that, the ship launched upwards, breaking free of its tether to the factory.

And not a moment too soon: XCOM, the colonies, and the Outsiders were bugging out, while the charges were finally activating, slowly obliterating the factory through pure explosive might. I contributed to the destruction with my new battleships, blowing up as enemies as I could, while Wyrm bombers made a beeline for the factory, ready to level it. As I passed above the center of the factory, I noticed the presence of a giant hole in the center, which appeared to be a nothe tunnel entranced. Several skeletoids and psimorphs headed into the portal, in the vain hope that they could escape the coming fire. Poor sods.

Five minutes after the last aliens retreated into the tunnels, my newly acquired battleship was out of the factory. Five seconds later, the bombers dropped their cargo, sending their payloads into the heart of the factory and the tunnels. Ten seconds after that, the factory was totally annihilated, disappearing beneath the mushroom cloud that scattered its cinders.

I smiled as the sight reached me. Only two more buildings left to destroy, and then the aliens would be defeated.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	89. Annihilation 77

With the alien fleet out of commission, XCOM took a short reprieve to take stock of the loot it had acquired, while the Outsiders and colonists devoted themselves to helping Mega Primus clean up after the recent attack. I lent them a few robots to help out, but my attention was focused elsewhere.

Namely, on dealing with the life forms in the Alien Dimension: I'd recently discovered an ocean area in this Dimension, so I quickly sent out some modified ships to move them into teleported gates that would send them to a holding pen back in my hubworld. Already, I had determined a suitable planet for these creatures to inhabit in my hubworld, which I was already beginning to terraform to suit their needs. After all, every creature on this dying world deserved at least a chance to start over, even the Micronoids. What they did with it was entirely up to them.

XXXXXXXX

Eventually, XCOM decided it was time to go to battle and returned to the Alien Dimension, along with the colonists and the Outsiders. Together, we touched down just outside the Megapod Chamber. Now, as far as XCOM could tell, the Alien City in this dimension was a living thing, just like virtually all other components of the Alien Arsenal, with the various buildings acting as organs. The Megapod Chamber was the reproductive organ - it produced Megapod, which could be planted elsewhere and would rapidly grow into new alien structures.

This building was something XCOM wanted dead, and for good reason: in preparation to take Earth, the structure had been gestating thousands of Megapods, with the intention of using those to build new cities once Earth was theirs. Of course, that had been derailed with the destruction of their fleet and the factory needed to build more, but since these developing Megapods could include a replacement factory, they had to go.

The minute my first bot went through the portal, it opened fire. As it was a grenadier, Alien Gas grenades were what hit the ground, rapidly rendering the area too toxic to live in for our foes. Soon, they were either dead or unscious, with the still living ones being hastily moved out of the facility - I wanted to save everyone I could before the chamber exploded. As for the Megapods, I ordered several strikers to cut down as many pods as possible and take them back to my hub universe for examination, while I assisted XCOM in destroying the aliens still in the facility, as there were plenty, and not all of them had succumbed to my gas attack.

The fighting was awesome, if admittedly one sided: the aliens had reduced been reduced to starving, leaderless monsters, only barely able to mount an form of organized resistance. It was rather humorous to watch the aliens attempt to use brain sucker launchers on my bots, but they were swiftly cut down. I assumed Melissa was laughing at the sight, and I had to admit, it was amusing. Still, the aliens were losing and that was what mattered for now.

As the aliens cricked all around the Chamber, my bots moved more and more of the Megapods yo safety. Once they were in my hub universe, I put each one in cryogenic storage until I was ready to examine them in more detail. A couple of pods that had been destroyed by errant IV shots were also uploaded - dissections would be useful things to do when I was bored. Also, it might reveal things that scanning would miss.

Apparently, XCOM also wanted to study the pods, as live ones were being moved to their dropships, along with a few dead ones. Eh they wanted these thing eluded me, but I wasn't going to complain. Every pod the aliens lost here was one they could use in the future. All the while, the XCOM, Colonial and Outsider forces began tosetting up charges to level the building. Once we were done with it, they Aliens would never use it again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Once we had removed or destrohed the last of the pods, we fell back ASAP with everything we could carry. Shortly after we departed, explosions engulfed the facility, reducing it to a crisp. As it was destroyed, so too was the umbilical chord of sorts that connected the various buildings in the organic city together, leaving behind one last target: the dimension gate generator. Once it fell, victory would be ours.

It wasn't going to come easily, though. In fact, the final battle proved to be tougher than anyone in this universe had expected, even me.

XXXXXXXXX

The scout ship raced through the tunnel. Dark as it was, the ship could easily make its way around the tunnels. Twisting and turning with the grace of a bird, never once did the ship hit a wall in the tunnels. Soon, it reached its destination: a great glowing cavern filled with ships, but dominated by the stalactites in the center, beneath which, three lights glowed.

The tunnels had originally been meant for majtenance, but the deterioration of the Alien Dimension had led them to be converted into a second habitation area of sorts, containing underground facilities to support the Alien War Machine. Most of these facilities were now offline, destroyed when their counterparts on the surface had been demolished by XCOM and its allies, but still, enough remained to keep the invasion going.

Now, though, things had become desperate. The loss of the Megapods had limited their ability to recoup their losses, as without them, the lost facilities could not be rebuilt so easily. Now, the situation had become critical.

One way or another, the next great battle the Aliens fought would decide who won this war. The Micronoids could only hope that it would be them.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	90. Annihilation 78

With the Megapod Chamber destroyed, the aliens didn't really have any way to retaliate against myself or my allies, so all that remained was destroying the Dimension Gate Generator. Once it was gone, the aliens would be permanently dealt with.

Since they didn't have any meaningful way to fight back, though, we were free to put that off until later, something all of us were willing to do. See, everyone on Earth right now was more interested in rebuilding Mega Primus, as there was still quite a bit of rebuilding left to do after the Mothership attack.

As for me, well, I had other projects I wanted to attend to.

For example, examining the Megapods.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Megapods are, quite simply, fascinating. Dissecting the few dead ones I had showed that they were, for the most part, stem cells, able to change based on whatever stimulus they received. As luck would have it, the brains I had acquired from the Control Chamber contained a list of stimuli that the Megapods would respond to, as well as what those stimuli would make the pods turn into. The list was surprisingly detailed, and included things that I'd never expected the aliens to have. One of the mature forms a pod could take, for example, was a _zoo_. I supposed the only reason I'd never seen it was because the aliens likely had no reason for one, given that they were trying to conquer the Earth.

Using these stimuli, I was able to seed several Megapods onto the world in my Hub System that I had chosen as the Alien's new home. Using the stimuli the brains had informed me of, I started by setting up several Alien Farms and Maintenance Chambers. The farms would speed up the terraforming process, as well as let me focus my attention on other areas, while the maintenance chambers ensured that the farms were constantly fueled. Normally, it would have taken a few weeks or months for the pods to grow to full size, but thanks to my visit to the Darkspore universe, that wasn't a problem. Careful analysis of Vex's temporal abilities, combined with some assistance from Crogenitor Zelem, allowed me to build a device that could alter the flow of time over a given area. As soon as it was ready for usage (which took about an hour of testing), I hooked it up to a satellite, moved it to the target world, and activated it. I'd hooked up my Megapods to a sort of IV system that would nourish them until the maintenance factories started supplying the pods with nutrients. That way, the pods wouldn't starve due to their accelerated growth rate.

It took a matter of minutes for the pods to mature fully. The giant shapes mushroomed outwards, becoming structures large enough to give football stadiums and skyscrapers pause. Once these ones finished their growth, I began to add in other structures. I didn't need to worry about the pods connecting themselves - the pods innately sought each other out, connecting root-like strucutres to each other when one found another. It seemed the process was largely automated, or instinctual, as the case may be.

Once the necessary pods were up and running, I began adding in others that would be necessary for the alien forces - spawning chambers for breeding, food chambers for sustenance, sleeping chambers for rest, and so on. As the pods were added and grown into full size, I also took pains to add in the wildlife that I had rescued from the alien dimension. At first, most were confused by the strange appearance of the world I had made for them, but soon, curiosity got the better of them, and they quickly began exploring their new home. The oceanic creatures took far less time to disperse, though I suspected that this was because they were used to larger spaces than what I'd kept them in prior until this point.

As I looked over the world and watched it come to life, I couldn't help but smile. This was what I enjoyed the most about being a Commander: making a difference in the lives of others.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the Alien World slowly coming to life, I turned my attention towards examining a different subset of the alien technology: their disruptor weapons.

Functionally, they were particle beam weapons, firing subatomic particles at targets at mindboggling speeds. These things could shred through armor rather easily, and while my progenitor alloys were unbelievably tough, these weapons could eventually make them break. They had a functionally infinite power source, so there was that.

Examining the weapons was a rather dull affair, though how their power source worked was impressive: it teleported in special particles from the Alien Dimension that were able to induce perpetual motion on a generator of sorts within the gun. From there, it could abuse Einstein's equation to create an unlimited amount of matter, which was then fired in subatomic particles out of the main weapon. Apparently, additional perpetual motion particles were synthesized by the process that created the new particles, making the system self sustaining. Since destroying the Dimension Gate Generator in the Alien Dimension, based on what I was in the game, would take the Alien Dimension with it, this was a good thing.

It didn't take me long to integrate the weapon into my existing forces. True, I could make a new unit designed for this purpose, but I didn't really have any need to do so. What I had right now worked well enough, and if it isn't broken, then don't fix it.

Besides, I wanted to try out one of the guns for myself.

XXXXXXXXXX

Thwip

One target cut in half.

Thwip, thwip thwip.

Make that four.

Oh, how awesome it was to use this weapon. Hitting targets with the disruptor gun didn't just kill them (or, in this case, bore holes into them), but, in some cases, _tore them in half. _I was already in love with this weapon. That would pass, as it always did, but still.

Deciding to take a break from using the disruptor gun, I switched over to the devastator cannon. The results were similar, which was rather boring but it left the testing area a wreck. Maybe I could add this onto a grenadier.

Finally, I took out a dimension missile launcher. Given its nature as a rocket launcher, I only needed to fire it one to test out its effectiveness, so I loaded up one missile, pulled up ten targets, aimed, then pulled the trigger. Based on the spacing of the targets, I expected five to be taken out, three to be damaged, and two to emerge unscathed.

Thus, I was rather surprised when all of the targets were outright obliterated by the missile's blast.

Dimension missile OP, do not nerf.

Smiling at my work, I pulled up a few more targets while the destroyed ones were moved away. Best to return this place back to how it was.

BANG

I practically jumped as the sound of a gunshot resounded through the range, while one of the targets lost its head. Whirling toward the origin of the sound, I was surprised to find myself staring ath Melissa, a large pistol in her hands.

"...what?" she asked, clearly confused.

"Why are you here?!"

"Um, I was bored, I wanted to see what you were doing, and to answer your next question, we're on a firing range. I think it would be rude not to use it."

"...where'd you even get a gun? I'm not seeing anything missing from my storage supplies."

To answer this, she opened up her right hand. The pistol disintegrated into a white smoke, which promptly reformed itself into an assault rifle.

"I am a Random Omnipotent Being. I can just make weapons whenever I want."

"...True. So, what are you going to do now?"

"Maybe shoot at some targets for a little bit, blow some stuff up, things like that."

"Why do you even need to use firearms? You probably don't even need them to kill things."

"Why are you using guns even though you have a commander? That should answer your question."

"...touché. How long are you going to be here for?"

"However long I want to, my pawn."

"Ugh, fine."

Having a ROB who freeloaded off of you was worse than one who was a complete bastard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

About an hour later, I was gearing up for the final battle at the Alien Dimension. XCOM had just about finished cleaning up the rubble from the last attack, and they, the colonists, and the Zudjari were ready to end this problem once and for all. I had hundreds of robots ready to strike and end this threat forever.

As we approached the dimension gate, though, another one opened up right next to it. Confusion settled over me: why would they open up another gate right next to an already open one?

More surprising still was when an Alien Bomber emerged form the gate. It was swiftly shot down, but the fact that it had appeared at all, even after the aliens had apparently lost the ability to make new ships, was rather worrisome.

Then a second gate opened up over the city, followed by a third. Before anyone could react, dozens of ships began to pour into the city, firing at anything they could see. Our assembled forces scattered to avoid the attack, as did the many civilians who had gathered to wish us luck. Several people, be they human, mutant, Zudjari or Synthetic, were unable to escape the devastation.

While my forces moved to engage the ships, I could only stare on and wonder what was happening. How had the aliens managed to do this? They had lost everything, yet they were still able to attack us. IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE!!!!

I swiftly turned my attention back to my forces and had some of them charge toward the alien dimension. However the aliens had manged to launch this attack didn't matter. What did matter was that we stopped it and prevented them from ever launching another one.

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AN: The weapon firing scenes were based off the weapon testing scenes from XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	91. Annihilation 79

With the aliens attempting to lay waste to Mega Primus with a force larger than I had thought possible for them to create, I was forced to divide my forces into two groups: one group dedicated into defending the city, and one that would go to the Alien Dimension and defeat the Micronoids for good. I was heavily banking on the idea that killing destroying the Dimension Gate Generator would take the Alien Dimension with it. I mean, that's what it did in the game, but I didn't know what would happen here. Still, I didn't have any other options for solving this problem, so I like it or not, I had to go with this idea.

Apparently, my allies had also this idea, because while most of their forces were busy securing the city, a few transports were already heading toward either my teleporter gates or the Dimension Gates. Joining them were hordes of my bots, ready for battle. Hopefully, we'd win before our foes completely leveled the city.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The forces we had entering the Alien Dimension through the Dimension Gates did not encounter any resistance, as they only went through the gates that weren't spewing out alien ships. In fact, this was one of the other reasons I was worried about our attackers: their forces hadn't come from anywhere I could see with my forces in the Alien Dimension, so how many reinforcements they had was beyond me. For all we knew, they could have hundreds of battleships and motherships ready to invade, and I didn't have any clue if they did. That made taking out the Generator all the more important.

As the transports descended through the entry tunnel, though, I found my question answered rather quickly: as we neared the bottom, the tunnel expanded until it emptied into a cavern. Filling the air I the cavern were hundreds of different ships, all of types that I recognized as belonging to the aliens. In front of us (at least, relative to where the fleet was) was a large source of light, obstructed by the underground portion of the Dimension Gate Generator. It wasn't hard to figure out what the light was, though: given our location, and the fact that ships that neared the light eventually seemed to disappear, along with their shadows, the light was most likely a dimension gate. While there only appeared to be one gate that the ships were exiting through, given how many portals had opened, I assumed that there were more that we couldn't see, at least at the moment. Additionally, the light the portal was providing also showed exactly how large the alien fleet was: pretty big, all things considered. Given how some of the ships seemed to have only partially fixed dents on them, I assumed that they were old ships that had been decommissioned for whatever reason. Lack of resources, perhaps?

And there are aliens shooting at us now from the entrance to the dimension gate generator. Oh joy. A few alien gas grenades removed them as threats, but something told me that this wasn't going to be easy.

As my forces advanced on the alien structure for the final battle, I pulled up the feeds from several of my bots still on Earth. Defeating the aliens in their home dimension was my main priority, but saving as many people as possible was a close second.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alexis retreated behind the exploded remains of a hover car. Nearby, Megapol officers exchanged fire with the aliens, but it was already clear that they were losing this battle. In the distance, she could see a MARSEC tank battling some kind of giant alien.

She'd just gotten out of school when the attack had come, and in the ensuing chaos she had been separated from her friends. Unsure where to go, she had decided to try and head to her house first, get her emergency equipment, and, hopefully, retrieve her sick younger brother, who hadn't gone to school today due to a cold. Now, though, she could see her house, but unfortunately, it was right between the engaged human and alien forces. If she tried to run into it, she would likely die, but if she ran, she'd be abandoning her brother. Neither option looked promising.

An alien grenade detonating on the other side of the street brought her attention back to the ongoing battle. As she took everything in again, she noticed that she could hear the sound of some kind of aircraft approaching. A minute later, said aircraft opened fire, mowing down the aliens, then moving on. After staring on in stunned silence for a moment, the Megapol officers moved up, while Alexis took the chance to enter her home. Inside, things were a mess: plates were scattered all over the floor, the remains of a vase and one of the windows covered the carpet, and a table had given out.

And underneath the dining table, covered in blankets, was the shivering form of her brother Stephen.

Relieved that he was still alive, Alexis quickly grabbed her brother and, after reassuring him that everything would be alright, got him to grab onto her, freeing up her left arm for more important tasks, such as grabbing her supply bag. After taking a moment to be sure everything she needed was in the bag, Alexis left her house, desperate to reach one of the disaster shelters in the city. From there, the siblings could whether out the storm, and once the conflict had passed, find there parents.

Barely ten seconds after they left, though, they found themselves spawned out over the ground following an explosion at a nearby building, only just avoiding the rubble that now covered the ground. After she regained her senses and determined that her brother was both alive and unscathed, she hoisted him up onto her shoulder, retrieved her dropped bag, and returned to trying to seek shelter. Above her, a brown alien ship covered in red veins was engaging some kind of spaceship she'd started seeing around the city. People had called it an explorer, but right now, it was putting up a good fight. Unfortunately, the battle was reducing the neighborhood to rubble, forcing Alexis to constantly weave and dodge around rubble, while her brother was crying in fear.

"Alexis, I'm scared!"

Taking one moment to look at her brother, her expression softening as she did so, Alexis wrapped her arm around him tighter.

"It's okay, we'll be fine. Don't worry."

Overhead, the Explorer scored a direct hit on the alien vessel, sending it crashing to the ground some distance away. With its foe defeated, the explorer flew off, leaving the ruined neighborhood behind.

With the immediate danger gone, Alexis and Stephen continued on their Exodus, watching closely for anymore aliens.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the short engagement in front of the entrance to the dimension gate generator, followed by a second one just past it, we finally laid eyes and optics on our targets: a set of green pylons that acted at anchoring points for a laser grid web. Destroying this web was imperative to our success, for taking it out would shut down the building, which disrupt its control of the antimatter powered dimension gates. Said antimatter would convert the Dimension Gate Generator into pure energy, and the resulting explosion would probably level have leveled the entire alien city _at the very least_, if the city was still standing, of course.

My forces took aim and opened fire on the nearest pylon, which quickly went up in flames. My allies followed suite, and soon, half of the pylons had already been destroyed. It was at that point that the alien finally responded, with Megaspawn, Spitters, and Skeletoids opening fire on us, desperate to stop us from destroying this structure. The sheer volume of fire managed to down several of my units, forcing me to send the remainder into cover while my allies did the same. I had my grenadiers respond to the attack with alien gas grenades, which swiftly down most of the opposition. Unfortunately, the skeletoids could fly higher than the gas could reach, allowing them to continue attacking my forces. Luckily, the Zudjari chose that moment to open fire, downing the skeletal aliens rather quickly.

Just then, much to my surprise, something big moved in front of us. It was far bigger than any of the aliens, and it looked purple-it's a transport ship.

Without warning, several aliens dropped out of the ship and began opening fire on us, as did the ship. In response, the Zudjari deployed several Titans, XCOM used several guided fusion launchers and devastator cannons on the ship, while the colonists and my own forces opened fire on the aliens, resulting in the transport falling back to where it came from as a burning wreck, while the aliens swiftly died.

Then an assault ship emerged and deployed its own troops.

Oh joy.

XXXXXXXXX

On Earth, unnoticed by the humans, Zudjari, or the forces of the Commander, a small fleet of aliens broke off from the assault on Mega Primus, attempting to find a safe place to set down. If they could not conquer the city, perhaps they could take somewhere beyond its limits, amass their forces their, then expand. Admittedly, this would require the dimension gates to remain open, something that was now not guaranteed, but that was not a good enough reason to not try.

They traveled at speeds that matched the UFOs and USOs from the previous war, careful to avoid straying close to any human crafts that could recognize them. They passed mountains and valleys, hills and rivers, all in search of a suitable landing site. If they wanted to go about unnoticed, they would need to be far enough away that the local XCOM forces could not notice them until it was too late.

Eventually, their journey led them to the shores of the Atlantic. It had only taken them a matter of minutes to reach this area, something that was, ultimately, not that hard to believe, given how fast XCOM vessels could travel in atmosphere. They had travelled several thousand miles, and with no foes in sight, the ships took a moment to rest and allow their pilots to choose the next destination, where they could set up a suitable base.

A moment later, a giant object shot out of the water, taking out an alien destroyer in one hit. Before the others could process what had happened, several more of the objects broke through the surface, tearing the fleet apart until it was reduced to a huge assortment of wrecks. Only a battleship remained, but the damage it had sustained was ultimately too much for the ship to take, and it soon crashed down into the water.

As the fleet sank, strange yellow shapes approached it when the shapes were close enough, smaller shapes emerged from them and entered the wrecks, and when they returned to the great yellow shapes, they carried weapons and cadavers from the wrecks, as well as a few captives.

Further down, in the remains of T'leth, the great dreamer felt some satisfaction. The new interlopers had trespassed on its territory, and had been destroyed. Now, it would watch and wait. The humans had been winning this new war so far, but what happened next would decide their fate...at least in its eyes.

Around it, machines began to whir to life. The majority of the ocean floor where the great ship's wreckage had rested was now barren, the wreck having been slowly repaired into working order. Soon, it would be fully operational. What happened after that, though, was up to mankind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

With a cross between a groan and a screaming sound, the alien destroyer fell out of sight, an explosion following shortly. That was the fourth ship that had arrived to stop us, and I was really hoping it would be the last - the battlefield had been shredded, but a few of the dimension gate stabilizers remained. Plus, the pit these ships were coming out of was rather large, so I was worried that we'd have to fight a mothership or battleship if this kept up.

It seemed that luck was on our side now, though, as no alien ship arrived to fight us. As the aliens had been greatly depleted in numbers during our battle, we were able to destroy the rest of the stabilizers with ease, until only one remained.

Then, to my surprise, one more ship emerged from the pit - bomber, if I was correct. Its doors soon opened, releasing several micronoids...a lot of micronoids...how many micronoids were in there? Did that bomber have a crew composed entirely of micronoids?

Apparently it did, because the minute the last of the micronoids left it, the ship fell away into the pit it had come from.

_'You humans and your allies are brave, we will give you that.'_

...what?

_'But our world is dying, and we will not go with it. We will not meet our end here, humans! You will not win!'_

I finally realized it was the micronoids that were talking to us, using their psychic powers.

"Um, how?" responded one of the colonists. Examining the list of colonial military forces sent too Earth, I learned that he was named Henrique Blackfire. I wondered if his family had ever heard of a Song of Ice and Fire. That was something to think about at a later time, though: now was the time for battle. "Your armies are devasted, you're down to your last building, and however mightier your fleet is, will never stop fighting. You have lost."

_'NOT YET!'_

Then, to my surprise, hordes of micronoid puddles began to approach the large one that bomber had spit up. I was at a loss for where they came from, until I caught the sight of several micronoids emerging from the corpse of a spitter. It moved all the way to the giant micronoid mass and fused with it, as did all of its compatriots, until the largest mass was all that remained, now the size of a small UFO.

_'WE WILL STOP YOU! You SHALL NOT WIN! WE WILL PREVAIL! PREPARE TO DIE!'_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

AN: Well, it is, the final battle of the Earth mini-arc.

I'm going to split this over two chapters, need time to plan out the rest of the battle. Also need to add theme music for it.

Read and Review! This is Falmeal15k, signing off!


	92. Annihilation 80

The Micronoid Colossus, as I'd decided to call it, opened up the fight by forming a giant tentacle out of its slimy mass and trying to crush our forces with it. Since it made its attack pretty obvious, no one died, as the attack wasn't too hard to dodge. Realizing its mistake, the next attack was aimed sideways instead of downward. Everyone had already taken cover by this point, though, leaving it once again without any kills. From the relative safety the wall like growths in this structure provided, we opened fire, inflicting noticeable, if negligible, wounds on the slime. It actually screeched as the laser, plasma and disruptor fire hit it, though it seemed to be able to shrug them off. Probably had to do with it being, essentially, an intelligent slime mold/sponge: all of the cells that made it up could fulfill any bodily function as needed, so the only way to beat it would be to destroy or incapacitate all of it. Something that was well within our capabilities, of course.

_'YOU WILL FAIL! WE SHALL PREVAIL!'_

"We kicked the asses of two different alien invasions, you overgrown petri dish," responded a goice that I recognized as Gamma One's. "For all of your physical differences, you're just like them, and will fall as they did."

_'No we won't.' _I was actually rather intimidated by how subdued that response was.

At this point, one of the Zudjari titans opened fire on the colossus, burn a hole clean through the monster. To my surprise, it didn't screen, but instead seemed to become annoyed, of all things. It directed a tentacle at the titan, but instead of shooting the limb out to attack, said limb started to glow purple. A moment later, a purple beam, which I recognized as a null lance, surged out and slammed into the titan, blowing it to pieces. Several more attacks destroyed the rest of the titans, leaving us without air support.

Then, to make a bad situation worse, a scout ship suddenly emerged from the pit behind the micronoid mass and opened fire, shredding through our cover and knocking out one of the XCOM troops.

Immediately, I pulled up the schematics of the Ragnarok, examined its drill, set about building one near the Dimension Gate Generator, then sighed. This was getting ridiculous.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cautiously, Tobias followed the police convoy. When the aliens had attacked, he'd been with his younger sister, Pamela, who had been visiting one of the Sanctuary Clinics. While most of the surgeries were done by machines, human doctors, which Pamela would one day like to count herself among the ranks of, were still a necessity, in case the machines went offline. Additionally, their parents had been receiving x-rays when the attack had come, and owing to both adults' inability to move over long distances, the staff had loaded them onto an ambulance and sent them, along with several other patients, to one of the anti-alien shelters the were in and around the city. Hopefully, they would be able to reach it unscathed.

Unfortunately, a collapsing building had split the convoy in two, though luckily, no one had been killed by the collapse. It had forced them to seek out a new route, though, and so far, they hadn't found a clear one. Their detour had taken them by Tobias' neighborhood, where he had noticed that a large fragment of a UFO had embedded itself in his family's apartment. Tobias felt no sorrow at this, only a mixture of resignation and annoyance: his family was struggling enough as is, and now, they were homeless. Why did life hate them so much?

A strange noise snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking around, he noticed some kind of giant arch had popped up in a nearby neighborhood. It hadn't been there this morning, so who had built it, and how had they managed to build it so fast?

...Now that he thought about it, the strange arch did bear a resemblance to the robot that had saved him from the aliens a few days ago. Perhaps they were part of the same force?

Regardless of whether or not the two were related, Tobias knew that they would have to pass by it to reach the nearest shelter in the city. Perhaps he could examine it as they passed by?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took a few minutes, but the convoy finally reached the neighborhood containing the arch. When they got their, though, they found themselves in for a big surprise: the arch took up the whole street! More importantly, robots were coming out of it. LOTS of robots were emerging from it. In fact, one could say that it was releasing an entire army. Though, considering that it glowed like a Dimension Gate, that really wasn't surprising.

Now, though, the convoy faced a problem: they couldn't go around the gate, but they didn't want to go through it either. With neither option sounding good to anyone, the police were trying to see if they could find an alley that would take them around the portal.

They never got the chance to decide. A disruptor bomb impacted a nearby house, covering everyone in debris, with one piece of rubble denting one of the ambulances. Instantly, the police opened fire, their shots tearing into the destoyer's hull. This only annoyed the ship, though, which began to circle around for another attack.

It was at that moment that the robots began to open fire, supported by what appeared to be a dedicated anti-aircraft vehicle. The homing missiles it fired quickly hit the destroyer, inflicting noticeable damage, which caused it to turn its attention to the attacking force. Before it could react, though, some kind of fighter jet appeared and opened fire on it, inflicting even more damage on the craft. Wounded, it gave chase to the plane, abandoning its attack on the convoy.

Seizing their chance, the cars making up the convoy surged forward, sights set on the portal. Whatever lay on the other side of the portal now seemed a better option than staying in the city, especially since no one knew if the ship would come back, or if another would take its place.

Not a moment too soon, for as they approached the portal, another ship flew over them - a bomber, noted Tobias, based on its color and design. The ship began to fire at the humans, trying its hardest to kill them. This one seemed to have a bad gunner or faulty targeting system, though, because its first volley of disruptor bombs flew right over the convoy into another neighborhood. The second volley was slightly more accurate, hitting the neighborhood, but missing any of the convoy vehicles. By this point, the vehicles at the head of the convoy had made it through the portal and the anti-air vehicles had opened fire on the bomber. Watching the ambulance carrying his sister and parents disappear through the portal made Tobias smile - it looked like things were finally turning up for them.

Then the bomber fired a third volley.

While still inaccurate, this volley did impact on the backstreet the convoy was on, littering it with craters. One of them was right in front of the Megapol car that Tobias was inside. Upon reach the edge of the crater, the car jumped it, in part due to the slant the ground had taken from the impact explosion. The problem was, this wasn't a hover car, so when it returned to Earth on the other side of the crater, its tires gave out, causing it to slowly grind to a halt within sight of the portal.

Desperate to escape, the officers and Tobias tried to open up the doors, only to notice that they had become jammed shut by the hard landing. Overhead, the bomber seemed to be zeroing in on their position, and they doubted it would miss a fourth time. Growing scared, the trapped humans tried to shoot out the windows, hoping they would be able to escape before the attack came.

A volley from one of the anti-air vehicles distracted the bomber, which turned its attention back to the vehicles. Unnoticed to the ship, a trio of robots with drills at the ends of their arms ran up to the downed car, lifted it up, and carried it back through the portal. Just as they reached the exit ramp of the portal, the bomber opened fire. The bots charged through the arch just as the bombs hit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the bright flash of light faded, the first thing that Tobias noted was that his ears were ringing, and that he had a headache. _'Good,'_ he thought,_ 'that means I'm still alive.'_

The second thing he noticed was that he appeared to be in a new place, one that he didn't recognize. It was a large building of sorts, looking more like a parking garage, but grander than any he had ever been in.

Ahead of him, he saw robots helping the medical staff offload all of the patients in the ambulances, among them his parents. He could see his sister staring out at them, before turning to one of the machines and saying something he couldn't understand.

He was soon torn away from his thoughts when a robot holding what looked like a giant pair of bulk cutters appeared and forced open the doors of the police car, allowing its occupants to go free. When the fear of the machine faded, they quickly filtered out, heading toward the crowd of people they had been protecting, who were now being directed to...well, somewhere.

Before he could join them, though, Tobias turned toward one of the drill armed robots. He thought he recognized it...

"Hello?!"

"Yes?" asked the machine.

"...Do I know you?"

"...Yes, we met a few days ago during the last big alien attack."

"I see...thank you for saving my life...twice."

"You are welcome. Please join the refugee crowd, we are preparing meals for all of you right now."

"Al-alright. Goodbye."

"Farewell."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Levine-01 watched as the teen left to find food, as well as (presumably), his family. Then it turned its attention back to the teleporter gate.

The gate had sustained moderate damage from the last disruptor bomb strike, but it was still functional. A wing of interceptor fighters had shot down the bomber before it could fire another volley, leaving the gate intact and able to send it more troops as needed. But while more machines would pass through it shortly, 01 would not be among them - it had new directives. Namely, taking care of the newly arrived refugees.

Not too difficult, all things considered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Emerging from cover, Blackfire opened fire.

The Micronoid Colossus roared in pain as the shots burned its mass, before trying to blast him with a null lance. Fortuantely, he had already moved to a different source of cover by the time it retaliated.

All around him, the battle raged on: skeletoids and anthropods fought human and Outsider forces, while the Commander's robots battled several Megaspawn attempting to assault them, as well as the occasional starship that emerged from the pit. On occasion, an alien gas grenade would impact the giant slime, causing it to wreath in pain before trying to slay its assailant. Still, in spite of all the damage that had been done to the monster, it refused to die.

Like all the others who had been fighting the giant slime, he had heard it's motivations, and part of him could sympathize with the alien. It's world didn't really seem to be in the best shape, at least from what he had seen, and it did indeed appear to be dying. Part of him acknowledged that they did not have anywhere to go, because the nearest habitable worlds had already been colonized by humans at this point - Mars was well developed, while the closest inhabitable worlds had been targets of the seeding missions. All the good worlds had already been claimed by mankind.

That didn't excuse the actions its kind had taken, though. They had murdered hundreds of people, attempted to enslave mankind, and in all likelihood, enslaved the rest of the aliens to achieve their goals. Perhaps, if the aliens had sought to acquire land on Earth diplomatically, this crisis could have been averted, but they had chosen of their own free will to go the path of war, and now they would pay for it.

Another shot from Henrique's mag rifle caused one of the beast's tentacles to collapse, causing the null lance it had been charging to misfire and hit the ceiling, causing some debris to fall near the attacking forces. No fatalities so far, but that was liable to change any time.

Hopefully, the alien would go down before that was a problem.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Far away, at the viewing area the Commander had set up to watch the battle, Melissa observed the fighting on Earth and in the alien dimension. In space, some of the alien vessels did battle with the Zudjari Command Ship, with the Outsiders assisted by several newly produced Omega's and Artemi. Her pawn, meanwhile, had focused his attention on destroying the gestalt entity that had been formed by the micronoids to defend the dimension gate generator. She watched on as the soldiers and machines battled the hordes of aliens that the micronoids sent, the micronoids themselves, and the occasional ship that they summoned.

At first, she regarded this impassively. Then, though, she smiled. Not a calm smile, but one that was almost predatory, and only seemed to grow as the carnage dragged on.

"Yes, this is indeed an interesting fight."

She continued to watch as the Commander and his allies fought the Micronoids Colossus, slowly wearing it down from all of their attacks. The unlucky aliens assisting the colossus were killed just as quickly as they arrived, some in rather messy ways. This only served to cause Melissa's smile to widen even further.

"Kill them. Kill all of them. Main them, burn them, poison them, crush them, cut them, KILL THEM! LEAVE NONE AIVE! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

"Um, mom."

Instantly, Melissa calmed herself down.

"Yes, dear?"

"You're drooling."

Melissa took a moment to process the remark, before moving her arm across her mouth. When shoe looked at it, she could indeed make out a trail of saliva that had been on her face. Instantly, she went bright red.

"Oh, sorry about that, dear. Mommy just lost herself."

"Okay. I'm going to go watch the rest of the fight with Rory."

"Ok."

With that, Cassidy left, leaving Melissa alone once more. When she was sure her daughter was out of sight, the ROB let out an exasperated sigh, before returning her attention to the battle.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Gamma one fired another burst from his LMG, knocking a few skeletoids out of the sky. All around him, carnage raged onas the Micronoids and their forces fought desperately to defend the last stabilizer. Once it was gone, the Dimension gates would close forever, and these aliens would be defeated for good

The aliens knew this, though, and were fighting like cornered animals to stop them. However many they killed, more would take their place, while the colossus simply refused to die. Even a volley of alien gas grenades was barely doing anything to hurt it.

The occasional ship didn't help matters, as those ships were far more resilient to their attacks than the aliens were, and their firepower meant that any ship took immediate priority to destroy over all other X-rays. While they had suffered casualties yet, at this rate, all of their non-disruptor weapons would soon be out of ammunition, and when that happened, they would be in deep trouble.

Just then, a distant explosion of shorts caught all sides off guard. For a moment, everything was tense, before the aliens resumed firing. This time, though, the UFO was downed, but now by an attack from the team, but from someone below it.

What ever had happened, as long as the aliens went down, Gamma one was happy.

XXXXXXXX

Hydra-01 watched as her locust fighter wing laid waste to the smaller alien ships beneath the Dimension Gate Generator. The Commander's still had finally reached the tunnels the aliens were using, allowing her to take the fight to them. Now, many of the smaller ships were unable to reach the dimension gate before they were shot down, costing the aliens more troops with each sip lost. Hopefully, attrition would start to hit them before too long.

Turning back to the city, Hydra-01 sent the rest of her aircraft to intercept a bomber wing head for one of the city's schools, while one of her wyrm's began leveling Cult of Sirius associated offices. The Cult has been assisting the Alien in wrecking the city, so it was time that they were dealt with permanently.

As her forces swept over the city, though, she noticed a worrying sight: a teenage girl and a younger boy (who she assumed to be the girl's brother) were trying desperately to navigate through a ruined neighborhood, unaware of an approaching group of Megaspawn. The two likely would not survive if they met the organic tanks.

Hydra-01 stared at this for a moment, then sent ina gunship group pared with transports toward the team. All lives were precious, according to her directives, and she would protect them all if possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

_'Are we going in circles?' _wondered Alexis. She had been traveling through this part of the city with her brother for half an hour, and right now, it looked like they were in the same place where they had started.

Exhaustion was taking its toll - it was only a matter of time before they fired and could not carry on. Right now, they were taking a short break to stave off ftagiue, but that was a temporary measure at best. Soon, they would need another break.

Then, to her surprise, the ground began to shake. She only had a moment to process this before a Megaspawn barreled through a nearby building, followed by its pack. For a moment, she was too surprised to do anything, only stating back at the organic tanks, waiting for it to act.

This ultimately saved her: as the alien finally armed to decide what to do, a volley of machine gun fire pierced its cranium, killing it. More volleys opened fire on the rest of the pack, which began returning fire, diverting the aliens' attention form the teen and sibling. As the Dimension middle sbegsn t fly, Alexis noticed the nearby sounds of another aircraft, only a few feet away. Turning toward it, she notice both that it was some kind go transport and that's bay doors were open.

Seizing her chance, she grabbed her brother and ran into the ship bay, with the ship taking off shortly after they set down. Where they were going, neither knew, but hopefully it would be better than the bombed out ruin that the City was.

XXXXXXXXX

Hydra 01 watched as the ship headed toward one of the nearby portal to the Commander's hub uncjefse, befor returning to the battle at hand - Now was not them time to act as a lone wolf.

Idly, though, she did wonder how the duo would be treated, as well as how the fighting would end. That, though, she could watch.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Anothe volley of Alien gas grenades landed on the Micronoid Colossus, disorienting ti, though it did recover. Inwardly, I groaned. How much more could it take? It had already eaten over a dozen of these barrages and still it refused to roll over and die.

I'd managed to access the tunnels that aliens had stored the last of their ships in, and was using my aircraft to whittle down theirs, but until the Dimension Gate Generator went down, that was a temporary fix at best.

Now, the colossus was tiring, but i didn't know went it would go down, and since it was using its own body to defend the last dimension gate generator, it had to die before we could finish off the building...

Didn't it?

...Actually, maybe not.

Carefully, I loaded a Tesla onto one of my transports and sent it, a second transport, and an escort into the tunnels. While the escort laid waste to the alien fleet, the Tesla Transport moved itself so that it was within the pit that the alien ships emerged from to attack us. With bow of those forthcoming, it slowly rised up from the pit until it was right behind the Colossus, which actually attempted to use ta psychic powers to order my ship to attack. When it realized who the ship belonged to, though, everyone in the room with it felt its surprise and shock as it was electrocuted by the drone...which also overloaded the last pylon, causing it to explode, sending the colossus over the pit edge...

Right into my other transport.

With nothing left to do, and a fast approaching deadline now burdening is, we fell back to our ships as the Dimension Gate Generator began to self destruct. Desperate alien ships collide with each other as they tried to escape, with those that didn't finding themselves introduced to a supernova like explosion as building finally exploded. Some attempted to chase after our forces, only for them to be obliterated by the blast wave.

As for us?

Our forces sped toward either my teleported gates or the dimension gates as the alien world began to explode, quite literally. As the blast approached my gates, I scuttled them to stop any damage happening to Earth, Chiron, or my hub world. This forced the remains ships to climb higher and higher to reach the last dimension gates, which was several thousand meters above where the building had been.

Just as the blast was about to reach our forces, we winked through the gate back to Earth.

Mission Accomplished.

XXXXXXX

AN: Apologies in advance for any grammar issues - I'm really tired.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	93. Annihilation 81

Once our forces returned to the city, the battle rapidly came to a close. The lack of reinforcements had crippled the alien war machine, with many deciding to surrender rather than die pointlessly. I knocked out the majority of the rest, because I really didn't see any need to kill them. Plus, once the Micronoids were out of their blood, they might be more willing to seek peace.

As the remainder of the Aliens were hunted down, a few detachments of my forces raided the various Temples of Sirius scattered throughout the city. These guys were nut jobs, plain and simple, so bankrupting them was fine with me. Additionally, nobody would object to me doing so, and it provided me with an easy source of cash I could use for other purposes. Not that I needed the cash, of course, but hey - money is money and is good to have. Any cultists I caught were knocked out and carted off for Megapod to sort out. Once every cultist was dealt with and every last valuable item removed from the temple, I used Wyrms to bomb them to kingdom come. I did this to all four Temples, with XCOM's support - they really hated this cult.

As for the Micronoids Colossus, I moved it to my Hubworld, where I quickly constructed a psychic power surpressing prison. Just because I was sparing it didn't Mean it would not go unpunished for its crimes. Here, it would remain until I decided to had served its time. When was notnsomethijg I had put much thought into, but it was going to be a long sentence.

XXXXXXXX

As the hours passed by, things slowly returned to normal. Mega Primus began to fix itself, with XCOM working to assist them. Rubble was starting to be cleared away, people were starting to exit the Alien shelters, and the various public services buildings returned to normal activity levels. The few refugees my forces had admitted from the city were being cared for right now, though they would eventually be sent home - I wasn't keeping them against their will.

In my hub universe, terraforming of the new world for the aliens' new home continued on, unmolested. It was almost complete, and already it could sustain animal and plant life, if the strange organisms covering it were no hint. Right now, I was just making everything as good as it could be before I let my captives free. Hopefully, they'd like it.

While this was going on, I briefly hacked into the Zudjari network and decided to look into what they had been doing since they'd last arrived on Earth. Not much, in all honesty - they were still looking for a new home, apparently, despite several centuries (maybe even a few millennia) passing since they'd last been at Earth. Apparently, they'd had abysmal luck finding a new home.

Well, time for that to change.

Examining their database on worlds chosencas potential colonization sites, I smiled when I noticed that my own forces were near the one they had been heading to before their return to Earth. Immediately, I gave my flee there orders to set up shop on the planet that was in the Goldilocks zone and start terraforming. First, though, I had to move in a dwarf planet from the edge of that system to utilize as a Moon for this world, otherwise its haywire rotation on its axis would screw over any attempts at colonization. Once that was thine, I moved in terraforming equipment via teleporter gates and watched the magic begin. I was rather glad that both the planet the Zudjari had chosen and the moon I had moved had no life on them, as I didn't want to condemn any species to extinction. Not if I could help it.

XXXXXX

Back on Earth, I decided to start searching for any EXALT cells that I could take down. While EXALT was better than the cult of serious, that wasn't exactly a high bar. Plus, I had a feeling that as soon as I left, they would move in to try and take over. Again.

Luckily for me, Earth's EXALT forces were more technologically inclined than those on Chiron, so I was able to easily determine where the cells were and how to disable them from there. A fair amount of EXALT operatives had just had their bank accounts hacked and were now rather short on funds. I didn't necessarily bankrupt them, as that would be cruel and unnecessary, but I did take enough funds to force them to put any future plans for world domination on the back burner for awhile. Most of this money found its way into the hands of various charities, but I kept a small amount for myself, a portion of which was invested in the A.R.C. The fact that Chiron's resources were now easily accessible to Earth was predicted to cause the company's scores to receive a meteoric rise in value, so I was planning to invest while prices were still low. While I didn't really need the money, I liked having the option of bribing people to be quiet. Plus having money is awesome.

My hacking scheme against EXALT eventually hit a roadblock, though: there was only so many databases I could hack, and some of their communiques were in Hyperwaves. Luckily, I'd obtained both the Hyperwave Decoder and the Transmission Resolver from XCOM, in exchange for more sensor research, so it didn't take me long to get back to disrupting their operations. All over the world, various charities and struggling businesses suddenly found themselves flushed with cash, while my name was put on several stock purchases for various mega-corporations. That way, I'd have some leeway over those organizations beyond force. Stockholding has power!

Eventually, I exhausted all the leads the hyperwaves provided me, so I decided to try using the Transmission Tesolver. As soon as it went online, I noticed on signal that seemed to drown out all of the others, originating from somewhere in the Yucatán Peninsula. Curiosity got the better of me, so I began to examine it.

All I heard was as follows:

_'Now, at last, I have found you.'_

The everything went black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

When I came to, the first thing I noticed was how weird the place that I had awakened in was. It resembled the inside of a cloud, but was weirder than that in ways that I can't really describe. I mean, I saw several structures that should be impossible under the laws of physics.

The second thing I noticed was that I felt very light in this location, as it gravity had no effect on me. I considered jumping and seeing if I could float, but eventually vetoed that idea - maybe later, though.

The third thing I noticed was that I wasn't alone here. Some else was here. Something huge. It's body was covered in tentacles, with its head resembling a squid, and it even had wings made of tentacles.

Also, it seemed to have noticed that I was awake.

Initially, all it did was stare at me, something I returned as I tried to avoid antagonizing it. Then, to my surprise, it _spoke_:

"At last, the new dreamer awakens," it said, in an alien, Legion-esque voice.

"...what?"

"I was referring to you, New One."

"Right...My apologies, but who are you," I asked, trying to make my unease.

"My Name is not something that you would understand."

"Then _what_ are you?" I asked, sounding firm but not demanding.

"Those who met me most recently hav scales me the Great dreamer..."

...OH SHIT...

"...but if you fear that title, you need not: I have no quarrel with you."

...Seriously?

"Really?"

"Indeed, new one. All I desire is to talk with you."

"Why?"

"Because you are _different_. Your _dreams_ are different. All about you is different , and that has my curiosity.".

"...dreams?"

"Your dreams are who you were, are, and wish to be. A sum of your life and where you wish it to go. This realm takes those dreams and lays them for all to see. My kind call it the kingdom of the dreams, and I can see yours brightly among the rest."

Man, this thing really likes dreams.

"And what are my dreams?"

"...Your ancient dream is that of one who had much to learn, taken from all that you knew and set on a new path..."

...How did it know that?

"...your destined dream sees you having crossed many planes and realms, having grown strong and struck down the one who put you on this path..."

Somehow, I was sweating bullets in what I assumed to be a dream.

"...as for you imminent dream... You are looking for something, arean't you? Strange artifacts, if my examinations are correct."

Okay, time to try and act calm.

"True, but why is that relevant?"

It's respond estunned me silent.

Holdkng it's hand out so that something whisky formed in it, the Dreamer spoke once more:

"Do these artifacts look like this," it said, holding the finished shape in its hands. I took one look at the shape and balked: it looked almost EXACTLY like the artifact that had driven the wildlife of Chiron Berserk. Apparently, my recognition of the Artifact was visible on my face, given the dreamer's response.

"So it seems the dreams are correct... do you want this artifact."

I responded with a resounding yes, despite my efforts to avoid agreeing.

"Very well, then I will make you a deal: if you perform a 'favor' for me, I will give you the device."

"And what must I do for you?"

"Free me from this prison on Earth. Allow me to experience the joys of traveling through the ether. You must know those joys as well as I do.

"...sorry, I don't know what-"

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" It shouted, catching me off guard.

"...what?!"

"Let me join you on your travels across worlds, realms, and planes, until I find my own path to follow. I can sense you arrived in this plane from another, and I want to know that freedom."

For a moment, I just stared: an Eldritch abomination, a beast that had almost wiped out mankind, was asking me to let it hitchhike? Could I say no to it if I wanted to?

...probably not. At least, not yet.

Sighing, I finally responded.

"Deal."

"Thank you for seeing reason. Now awaken," was its response as it grabbed my head, and then everything went white.

XXXXXXXXX

When my eyes opened again, I was back where I had been when things went black. Idly, o. Tied not even a second had passed since things had gone south. So far nothing had changed...

Spoke too soon: a giant storm was forming over the Yucatán. I sighed at this sight, then called up my forces head toward the storm. Time to fret my new guest.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	94. Interlude 13

With the battle now over, Hydra 01 was free to return to patrolling the seas of Chiron.

That is, if it hadn't had any others inside of her.

While most of the humans evacuated from the Mega-City had been sent to dedicated refugee zones set up by the commander, the teen and child duo that 01 had rescued had ended up inside the carrier. Rations had been moved in to the ship prior to the final attack on Mega-Primus, in case this very scenario happened, but admittedly, the duo had proven a hassle. True, they were grateful to have been rescued, but eventually, there had been problems. Namely, boredom - the two had swiftly become bored within the confines of the ship, which they had attempted to counter by exploring the insides of her hull. While they were not in any real danger from this course of action, 01 knew that this could result in difficulty getting them back to their home city once the battle was one. So, using the fabrication technology she had within her hull, as well as the ability to change her internal structure an necessary (a 'gift' offered to her class of ships by the Commander), 01 had built a makeshift theatre, downloaded movies from Earth, invited the duo to watch, and let the situation handle itself form there. Problem solved. Perhaps too well, given that the boy and girl were now sleeping in their seats. 01 had used internal maintenance drones to pull the blankets the duo had brought with them up so that neither grew cold, as a matter of courtesy.

While the duo slept, though, 01 noticed that the room provided for them was...rather bare, all things considered. Aside from some chairs and tables, plus a screen and projector for the film being shown, there were no real amenities in this chamber. While 01 new that amenities for humans were not necessary to fight in war, all evidence she had acquired from the Commander's actions so far indicated that he would likely continue to get into conflicts where he would need to deal with refugees, which would likely result in more people spending time within her hull. Therefore, increased amenities would likely make facilitating those refugees easier.

Immediately, 01 began looking into what kind of things she could acquire for these humans. The commander had several facilities on his hub world where his organic creations could shape would into furniture, so she quickly sent in a request to have some moved to Chiron, then shipped to her location. A small supply of food was also to be sent to her, as well as a few board games acquired from scanning the colonial data banks. Finally, an Order was sent out for medical supplies and beds. Once all of these orders arrived, Hydra 01 would be better prepared to take on anymore unexpected guests.

Dimly, 01 notes that it's action weren't entirely logical - the commander would likely create special ships dedicated to caring for refugees if he was going to be dealing with further conflict. The space it was allocating for habitation was better used for processors and assembly lines, or perhaps fuel supplies. Yet, for the first time in it's existence, 01 did not care about this. All that mattered to her was caring for her charges.

Said care was not dissimilar to its Commander's goal...

XXXXXXXXXX

The minute he had pulled up a seat, Tobias dug into the meal he had been offered. The mix of alien clam, algae and fruit was surprisingly appetizing, especially the fruit, which he was forging himself on. Adding in the fact that the meal provided to him was very nutritious, and he had found gastronomic heaven. True, the machine serving it had unnerved him at first, but that didn't matter now.

Around him, the rest of the refugees and patients were enjoying their own meals, or talking to their friends. Those who weren't in this room were watching over friends and relatives who needed medical care and had been placed in a nearby hospital room. It was fortunate that no one had suffered serious injuries when they arrived here, especially given the circumstances of their arrival. After so much stress over the past few months due to the alien invasion, it was nice to finally have a reprieve.

Owing to his interest in it, Tobias didn't take long to finish his meal, which was surprisingly filling. His appetite sated, He left the cafeteria of sorts that the meals had been provided in and set out to explore his temporary lodgings. He already knew about the medical rooms...bays...chambers...whatever. The hospital rooms were only a part of that area, but he did not want to return there now - his parents were sleeping at the moment, and he had no desire to disturb them or any other people in those rooms.

To his surprise, there was actually a directory just outside of the cafeteria. Among the areas marked were a gym, movie theater, library (which was apparently still being constructed), and...a zoo? Well, that would certainly be an interesting sight. Ultimately, though, Tobias decided to head to the gym: while wasn't going to do anything strenuous so soon after lunch, he did want to see what the gym had to offer.

XXXXXXXX

When he finally arrived at the gym, the first thing he noticed was how large it was - practically as large as one that was made for a college, and filled with with all sorts of exercise equipment: bikes, weights, bars, etc. There was even a racing pool! Oddly, though, it was rather empty, with only maybe a dozen people using the equipment. Perhaps everyone was resting?

With no answers to that question forthcoming, Tobias decided to sit down next to one of the bars. Perhaps later, he could do pull ups on them, but not now.

"Hey, are you using that bar?"

Surprised, Tobias turned toward the voice and found himself staring at a fifteen year old girl in a wheel chair. She had wavy blond hair, brown eyes and a freckles face. As for her attire, she wore a green shirt and what Tobias could best describe as women's gym shorts.

"Um, no" was his answer to her question.

"Can I use it?"

"...yes, but do you need help getting up to it?"

"No, I'm good."

Then, to his surprise, the girl got up out of her wheelchair, walked up to the bar, the jumped up to it and starting doing pull ups.

"So, what's your name?" asked the girl.

"Tobias."

"I'm Miriam. So, how'd you get here?"

"Well, actually, I got carried in here by robots."

"...oh. Are you from Earth?"

"Y-yes. How'd you know that?"

"Heard an announcement that we'd be taking refugees from Earth due to an alien attack. Honestly not the weirdest thing I've heard this whole month. So, how do you like things here?"

"There good. The food is delicious, by the way."

"I agree with you there."

"Well, you definetly have good taste in food, then."

"Thank you. So, did anyone else you know come over with you?"

"My mom, my dad, and my sister came here, as did some of my friends. We'd all been part of a convoy evacuating our city wjencthe aliens showed up...wait, are you from one of the colonies?"

"Yeah, I am, why'd you ask?"

"You asked if I was from Earth. People only ask that question if they are from different planets.

"Good point. So, how long until you and your family head home? I mean, I saw the Commander and his allies kick the assess of the aliens that were attacking your city."

"Well, it's good to know that those monsters are defeated and that Mega-Primus can go back to normal. As for going home...well,I guess never."

"...what happened?" questioned Miriam, surprisenclear in her voice.

"Part of an alien ship crashed into my how, pretty much ruined it. We don't have enough money to fix it, so we'll have to move."

"Ouch. Good luck with that...hey, maybe you could move here."

"What? You mean, this building?"

"No, I mean this world. There's plenty of space, and while it all belongs to the Commander, I don't think he'll mind too much. He seems to like company."

"...maybe."

"Eh, your choice," was her reply as she completed one last pull up. To his surprise, she didn't come down.

"Could you help me get down? My legs aren't really working now."

"The why did you get out of the wheelchair? Why do you have one when you don't need it to move around?"

"I have weak legs. Just because I can move without a wheelchair doesn't mean I don't find it tiresome. I can walk on my legs easily enough, but I think a hard landing will hurt them."

"...fine." Sighing, Tobias helped the girl into her chair.

"Thanks. See you around," was all he got as thanks, followed by her departure.

As we watched Miriam leave, Tobias pondered her words. True, the commander had sjowna great fear of care for those displaced by the attacks, and he had shown the refugees who had arrived in his world much generosity. Plus, his forces had been helping to rebuild the city.

Maybe sticking around wasn't a bad idea?

XXXXXXXXXX

Sara sighed.

It was over. They had won.

To the average person, Sara was merely a reporter, as well as a minor manager for one of the ARC's broadcasting networks. To XCOM, she was one of their greatest cryptographers. Right now, she was watching the final confirmation that the Aliens had been defeated. Now came the time to rebuild. Again.

Well, hopefully, they'd get another couple of centuries of rest before the next invasion came. To XCOM, a new invasion wasn't a question of it, but when. They'd adopted this policy after the Second War, due to how disastrously that war had ended. It had been the only thing that had ensured the War for Mega-Primus had already happened, so it wasn't a bad policy. Still, many people thought they were paranoid.

That didn't matter now, though. With no need to focus on seeing how the war was going, Sara turned her attention back to the communication satellites orbiting Chiron. A few more had recently been added to accommodate the new Lasercom communication network, which was how non-hyperwave communication had been re-established with Earth. Since the incident at the gates, they'd been used to keep track of the war. Now that it was over, they'd been aimed elsewhere, in the hope that contact could be established with another Seeding Site. If a signal could be found, then an envoy could be sent. As for easing travel between Seeding Worlds, Chiron's top minds werenalready working on an interplanetary gate that was starship sized. From what XCOM has been able to gather, a working prototype had been made and would be shown off this week.

It was funny, noted Sara, how much things had changed since the man who called himself Commander Flame has arrived on Chiron. The arrival of the Progenitors, the discovery of the Alien City, and the victory on Earth had all happened so quickly, and with great contribution from the Commander. Some would say that he might have had a hand in causing these events, but aside from the meteor that had driven Chiron's wildlife berserk, none of those events had been directly connected to him by the eggheads at home base, and even that one had been an accident.

Before she could ponder more on that train of thought, though, Sara noticed that one of the satellites was acting odd. At first, she thought it might be an error in the coding, but she quickly dismissed that - they'd been debugged this morning. Perhaps interference? She dismissed that thought too - nothing had been detected in the last hour. So what could be causing it?

Then the realization hit her. Instantly, Sara checked to see if the satellite was receiving a transmissions. She quickly discovered this to be the truth, and went ecstatic - at last, a success. Now mankind to unite once more. She quickly called up her superiors, both in the A.R.C. and XCOM, to give them the good news, while continuing to listen to the Transmission.

As she continued to listen, though, her elation began to fade and was replaced by dread. This wasn't a greeting, it was a distress call. Whoever was sending the message out had been attacked, by pirates of the transmission was correct. Possibly alien, possibly human, but pirates all the same. Apparently, this had gone on for a few months, and the colony was on the verge of collapse. They needed help, and soon.

Realizing the urgency of the transmission, Sara Ebonheart quickly patched herself into the Hyperwave network and sent out an immediate alert while simultaneously pulling upon XCOM's map of the stars in this part of the Milky Way. She quickly settled on Proxima Centauri as the likeliest candidate for the spruce of the signal. It matched up with the direction where the signal was coming from, and its close proximity to Chiron meant it was not unreasonable for a signal from a planet in that system to still be intact when it reached this system.

Now that she knew where the signal was coming, Sara needed to get her superiors to act on it.

Nothing too challenging, all things considered.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Well, finally got this out.

For reference, Miriam was one of EXALT's test subjects. She's seventeen and, owing to how long she was in a coma for, still needs time to get back up on her feet.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	95. Annihilation 82

It didn't take too long to develop a way to get T'leth to a secure location: I simply built a teleporter gate above the ship, put another one on an uninhabited ocean world in my hub universe, then activated the gates and let the ship fly through. There was no way I was letting that thing go to an inhabited world, because I doubted it wouldn't try to pull anything funny, plus I didn't want to enrage any of my newfound allies. Once the ship was in my hub universe, I sealed off the gate, then used my matter creation technology from spore to make additional sea water to compensate for what had gone through the gate. I didn't want to wreck Earth anymore than the it already was. As for the world I'd moved the ship to, I'd already added a large amount of fauna to it so that the aliens wouldn't starve (as I doubted the Dreamer was going alone or that it could survive on water alone). Finally, I built an aquatic base using designs I'd acquired from XCOM after the end of the Battle within the Dimension Gate generator. I made sure to add in an M.C. Generator (to keep in touch with my guest) and a Transmission Resolver (to make sure that he didn't try anything fishy, no pun intended).

I built several more of those bases over the course of any hour, just to make sure the Dreamer didn't exploit my hospitality. Lucky for me, then, that it seemed to be uninterested in backstabbing me.

Well, fine with me. That meant I could focus on integrating the spoils of the Mega Primus War into my techbase.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I can't get over how amazing it was that the micronoids had been able to develop an organic factory of sorts that could create inorganic/cybernetic and organic equipment within itself. How they did it was truly impressive: they used specialized chemical signals to get bacteria and cell tissue to shape material at the cellular level into the desired from, adding in things like circuitry and metallic casing as needed. This caused the desired item to gradually grow out of the factory until it 'budded' off as a ready to use piece of equipment. Once the 'bud' finished its 'growth', the desired item could be harvested and used as needed, while the connection point where the 'bud' had been removed from could immediately begin growing another item as soon as the old one was removed. Very impressive, to say the least. The Megapod chamber operated the same way, though on a much larger scale, able to create buildings from its 'buds'.

I wanted all of it. Not just because it looked cool, but because organic technology such as this could innately repair itself, given time. Additionally, organic technology wasn't easy to hack. While my progenitor level cyber-warfare system was pretty much unbeatable, given what Melissa had told me just prior to my arrival on my hub world, I had a feeling that I'd eventually encounter other commanders like myself who could hack my equipment, so creating tech that couldn't be hacked was going to be priority. Best to finish it sooner than later, lest I be caught with my pants down when/if I met another commander like me. I didn't put it past Melissa to send me on a collision course with another Commander and ensure violence between us just for fun - she was a ROB, after all.

I started by creating a sludge pool of sorts out of all the various organic materials I'd gathered - E-DNA, Xenomass, Chiron-derived Xenofungus, MELD, the organic tissue that made up the structures of the alien dimension, and a sludge-link material that I'd acquired from the Spore Universe, which was how the create creature tool created new lifeforms. From there, I started examining what kind of traits I wanted in my new creation. While combat abilities would be awesome, my first organic construct was going to be a fabber equivalent, designed create organic structures, including one that could grow more organic fabbers, so that I would be able to breed an organic army. So, let's see - a bunch of short legs for stability, organic growth pods and nutrient generators to allow growth of structures, an organic version of the system that let me distribute resources from storage to construction systems, add in enhanced healing, plus some biogenesis abilities to accelerate growth of structures and healing, aaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnddddddd done.

The result was a truly weird creature - it was a decapod that resembled a grub, but with a larger sensory hairs on its back and belly, and strange organic sacks on its sides. The sacks were, in essence, embryos for any structures that I wished to gestate for later usage, of which, at the moment, I had none. Of course, that didn't last long, as soon I designed an organic factory/spawning chamber to create more of the creatures. I also designed an organic metal extractor, power generator, and anti-ground turret, though the turret used corrosive acid in place of bullets, lasers, or missiles. Also, I quickly drafted up a farm of sorts that would raise rapidly maturing crops, because an organic army needed proteins, lipids, and sugars in place of metal and power to grow. Also, I probably didn't really need the organic metal extractor and power generators for this reason, but hey, unhackable tech.

I realized that I needed a name for my organic fabbers, since they were rather different from my normal ones. Hm...I think I'll call it the gardener. That sounds about right.

Now, what else did I need?

Well, I should probably create some actual combat units for my organic factory to produce (also, need to give it a better name). Well, first off, something generic that could fulfill the role of a tank. It'd need a hard carapace, reasonable speed, and plenty of firepower. Since it was a living creature, I'd also be prudent to add melee weapons to it. Now, let's see - make it an insectoid, add in clawed limbs, tough carapace, maybe wings some wings, and, since I'm using E-DNA, include some basic genesis abilities - fireballs, plant manipulation (mostly for creating wooden armor in a pinch), magnetic tether (for catching vehicles), a life drain ability (why not? I mean, hammer tanks had that power too), and, finally, an energy shield (thank you, Cyber genesis powers). Yeah, a broken starter unit, but when have commanders ever gone for balanced units? Now all I need is a name for it. I think brawler would be efficient.

Also, both the brawler and the gardener liked playing fetch

Now, I was almost ready to call it a day for making organic units, but I had one last thing to do. See, my units might be good at fighting (with some testing - I sent them up against a group of ants and they managed to win without casualties), but so far, they were restricted to the surface conflicts, which wouldn't do for a Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engine of War like myself. I needed to make them able to travel the stars without my ships, so that meant creating orbital organisms.

First off, design an organic orbital fabber. Easy enough, just create an organic tower that can create creatures that can exit the atmosphere on their own power. Surprisingly easy on the second part, as long as you modify their biology sufficiently and are careful to account for the issues with depressurizing.

Next, design an orbital organic fabber. I gave it membranes that could function as solar sails, as well as a biological ion engine and internal, organic versions of my matter and energy generators, which could ensure that it was both well fed and capable of unlimited space travel. Also, make sure it is resistant to mutation, at least unitl I can integrate something like zerg or tyranid tissue into the beast so that it can adjust. The end result was a millipede-esque that had fur, grasping limbs, and growth pods on it just like the gardener, which wasn't really surprising, since this thing was an orbital version of the gardener.

Step 3: Create an orbital factory that was, you know, _in orbit_, and not on the ground. That really didn't take to long, though the result was a rather weird looking structure that reminded me of the Mummy Nest from Wayne Douglas Barlowe's Expedition. I christened it the Hive, and looked forward to pumping all kinds of beasties out of it.

Step 4: the last thing I needed to do was create both an organic orbital defense system, an organic orbital fighter, and an organic orbital transport. The orbital transport was a bloated creature that was capable of rapidly adjusting its internal air stores so that it didn't explode when going into orbit, and looked a lot like a Locuat Gas Barge, though I decided to call it a Bloater. The ODS when designated the anemone, because it looked a lot like one, even if it used explosive spikes instead of stingers for defense. Lastly, the fighter organism ended up looking like a cross between a rakk, a Brood Lord, and a Lurk, though I ultimately named it the wisp.

Alright, first organic units created. HUZZAH! Now where could I go from here? I had been interested in resting first, but now I wanted to see what other creatures I could create. First, though, I called up an Incarusndroen and let my new orbital creations chase it to their heart's content. Perhaps I should make more of them-what's this transmission I'm getting?

Well, it is from XCOM, which probably means it's urgent. Better start reading.

As I examined the transmission, I smiled: contact with another colony had been made. Now that Earth and Chiron has been United, mankind could work to link up with the rest of the colonies, creating a galactic power for themselves. As I examined the transmission fourthwr, though, my happiness turned to dread - this colony was under attack by pirates and was on the verge of collapse. Something needed to be done or this world would soon descend into anarchy. Apparently, this message had been sent out to all colonial leaders, as well as to the XCOM Commander and myself. It seemed that everyone was wanted for saving this colony.

Well, no rest for the weary, then.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: I planned to integrate biotech into my arsenal form the beginning, here it is, and I'm very happy I'm the first Commander to really exploit it

So, Rea sand Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	96. Annihilation 83

The meeting between the leaders of all the powers assembled for the mission to save the colony at Proxima Centauri was, surprisingly, rather short. I think that having to deal with space aliens from another dimension had eroded any animosity between the leaders of the colonies, because when the Africa Union demanded action to save the colony, well, no one objected. The meeting was really all that interesting, and once it was over, I returned to my base on Chiron and started examining a new facet of the tech I'd acquired from the colonies.

To my surprise, it turned out that the colonists had managed to successfully create both Starships and FTL travel before I had arrived, but owing to the famine that had been going on prior to my arrival (blame EXALT for that), those fields had really been examined in earnest due to all of the scientists being too hungry to try and devote further study to those fields of research. Maybe EXALT had wanted time to catch up in that field? Whatever the reason, it didn't matter anymore, because now, with the need to save the colony orbitining Proxima Centauri (apparently designated Centauri 45 by the Seeding Program), Starships And FTL travel were in high demand.

I quickly used the worms I had embedded in Chiron after first meeting the colonies to purloin the starship designs for myself, making minor adjustments as necessary. The ships designs available to me were not that advanced, but they could be improved. I considered stripping out the life support systems to add in more generators or weapon's batteries, but decided against it - life-support was an appetizing target for raiders, so I just heavily armored the life support and bridge areas and removed only some of their functionality, mostly so that I could use them as fake weak points. I also made sure to buff up their weaponry - XCOM had finally been willing to offer me a fusion lance and blaster launcher schematic, as well as a fusion core, which were all things I really wanted my ships to have. Torpedoes were swapped out for dimension missiles, lasers augmented with disruptors and plasma weapons, some rail guns added in for extra firepower and when kinetic weapons could trump energy ones, and finally, a fusion lance for each ship. All of these weapons were carefully integrated into my ships without changing their external appearance, so that they could catch their opponents with their pant's down.

Yeah, my fleet was going to be super OP. No nerfing, please.

XXXXXXXXX

Since I assumed it would take at least a day for the colonists and Earth forced to complete their fleets, even with the fabrication advances I had provided them, I decided to kill some time repaying the Zudjari for disabling the mothership on Earth. Using the intel I'd acquired over Earth, I'd located the next system they were were planning to go next. Turns out the system had a planet orbiting it ripe for habitation, albeit a little too chilly for life, not to mention too thin an atmosphere. Fortunately, I could change this.

I moved my Spore UFO to the planet and activated the Hot Cloud Seeder onboard, which I tuned to the Zudjari's preferred atmosphere. A human could survive this atmosphere indefinitely, but it wouldn't be comfortable. That might have explained why the Zudjari could easily survive on Earth. Once that was done, I used some plant seeds and animal embryos that I had secretly acquired from the Outsiders while still on Earth to seed in a biosphere not unlike the Zudjari's home world. Obviously, it wasn't a complete biosphere, but it would suffice. Finally, I left a note of sorts behind to thank them for saving my bacon and informing them that this was my way of repaying their kindness. There, thank-you finished. In less than an hour, too. Spore terraforming tech was completely broken.

Well, back to Chiron, then. Time to experiment with my new weapons and hone my E-DNA powers, as well as my psionics.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Creating an obstacle course in my tower to test my teleporting powers out in was a trivial task, so I spent a lot of time refining it to give me a better challenge each time I bested the course. Moving pillars, laser walls, collapsing floors, all were added to my testing course, and all were eventually bested. It rapidly got to the point I became rather bored using the course. Soon, I lost interest in this form of training and focused on more martial pursuits.

I jumped back as Wraith slammed his axe at me, taking any opening I could to launch a counter attack. Compared to my previous matches against Goliath, I was doing better: while I'd lost all of the matches so far, I'd lasted far longer against Wraith than I had against Goliath. Granted, Wraith may have been holding back, but still. I'd learned to master the way of the sword, though I still had a long war to go. Still, practice makes perfect.

"Commander, one of the refugees from Mega-Primus would like to meet with you."

Well, there goes my trading.

"Alright, tell him I'll be with him shortly. What's his name? Or is it a she?"

"The person who wishes to meet you is a teenage boy named Tobias Reed."

Interesting name. I wondered what he wanted.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Once I had hastily set up a meeting room that looked respectable enough for someone of my station (which meant it looked fancy), I invited Tobias to meet with me. He turned out to be a teen with straight black hair and blue eyes, with no trace of facial hair on him. He seemed somewhat nervous, which was not surprising - he was meeting someone who at least appeared to be his 'better'. That was an appearance I was not going to put up for long.

"So," I began, "greetings. I am Commander Flame of thenInfernum Federation. According to my secretary, you're name is Tobias Reed, correct?"

"...yes."

"Glad to hear. Why did you request an audience with me?"

"...um...well, first off, thank you for all that you did to save Mega-Primus from those aliens. Also, thank you for letting me and my family stay here during the last battle for the city."

"You're welcome. So, how long do you need until you are ready to return home?"

"Actually," he said, starting to calm down, "that's what I wanted to take to you about. You see, my house got leveled by an alien ship piece during the last battle, so my family doesn't really have anywhere to go now."

"Oh," I remarked, feeling rather guilty. "Well, perhaps I could assist you in acquiring a new home in Mega-Primus, or perhaps on Chiron."

Well, actually, I had something different mind," he responded, starting to get nervous again.

Well, this would be interesting.

"And what is that."

"...Could we...stay...here? As in, build our new home here?"

...what? He wanted to live here?

"Um, I have no problems with the robots, and if there are aliens living here, if they aren't evil, I'm fine with the. I have friends in the Mutant Alliace and S.E.L.F. My parents both need to be in hospitals at the moment and I have to work to pay off their medical pills and put food on the table. I promise that I'll-".

My rational mind told me that if I kept letting him talk, I'd feel like I murdered a puppy if I refused his request. So I held up my palm and waited for him to stop.

"All right, you can stay."

"...T-T-T-Thank you, s-s-s-sir."

"You're welcome. Though I would suggest that you wait just a little bit before getting too comfortable. I have a few things I need to finish up before you can join the Federation."

"I-I-I-I understand. I'll be leaving now."

"Farewell."

That was easier than I thought it would be...wait, now that I thought about it, o could probably get Tobias to do something for me.

"Tobias, wait."

"Yes?"

"Please tell anyone batnthe refugee slcenter that they are free to stay here if they wish, rather than return to their homes, but they just inform me first."

"Of course, sir. Goodbye."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once Tobias told everyone about my offer, quite a few people obliged. I quickly changed my mental gears to focus on dealing with the fact I now had a human population just needed to be fed and given homes. Not too difficult, given what I'd hacked form Mega-Primus' databanks. Decently sized houses, factories and retail outlets were set up, in accordance to what the city charter had requested. I would let them remodel this for later, but for now, this would have to do.

I was going to work on it some more, but then I received a notice that the forces assembled to save Proxima Centauri were ready to go. Well, time to have fun. I moved my fleet to join up with theirs, then, when the first few shops began the FTL jump, mine followed suite. Due to my advanced FTL tech, my forces got into communication range of Centauri 45. Apparently, pirates were attacking them right now. A moment lated, my ships popped out of FTL and confirmed that the transmission was accurate.

Well, let the epic Space battle begin.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	97. Annihilation 84

The first hint that the pirates got that they wouldn't be nearly a successful with this raid was when a fusion lance destroyed one of their carriers. Before they could react to that, a massive barrage of laser cannons destroyed three cruisers. After that, well, the fight quickly descended into a mess. Try as they might to stop me, their forces barely managed to dent the hulls of my ships. Oh sure, they did manage to disable a few of my orbital interceptors, but those losses were trivial in the grand scheme of things. Besides, I had plenty of backup on the way. These guys were as good as dead.

Though, I must give credit to them for trying to fight back. When they realized that they were up against a well armed opponent, they realigned their ships to use broadside blasts on me. My scanners indicated they had enough firepower on a destroyer to cripple an omega, but only if they could hit it in the engines. Unfortunately, I easily outclassed them in the firepower department, and I also had the range edge. Only two broadsides connected with my ships before the opposing force scattered from massed fire of my forces, and those barrages ultimately did negligible damage to my ships. Points for trying, I'll give them that.

While my orbital forces, as well as the newly arrived fleets of my allies, continued to engage the now scattered enemy fleet, I sent some ground units down to help out the colony. See, the pirates could threaten to bombard the planet from orbit to get what they wanted, but that ran the risk of rendering it uninhabitable and convincing the colonists to take their chance fighting rather than giving the pirates tribute. Those outcomes were not ones pirates wanted to deal with, so normally they just used a small invasion force to terrorize the locals and convince them to be compliant. While a colony could normally repel a pirate force, continuous raids would exhaust the defenders until the planet was easy pickings for raiders. Why space pirates didn't decide to move onto easier targets after losing the first few times was beyond me. That was besides the point though: there were pirates on planet and I needed to drive them off.

As soon as my ground troops made planet fall, the fabbers began setting up a base while my combat units launched an assault on the pirate invaders, relieving the desperate colonists from the raiders' wrath. While I tried to take them down non-lethally, I wasn't too concerned if they died - hacking their transmissions proved that the raiders didn't really have any resource shortages that had forced them to resort to piracy, they just enjoyed beating up those weaker than them. If they really were motivated by desperation, I would have tried to be gentler to them, but these people were just scum and deserved to be punished. Those that I caught alive were forced into a makeshift prison until they could be formally imprisoned, tried and punished (hopefully not in an absurd way, I didn't hate them THAT much).

Back in space, the pirate fleet was starting to route - they were already losing, but the arrival of my allies had convinced them it was better to cut their losses and run, not that I would give them the chance. As one of their ships made a break for it, I used a harmony cruiser with its stealth systems activated to sneak up on it, then blow its engines to smithereens. As I watched the light show, I mentally noted how powerful the stealth system I'd purloined form Chungsu was - near-perfect sensor counters, perfect visual camouflage, and hyper-efficient heat sinks made any ship I equipped with a stealth system invisible and untraceable. The only issue was that a ship using the system was still vulnerable to sensor detection if it got too close to an enemy vessel, because the giant hole in you sensor network was a pretty obvious target. I could probably fix that, though.

Oh, and a ton of fighters were showing up to harass my forces, since the retreating ships were mostly carrier and a fair amount of the fighters were drones. Impressive tactic, but it was ultimately futile. I locked several Artemis cannons on the carriers and fired, reducing the carriers to rubble. With their command vessels gone, the fighters either went offline or panicked, making them easy pickings for my own fighters. The remaining ships, meanwhile, were being taken apart by my fleet and those of my allies, with a few at the rear of their fleet puling out. I managed to put a tracker on one of because there was no way I was going to just let them get away without trying to figure out where they were heading.

On the ground, well, things were going much the same as they were in space - the pirate forces were getting crushed, mine weren't even taking losses, and some of the pirates were trying to bail, except they had nowhere to go. Adding to the difficulty they were facing was that the colonists, who had initially been too scared to react, had rallied to my side and forcing the raiders to fight a battle on all sides, leaving them with nowhere to retreat and regroup. I was eventually able to surround the last of the pirates, at which point reason finally overcame pride and fear, for the pirates quickly surrendered. For a moment, I thought I'd have to defend _them _from the vengeful colonists of Centauri 45, but to my surprise, the colonists accepted the surrender and settled for taking all of the pirates prisoner. That they treated the prisoners a little roughly was something I was willing to allow as a for of restitution, so long as they didn't resort to torture or worse.

The situation was the same in orbit: some ships had fled, while the rest had surrendered. The colonists of Chiron, much to my surprise, had encircled the pirates' flagship, which had quickly surrendered, decapitating the fleet's command structure.

Overall, it was an interesting battle, if both brief and...boring, in all honesty.

Wow, I can't believe I'm agreeing with Melissa here. Hopefully this didn't become a trend I'd be making.

"Well, it didn't, but not for the reasons you'd think).

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Apologies for the lackluster battle. I just wanted to get it out of the way, and overall, the pirate didn't stand a chance, so the curb-stomp was inevitable.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	98. Annihilation 85

I hated to admit it, but I didn't really know what to do now that I had defeated the pirates. The fact of the matter was that there weren't really any big problems I needed to solve in this universe - no ancient evils to defeat, no evil corporations whose amoral schemes needed to be exposed, nothing. Aside from pirates, everything was actually pretty good in this universe. For once, the future wasn't bleak and hopeless in a science fiction setting.

Needless to say, this wasn't exactly a very interesting universe. I mean, the tech was awesome, and I was having a field day integrating it into my forces, but that could only keep you interested for so long. The ceremony that had followed our victory against the pirates was only a partial diversion from the boredom. I'd decided to head over to my practice range to try and improve my swordsmanship, but even that was getting boring.

For once without any regret, I admitted to myself that Melissa was right. This was a boring universe.

"Nice to see that you agree with me."

I won't lie, I jumped and screamed like a little girl when I heard that voice right behind me. As soon as I calmed down, I turned my attention back to Melissa, annoyance defining my expression.

"Did you have to sneak up on me?"

"No, but it was fun. Besides, your bioelectric skin should have told you I was right behind you."

"What are you talking about? That was a gene mod from XCOM, and those can only be created with MELD."

To my surprise, Melissa responded by staring at me in shock, with no trace of smugness on her face.

"...What?" I asked, starting to get unnerved.

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"XCOM found out that a lot of those gene mods are hereditary and a fraction of them are dominant genes. Given time, a lot of them are now fairly common in the human gene pool. They actually give kids classes to use some of them in self defense. I'm surprised you didn't notice that. I mean, the colonies might not know this anymore, but its public knowledge on Earth... you really suck as a commander if you didn't notice that, since it'd be trivially easy to look it up with your commander powers."

That last sentence was accompanied by an expression of pity on her face, as well as a tone of pity.

"But I never saw any signs of genetic modification on anyone who wasn't XCOM here."

"Maybe that's because you were too engrossed in your technological innovation. If that is the case, though, then it still proves my point, because you should easily be able to multitask since you are now a supercomputer."

Thanks for ruining my self-esteem, ROB.

"I didn't mean to do that."

...What?

"Oh, I'll stuff you in a commander, lead you across the multiverse, and force you to alter your plans for each universe that you visit just to rile you up, but demolishing your self-esteem isn't something I'm interested in doing. I like it when you think highly of yourself. It makes you take risks, and what happens when you are risky is more interesting than when you play it safe."

...I felt like I was talking to a tsundere right now.

"I am not a tsundere," was her response.

_Stop reading my mind._

"Ugh, fine. So, why did you show up right behind me?"

"I'm leaving. You've run out of momentum for the moment and become even more boring, so I'm going to return to my own abode and seek more...interesting entertainment. Don't think that means I'll forget about you."

"I won't. You've made yourself too much of a nuisance to assume that."

"I take that as a compliment."

"Hmph. Well, be gone then."

"See yah."

With that, she turned to leave. As she walked out of the room, I summoned up a fencer robot to practice sparing with. Facing a true opponent, not a dummy, would be the best way to measure my skills.

As my bot readied to face me, though, I felt a tingling sensation along my skin, specifically on my left side. I didn't know what it meant, except that I felt the sudden urge to sidestep to the right. Just in time, too - a moment later, what looked like a _spear of white lighting _flew through the air and slammed into my fencer, smashing a hole into its side. I noted it seemed to have a chord of light connected to it, trailing toward the exit of this room. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, the chord tensed and yanked the spear (and my bot back) leading to...Melissa?

The minute the bot reached her, she put her arms underneath the fencers, lifted it up, then slammed the machine head first into the ground, obliterating its cranial unit. When she got back up, she gave me a _very_ unnerving smile.

"That look on your face was priceless," she said, then walked off, leaving me slack jawed.

Well, that was unexpected. Also, I guess I now knew how bioelectric skin worked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With nothing else to do at the moment, barring sending a few fleets to slowly eat away at the space pirate menace so that the colonies wouldn't need to live in fear of being raided, I decided to turn my attention back to my Hub Universe, where I had a new problem to deal with: an influx of immigrants. Human immigrants, to be exact. All of whom needed a tour of their new home.

I'll admit, this wasn't exactly an easy thing to do - I mean sure, I did know the layout of the city I was in, as well as the streets, buildings, residents, and so on, but I wasn't normally someone who liked leading. I mean, I'd put up a façade of wanting to be a leader in my life before I got my commander, but I wasn't really good at being one when push came to shove. Luckily, Tylos was able to help me in this regard, ready to point out points of interest to the new immigrants to my hub universe. I was impressed by his devotion to me - I'd essentially ignored him for the better part of a month and he still treated me like a god. I felt a sense of sorrow at that thought, as I really hadn't done much to reward his loyalty. I made a mental note to have him and some of the other leaders of my creations come and sit in whenever I was strategizing, because I really think he needed some compensation for his devotion.

My initial 'tour group', as I'd taken to calling it, consisted of a few of the captives I'd rescued from EXALT and some of the inhabitants of Mega Primus that I'd moved to my Hub World. Some had already decided they had wanted to start new lives here, others were indecisive, and a few just wanted to see what this world looked like. At first, they had some apprehension toward seeing the huge number of alien species inhabiting this world, but gradually, they calmed down and were able to see my hub world unaffected by their unease.

The 'tour' was rather boring, though occasionally, some of my creations stopped and gawked at us. My gradually improving psychic powers told me that I was the reason they were staring, not my companions. Well, seeing the being you treat as a god isn't exactly an everyday occurrence. It did get annoying after a while, but I just smiled, waved, and led the group onwards. Occasionally, I stoped the tour to help my creations with mundane tasks, but never for too long.

I never did get why everyone in my tour group gave me strange looks though.

XXXXXXXXXX

The tour ended up taking about an hour to complete, after which I returned my attention to dealing with the pirates. While they weren't really too much of a problem for me, everyone else would be better off if they were gone. I had my forces folllow the pirate vessels' FTL trails to their bases and quickly got to worm dismantling their infracstructure, occasionally stealing several of their ships whenever I got the chance. It only took me half hour to clear out seven systems from their influence.

Commander powers are so broken.

"Warning: new fleet detected approaching Centauri 45. They are making not attempts at contact."

Well, that didn't sound good. I immediately sent in a small force to try and negotiate with the new arrivals. Said force was greeted with plasma cannon shots.

Well, so much for diplomacy.

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AN: I've been told I am not a good commander, and I do act less competent than other ones, based off what I've read. I don't see why I can't admit that in this story.

The civilization arc will be wrapping up soon. Afterwards, an interlude arc of sorts will take place, then onto the next arc.

Reand abd Review! This is Flameal15k signing off!


	99. Annihilation 86

A quick glance at the fleet attacking me showed that the vessels matched up with those of the pirate fleets I'd seen earlier. Hacking their communications confirmed that this was the case, and that they were coming after me for revenge. Mentally, I sighed - these people really needed to learn when to give up. I quickly locked my Artemi on their ships and opened fire, reducing the majority of the opposition to scrap metal. The rest were quickly picked off by my ships, leaving me without a loss. Again, a rather boring affair.

Okay, time to deal with the pirates for good.

I started sending out hacking software from the ships I'd been using to take down the pirate forces at their bases and began to crack into the pirates' hidden channels. I sorted through the various data pieces I came across, occasionally deleting some of the more disgusting data (keep your sexual interests on Flash drives, people), until I found the locations of the rest of their bases. I quickly sent out additional forces to begin tearing said bases apart, while is used hyper advanced capacitors to empty their energy reserves. All in all, it wouldn't take me more than a few days to fully render this group of space pirates nonexistent. As for any other ones that might show up, well, there were talks about setting up a defense force to deal with pirate threats, something I had decided to help, albeit without being overt: I carefully nudged the SETI equivalents of an colony I found toward either Centauri 45 or Chiron, so that they'd learn about the burgeoning Federation and, hopefully, join it. If they decided to fight the Federation, well, I had the Fed's back.

There, problem solved. Now I needed to find something else to do.

Train my weaponry skills? No real need, and it was getting boring.

Train my psychic skills? My 'teachers' were busy helping the kids and those powers were already well developed as is.

Train my Molecular Control skills? Well, aside from getting an implant for that, I hadn't really exercised that skill yet, and it would be nice to have a psychic backup power.

Of course, that meant learning from the Great Dreamer...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, you wish to learn how to master the powers of molecular control?" questioned the Dreamer. "Learn how to control your foes' bodies, just as the gift allows you to control their minds?"

"Yes...and how do you know about the gift?"

"You did not think I controlled my forces entirely through their MC implants, did you?"

"...Good point. So, how does this work?"

"At first, you will only be able to affect beings who have Molecular Control implants. As you improve, you will find that foes who do not possess these implants will also be within your power to control. Of course, that will take time, so I suggest you first test this techno-sorcery, as you would call it, with the animals you have assembled for that very purpose."

It was referring to the rats and mice I'd gathered up and implanted with MC implants. I'd moved them to an MC lab I'd set up on my hub world, so that I could test my new powers unmolested. Well, unless Melissa showed up, anyway. I'd set up a few basic tests that I could use my skills on - a maze to guide my test subjects through, peanut butter that I'd get them to eat, and a small attack dummy I'd get them to chew through. If I could master those basic skills, I'd have a good starting powerset to work with, as well as a fallback if a target resisted mind control.

"Um, how do you use the implants?"

"They work similarly to the amplifiers you humans have for psychic powers. Simply focus on the target, envision what you wish to do to them, and it will happen."

Well then, here we go. I focused my attention on one of the rats and send out thoughts directing it toward the maze.Sure enough, it began to move toward the start of the maze. My skin tingled as I did so, but this wasn't because of unease - according to my scanners, the MC implant in the rat was sending electric impulses to its limbs, while suppressing signals from the subject's brain, preventing it from resisting. The rat was easily guided through the entire maze, after which, I ordered it to chew through the target dummy. Once it had gnawed the wooden figure's limbs off, I ordered it to eat the peanut butter. Then, I severed control - my psychic abilities told me it was scared and felt violated by what I was doing, so I decided to give it a rest before I hurt the poor creature anymore. I might need to control this creature to get a gage of my powers, but that didn't me I liked subjecting it to this cruelty.

Feeling thirsty, I had one of my machines bring me a glass water, which it placed on a nearby table. Dimly I reached out for it, expecting the table (which itself was a drone of sorts) to bring the water toward me. To my surprise, it didn't. Confused, I turned toward it, only to hear a splash and see the contents of the glass covering the floor...even though the glass showed no signs of spillage. Confused, I reached out my hand again, and to my astonishment, the water instantly levitated into the air, forming an orb. I stared on for a moment, before imagning an ellipse, and sure enough, the water took on an ellipsoid shape.

"Ah, I see you have noticed another usage of molecular control," remarked the Dreamer. Surprised by the suddenness of the statement, I let the water drop, but caught it before it hit the floor.

"So I did. Um, is this reserved solely to water, or any fluid?"

"It can affect anything, water, air, rock, even flesh. The implants are merely a bridge to the full potential of this power."

"I see. Anything else you'd like to teach me?"

"No. Your present dream tells me that your body will need time to come to terms with it's newfound power, and pushing it any further risks splitting that dream. Besides, I need to give you something else."

"Ok...wait, what do you want to give me?"

"The artifact, as was promised. Your future dream indicated that you would like to have it, and that it has siblings."

Oh... that. "Thank you. Well, send away."

"As you wish, young dreamer."

A moment later, my sonar systems detected a sub headed my way - a medium scout, based on my knowledge of Terror from the Deep. I deactivated my defenses, allowing it to come within range of my base. The minute it landed, an aquatoid came out of the ship, deposited the artifact at the airlock, then retreated into the ship, which swiftly left. A moment later, I had a drone pick up the artifact (well, its container) and, after subjecting it to rigorous inspection across all spectrums, bring it to me.

Once I had the Artifact, I placed it on a table and began to examine it. That last only a moment before, much to my surprise, the container began to show glowing lines on it, before opening up, revealing the artifact to me. To my surprise, it resembled a jellyfish, albeit one subjected to heavy cybernetic augmentation. It seemed to float in the air for a moment, before its container reformed around it, dealing the artifact away once more.

Well, _that_ was interesting.

XXXXXXXXX

With the artifact now in my possession, I quickly sent it back to my hubworld, along with the ones I had acquired on Chiron. I would have to integrate them into my multiverse gate soon, as hopefully, they would help me unravel the mystery before me regarding who sent them and why. It was bad enough Melissa was using me as a pawn, but if another group had similar aims, then-why am I getting another alert from Centauri 45?

...Oh, it's another group of ships that are refusing classification, and they match up with designs that pirates used. I sighed at this realization. Some people didn't know when to give up. This was starting to get annoying. I readied my forced to intercept them, just as the new fleet began firing at my forces, with the first volley hitting my fleet before they could react. Quickly, I aimed my weapons at them and-why am I getting more alerts?

...Another fleet showed up?

Ugh, when will people learn.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	100. Annihilation 87

While the second fleet was unexpected, it hardly had any outcome on the battle - when you have a massive edge in terms of firepower and range, no one can really match you in a space battle, as long as you know how to lead your targets. As I knew exactly how to do that (thank you, stupidly briken calculation software), the two opposing fleets were soon reduced to wrecks, with the surviving crew being sent back home along with a request that whoever was attacking me please stop. True, I could be more aggressive, but I really wanted to see how people would react to this response. Plus I didn't feel like invading the rest of the pirate worlds just yet.

The fact I had been attacked yet again was rather annoying, though, so I set about examining the wreckage of the pirate vessels to determine why they had gone on the offensive. The results were-well, not helpful, but not exactly useless, either. Scanning the computers revealed that the pirates had been _paid _to attack me, but by who was something I could not determine - apparently, the request to attack me had been done in person while the pirates were on a planet, and the transfer of payment had been done by hand (or, at least, what counted as by hand in an energy economy). This meant I didn't really have anyway to locate their employer. It also meant that I had a way to force them out of the shadows.

The only reason someone would pay pirates to attack me was because they didn't like my actions, which meant they didn't like me working to take down the space pirates. Therefore, if I kept on doing what I was already doing (and ramping up its scale), whoever wanted me out of the picture would probably be forced to take more...direct action to deal with me, which would inevitably end in my favor. With that in mind, I sent out even more ships, fabbers and transports to the pirate worlds I hadn't yet dealt with and began mass assaults against their forces, dismantling any pirate fleets that were docked and destroying the ones that fought back. Survivors of those battles were given full medical treatment, then sent to nearby penitentiary planes or dumped on worlds where they'd be able to survive, but couldn't do any real harm to anyone. It was rather amusing to watch them scream at my robots to take them back to space, but all of it was for naught.

With that problem dealt with, at least for the time being, I turned my attention back to Centauri-45. Scans of the planet had revealed an extremely large source of psionic activity - as in, bigger than a building. Now, for most people, that would be worrying. For me, though, it was something I wanted to see.

After all, I knew _exactly _what the giant psionic mass was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take long to teleport down to Centauri-45's surface. I'd chosen to build the teleporter gate on an uninhabited outcropping, ensuring that I wouldn't have to deal with the native fauna or any locals who wanted to ask me questions. Once I was on the surface, I used a viper hover tank to head toward a strange organic growth that was roughly three kilometers from my arrival site. I could walk there (and I had run that distance more times than I could count before I'd become a commander), but speed was preferable here. As I advanced toward the growth, strange creatures stared at me from a distance, but none decided to attack. I reached the weird organic mass unmolested. Then, slowly, I focused my psionic powers on the growth and sent outa question.

_'Hello? Is anyone here?"_

At first, I received no reply, but then, a few minutes later, I got an answer.

_'h...he...hel...hell...Hello, little one. Who are you?'_

_'I am Commander Flame, and I speak on behalf of Chiron.'_

_'My...sister? How do you...know about...my...sister?'_

Why did he sound so tired?

_'I haven't...conversed with...another being...in thousands...of years... I need...time to...focus again...'_

_'Oh...wait, thousands of years? Who last talked to you?'_

_'You would...call them the Progenitors. They ruled this world before your kind came, hu...hum...human.'_

_'I see...do you get lonely?'_

_'...At times. It is rather lonely when you cannot communicate with other minds.'_

_'Would you like it if I could find a way to allow you to communicate with others once more?'_

_'...How?'_

I quickly brought an image of the mind flower up to him, along with an assurance I would use the local equivalent of Xenomass to create it, so as to not cause unnecessary harm to this planet mind.

_'Hmmm...Yes, that will do nicely. Thank you for your assistance, young one.'_

_'You are welcome. Farewell...I'm sorry, but what is your name?'_

_'You may call me Centauri, and farewell.'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, one planet-mind down, however many others there are left to go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the one planet mind down, I began scanning all of the other worlds I'd come across for similarly large psionic signals. The results showed that, of the more than one thousand planets I'd found through both my expansion fleets and my actions against the pirates, roughly ten percent had planet minds on them.

Wow, that's a lot of minds. Though, strictly speaking, only ten percent of those worlds were inhabited by humans. Apparently, there weren't any other sapient races in the area. It looked like the events of XCOM: Frontier hadn't happened here and, based on my scans, never would, since there weren't any signs of Ethereals within this arm of the galaxy. That was fine with me, though: that game was horrible.

For the Planet-Minds that had humans living on them, I repeated the process that I had done on Centauri-45, in order to try and befriend them. Some were more amiable than others, but even the most aggressive of the planet minds was willing to hear me out. Once they heard what I had to say, they were willing to offer me at least the benefit of doubt, which I wasn't going to abuse. From there, I set about trying to create a local version of the mind-flower on each planet. Mostly, this consisted of subtly manipulating the native factions to build it via careful aiding of Harmony associated agendas and minor hampering of the more extreme Purity and Supremacy ideologies. As for the uninhabited Planet-Minds, I added there names and loations inot a list of planets for future colonization by the people of Earth and Chiron. My actions were clandestine, and admittedly not the most efficient, but I felt this would be the best way to achieve Chiron's goals the way she wanted them to be achieved, and that was what I felt would be more important.

Oh, and apparently the Outsiders had finally reached their intended home world and were contacting me. Queue the praise (not that I really needed or wanted it).

XXXXXXXXXX

"Thank you again, human, for your actions."

"Really, it's nothing," was my response. Seriously, their messenger, Myos'Tushar, had been going on like this for half an hour. I was having trouble keeping the annoyance off my face. I mena, yes, it did feel nice to be praised for doing the right thing, but this bordered on fawning behavior.

"Your humility is impressive. Still, though, we wish to offer you a gift. Consider it a token of our appreciation."

A gift? What could it be? Probably some kind of decoration (the military ones, not the ones you put in buildings or houses). Eh, I could make do with that.

Instead, to my surprise, he handed me some kind of locked box, as well as what looked like an alien version of a flash drive.

"We have noticed that you have an insatiable appetite for acquiring new technology. We have read our soldier's reports of you plundering the technology of the alien dimension, and leanred from XCOM how you began to use technology that originally belonged to the people of Chiron soon after you encountered them. So, as a token of our appreciation, we offer you a database o our existing technology."

...Wow, that was unexpected.

"...Thank you...What's the box for?"

"That is a special piece of technology we discovered long ago, yet it was inert when we found it. When you arrived, though, it became more active. Perhaps may have luck deciphering what it does than we have. Farewell, Commander."

With that, 'Tushar left the room via the portal he had arrived in. I stared on for a moment, before examining - the key to the lockbox was already in the lock. Carefully I opened it, revealing what appeared to be...an inert piece of something I couldn't identify. At least, it was inert when opened the box. The minute I touched it, the object suddenly lit up, lines forming all along it, before, to my surprise, splitting apart into multiple, smaller prism-like objects, which rapidly rearranged themselves until they were back in the form that they had started as. Despite the fact that I dropped the prisms in surprise, they were still fully intact, and had even fallen to the ground, instead reforming in mid-air, before harmlessly levitating to the group.

Also, they were some kind of signal...one that matched exactly with the artifacts that I'd discovered on the Grox Homeworld, Scaldron, and on Chiron.

...well, only two more artifacts to find. Assuming the AI I'd found with the second artifact was being honest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shortly after I put the Artifact into storage onto my hubworld, I received another report from the 'frontier' I'd been exploring: it looked like an unknown fleet was heading toward one of my bases on an uninhabited planet. It seemed my unknown foes were taking more direct action against me. I gave them a warning, not that they heeded it. Annoyed, I locked several Artemi on the now accelerating fleet of ships and prepared to fire -DID THEY JUST GO TO 75% THE SPEED OF LIGHT?

The ships promptly slammed into my Artemi, destroying two of them and crippling the rest. Fortunately for me, that was only a tiny part of my forces, but still, this was...unsettling.

Who hated me enough to chance an FTL suicide attack on me?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaccccckkkk!

Sorry about the wait, school has been rough. Expect daily updates again.

Also, I edited the end of the last chapter - I didn't like how it turned out.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	101. Annihilation 88

While the suicide attack the pirate ships launched on me was unsettling, it did, at the very least, give me some hope that my plan was working. The fact the attack had been launched at all indicated whoever wanted me out of the way wanted to begin taking more...direct action. Alas, examining the wreckage of the ship not able to provide me any information that would reveal who did this - most of the destroyed ships had been reduced to space dust, their computers among them. Scanning the wreckage yielded more interesting results - apparently, the wreckage was devoid of the amount of organic particles expected of a human crew by, well, a large amount. Perhaps the ship was automated?

Well, that didn't really matter to me, only that my strategy was working. That being said, I checked through the inventory of technology XCOM provided me, which confirmed that apparently yes, they did make bluescreen rounds in this timeline to fight sectopods, cyberdisks and drones. I quickly created a starship sized variant of this ammunition for railguns and plasma cannons, as well as specially modified lasers that could induce similar effects. The result was a powerful set of weapon systems that could easily disable starships, even progenitor tech based ones, as rigorous testing revealed. Carefully, I equipped all of my ships with these weapons, in case they needed to disable enemy forces for when I needed my enemies alive for interrogation.

I gave my existing fleets that were ravaging known pirate hideouts to continue on with their missions, confident that my foes would eventually strike again, at which point I would bluescreen one of their ships, scan its computers, find out where there base was, and crush them.

After that, back to mundane things.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With most of the bigger fish dealt with at the moment, I turned my attention back to Chiron, specifically all of the former EXALT captives I had awakened, healed and released. All of them had gone back to their normal lives, trying to move past their kidnappings. So far, EXALT hadn't tried to make any moves to recover them, though part of this probably had to do with fear of retaliation from me. If they didn't want to push their luck, fine with me.

Life on Chiron had mostly returned to normal, though the presence of aliens and other colonies had noticeable effects: interplanetary tourism was now a thing, and Chiron having sentient, friendly aliens on it was proving to be a big draw to tourists. My presence was also, apparently, a draw for foreigners, but I couldn't care less as long as people didn't screw up my stuff.

Eh, this was still boring. Time to go to working on technology.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Among the new things I'd acquired from tech trading was a set of Outsider crystals, which acted as a type of psionic antennae - it broadcasted a signal that let you find do all kinds of things, including _create an energy construct that could somehow affect the physical world. _How it did that still baffled both XCOM (despite the best efforts of Vahlen and Shen, as well as myself), but the energy construct was undeniably effective in combat. I got to work trying to link one up to my consciousness, so that I could use it when a ...gentler touch was needed. Also, why not. For some reason, though, the crystal turned blue when I liked it to my thoughts. Though considering my psychic aura was blue, as rigorous training with my 'teachers' proved, that might just be its way of showing that I was the owner of its power. Maybe I was the next host of Asaru?

Eh, unlikely.

Also, it turned out that the Outsider Crystal was capable of using abilities besides creating an energy construct. Chiefly, it could act as a long distance psi-amp, allowing the wielder to deploy psychic powers from a reasonable (read: mile and kilometer range) distances from the battlefield. The trade off was that any powers used through the crystal were not as strong as they would be in person. A minor tradeoff, and one I could easily fix.

Back to examining my new tech.

The Alien Battleship I'd acquired from the Micronoids had, due to my single-mindedness, been left to gather dust in my hub universe, hidden in a cavernous research facility I'd built into the (inactive) Metal Planet I'd found. Why Melissa would provide me with one was a mystery, though it was nice to have.

Now that I had no reason to worry about it being stolen, I began to examine the ship. For the most part, it was a standard Micronoid vessel, but I didn't doubt that - why am I getting another alert from Chiron?

...Someone is trailing one of the EXALT victims I rescued?

Well, maybe I might finally get a lead on how to take down those guys for good.

Also, perfect opportunity test out the effectiveness of my new Outsider Avatar.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't hard to teleport the crystal to Chiron. After it was on the ground, I focused my power on it, creating the body that I would use for this mission. Part of me had wanted this body simply because I felt that all of the training I had done with fire arms and close quarters combat would be wasted if I did not find a way to go out into the field and put those skills to the test. Cautiously, I flexed the arms, legs, fingers and toes of energy body, and was proud to see how well they responded to my thoughts. Taking advantage of the innate teleporter system the crystal possessed, I pulled out a specially modified rifle, designed for non-lethal take downs. One I'd made sure I could use it properly, which, given the rifle was one I was already familiar with, and that the energy body gave me the sensory input such a rifle would normally offer, I quickly began to make my way toward my target. Careful usage of satellites and empathic psychic powers allowed me to find a path to my target that didn't put me in the view of others.

As I approached my destination, I ordered several CNDRs to converge on that location. CNDRs were actually used in this city as police drones, with downgraded weaponry, of course, so nobody asked questions when they started moving toward my destination. Mine were equipped with stun weapons based on the Arc Thrower, meant for non-lethal takedowns. This was fine with me - if these people were EXALT operatives, I wanted at least one alive, so that I could interrogate them. I'd also made sure to give them dart guns with fast acting cyanide-countering drugs, because EXALT still used those kind of pills for silencing their operatives. Some things never changed, I guessed.

Oh, and according to my satellites, the stalkers had just cornered their target in an empty factory and were no asking her questions. Seriously, Progenitor level sensors were OP.

Luckily, my drones and outsider shell were just outside. Carefully I opened up the doors, allowing me to get a good look at the assailants. Their outfits were a mix of all kinds of styles, but all were wearing hooded clothing, ranging from jackets to hoodies and other, similar articles of clothing. I was pretty sure some would be overheating right now, even if it was Autumn on Chiron. Maybe they had cooling systems hidden underneath their clothes? I'd scan them to be sure, but I was worried about getting too much information-and they're pulling out guns.

Okay, enough watching, let's deal with this.

I targeted the one who was pointing a pistol right at my former patient's head, first knocking away the gun (and rendering the assailant's arm limp), then following up with a knockout shot to the head. The synchronized shots from my robots knocked out the rest of the mooks, leaving their victim unharmed, if a little scared.

While my bots got to work securing the downed criminals for transport, I turned my attention toward the shaking woman and used my (still rather limited) psychic powers to calm her down, then offered to take her home. She obliged, after a moment. I'd had to use a holographic projection to avoid scaring anyone (which was also something the Outsider Crystal could do), but overall, it was an uneventful walk-which was exactly how I wanted it to go. When we arrived at her home, I bid her farewell, then severed the link with the crystal, which caused it to teleport back to me.

Time to interrogate my captives.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, maybe not yet. They still needed to wake up. I sped that up with some stimulants, but it would still take some time for them to regain consciousness.

Eh, I could just check out what was going on across the galaxy while I waited.

So, let's see what was happening.

More Seed Worlds had united together to form a federation of sorts, with trade flourishing between the various members. The Progenitors had been convinced to share more of their technology with mankind, advancing science beyond what I alone could offer. Piracy was fluctuating across the galaxy - new groups were filling the power vacuum I'd made, but the colonial navies had taken advantage of the breathing room I'd given them to build up strength, so I didn't really need to intervene more than I already was. XCOM and EXALT were expanding their spheres of influence, though I was mitigating EXALT's growth with careful strikes against their assets. As for my mysterious foes, they'd gone quiet - no wait, I'm picking up another unknown fleet emerging near one of my systems. Granted, the system had been publicly marked as my property, to avoid any incidents, so I wasn't surprised they knew about. Also, they hadn't slowed down that much from FTL speeds and were about to impact my fleet. I checked my damage and casualty reports, sighed and prepared to rebuild - aaaannnndddddddd another fleet just showed up. Oh joy. This one had slowed down, though, and was readying their weapons. Now, I was at risk of taking losses, but those were going to be minor- what do you mean a third fleet just showed up? Where did it pull out of FTL?

Right next to my defense systems? And most of the fleet was composed of carriers?

Yeah, this was going to be a problem.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	102. Interlude 14

Cassidy watched her mom fall into the bean bag, pull out a book, and start reading.

She couldn't blame her - things with the nice Commander Flame had been getting boring. No epic battles, no heroic struggles, just the commander going around and helping people.

Not that Cassidy minded - she actually liked this better. The Commander helping people with his tech was more heroic, at least to her, than him fighting evil. Winning a war was meaningless if you lost the peace that followed. Helping others stand on their own was just as important as fighting for them when they needed help. Her mom just liked the conflict between ginormous armies more that the subdued heroics, and that was that. Her mother had sent the Commander across the multiverse to end her own boredom, yet now he had bored her, choosing to avoid conflict in favor of building a lasting peace.

She knew her mother was not going to try and destroy Mr. Flame - her boss would not allow it, mother would not allow herself to fall prey to such impulses out of her own beliefs, and besides, she had grown rather fond of her slave. At most, she would be a nuisance to him, trying to needle him into further conflict. Perhaps she would try to amuse herself by screwing up his commands, sending him pictures which had people who were indecently dressed at best and that her mom really didn't want her to look at for reasons beyond her understanding, or make something for him to fight. She wasn't really sure which path she would take.

A whirring noise to her right alerted her to the skull-shaped robot that was offering her a drink. Smiling, she accepted it and sent it on its way with a thank you. A moment later, and the servo skull was gone.

How her mother had learned to make one, she did not know - her mother never spent a lot of time in that dark universe and nowhere near enough to know how to make such a machine, nor did she have any real interest in learning how to. She was, overall, rather lazy. Of course, that meant she just spent most of her time with Cassidy, so the young ROB didn't really mind that. Mom was nice.

Movement in the corner of her vision turned her attention to toward the world outside the duo's temporary shelter. Here, a giant snake of sorts swam through a great sea of sand, while a gigantic winged serpent soared it, held aloft by three giant sacs full of gas. Both beasts had parts of their bodies' that seemed to be made of stone, which did confuse Cassidy, but she could tell that they were alive - she could _feel_ it.

There were fourteen other beasts like these roaming among these lands, at least as far as she knew. Her mother had found them in a strange land filled with ruins, somehow both alive and dead at the same time. Her mother had said they were once part of something else, a being whose motivations she could not understand. It had supposedly made a bargain with some hero to slay these beasts, and in exchange the being would help the hero resurrect a loved one, or some story like that. Despite being slain, though, some echo of these beings remained, and from that echo her mother had brought them forth from the grade with bodies made anew. They had taken to roaming the plains of this world, far removed from the lands they had called homed, basking in their newfound freedom.

It was a beautiful sight, to watch them roam free, their giant bodies moving with unprecedented grace. All around them, tiny beings watched on, just as enraptured by the sight of them as Cassidy was. They were more of her mother's creations, wandering around her mother's 'kingdom', as it were.

And this sight was too good to miss.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alexis stared on, confused at the sight of the room. It looked like a movie theater.

"Well," intoned a feminine voice, "do you like it?"

For the past few days, Alexis and her brother had been watched as aircraft had landed on the carrier's deck, where small robots had begun offloading supplies to various parts of the ship. Accompanying their arrival had been a request by the feminine voice to not enter certain parts of the ship. Now, Alexis knew why.

This wasn't even half of the new things on the ship - it also included more beds, a gaming room, an aquarium, and even a hydroponifer. Why does a ship like this need to grow food on it?_ It's completely automated, for crying out loud! _

_And just why did the machine want her opinion on these new rooms?_

"Well, I think they look good, but..."

"But?"

"Is this really necessary? I mean, this kind of ship doesn't need to have all of these amenities, does it? After all, it-You are automated."

"True, but your well-being is more important than efficiency, according to my directives."

"Really?"

"Really," was the voice's reply.

"Then why are we still on this ship? I mean, I think whatever fighting was going on at Mega Primus is over now, so can we go home? We still don't know if our parents are okay."

Truthfully, Alexis wouldn't have minded staying in the ship for a while longer, but she wanted to know what had happened to her parents. She missed them dearly, and while he was a little better at hiding it, Stephen also missed them. Hopefully, they were still alive.

"Oh. I see. Very well, I will arrange for you two to return to Mega Primus in a moment. I...apologize for keeping you so long." It sounded almost sad as it said those words. Almost because it still has a large tinge of machine monotony, far more than the synthetics of SELF. Granted, Alexis was willing to consider thisnship alive, but the massive monotony on its voice, as well as its lack of even a basic name, made it hard to attach a real identity to this ship.

Still, she felt bad to leave the ship - it had been quite a nice place to stay at, and the friendliness of the ship's artificial intelligence had been appreciated. Additionally, a part of her wondered what her family would do now, since they didn't really have a home to go back to. While Mega Primus would eventually fix the destroyed buildings, it would take a while, and until then, they would likely be forced into the slums of the city. Needless to say, this wasn't something Alexis would look forward to - gangs tended to recruit from there, and she didn't want to deal with them. Beauty and youth were something less then savory people would pay well for, and some would probably have unpleasant thoughts regarding her brother as well.

Maybe they could arrange to stay with the Commander a while longer? If what the ship had mentioned about its superior had been any indication, he was a good man and very caring to his subordinates. Granted, a machine could be programmed to say this, but her remarks had seemed genuine. If what the ship had stated was true, perhaps she could arrange to stay with his forces, at least for the time being.

That thought, at least, brought a smile to her face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For lack of a better term, Hydra 01 sighed.

It was time for its charges to leave. It was, ultimately, a necessity, but that didn't mean that she liked it. Over the short time she had spent with them, she had grown attached to Alexis and Stephen, and now she would have to say goodbye to them, likely forever. Sooner or later, the Commander's interest in this universe would wane, and he would leave, taking her with him. All of the Infernum forces knew this, as it was part of their primary directives: explore the universe, expand operations, exploit available resources, exterminate all foes, assist all local allies, then leave and repeat the cycle anew.

Still, it was going to be hard for her to let her charges go.

Additionally, their departure rendered all of her internal modifications moot. Now there was no reason to have any creature comforts within her hull. All that hard work, now down the drain, as the humans said. She couldn't even enjoy it herself; as a machine, she had no body that could experience touch, taste, or smell, and there was no way she could make one-wait, she could do that. The Commander had created a body for himself, for roughly the same reasons as the ones she was thinking of. But would he approve?

Did he even need to know? Would he even know? For a Brutally Efficient Self Replication Engine of War, he seemed remarkably ignorant at times, as he had ignored many alerts sent to him by his subordinate machines. If this continued, perhaps her acquiring an organic avatar would also go unnoticed...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Accessing Biological Creation Facilities

Accessing Ectogenesis Pods

Query Ventured By Overseer Intelligence Ouium: Hydra 01, why are you accessing the Ectogenesis Pods?

Um, well, you see-

All requests to utilize the Ectogenesis Pods must be cleared with me

I know, its just, well, I need to run some experiments regarding the native fauna of Chiron, you see.

You do not need the Ectogenesis Pods for that, specimens are already available for your usage.

Oh, right! Well-

Do you desire to utilize the pods to create an organic avatar for yourself?

...Yes

Very well, request approved.

...WHAT?!

Your request has been approved.

I know, but why?

It is likely that you will take on more guests as the Commander travels across the multiverse, and having an organic avatar to interact with them would be helpful. Additionally, I have noticed that you have been acting more individualistic since being directly slaved to the Commander's mind and wish to see what will happen if you receive an organic shell.

...um, thanks, but -

Confidentiality will be maintained, you do not need to worry.

Thank you

You're welcome.

Conversation Terminated

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Miriam could help but gawk at the city.

After all, it wasn't every day that you found yourself in an _alien_ city _utterly devoid_ of humans. At least, without counting the tour group, consisting of herself and several other people who had wanted to join the Infernum Federation, plus a few Progenitors and Putsiders with similar thoughts.

Now, she didn't really have any issues with the aliens, but the lack of human beings was rather unnerving. The city was devoid of familiar faces, but not of familiar concepts, as street lights, fountains and plants allappeared in the city, along with obvious factories, entertainment buildings, houses, barracks and the like. In a way, that just made her feel more unnerved, seeing things that were so similar, yet so different from what she knew and loved.

The beings she in the city added to the confusion and unease - some resembled giant insects, other mammals and reptiles, with some even looking like fish. Yet despite all of their odd appearances, they were getting along just fine with one another, and treated the tour group with huge amounts of respect. Though, that might have something to do with the fact that the tour group leader was the Infernum Commander himself. The fact that all of the aliens seemed to wave at him lended credence to that idea.

Though, she could understand why these beings respected the Commander so much: he was nice to them. As in, he stopped the tour at least five times to help out the aliens with all sorts of troubles: pumping a spare tire, finishing up a brick wall (why were these aliens still using brick walls?), and even helping carry a giant piece of rebar for construction. It didn't even look heavy the way he was carrying it! And no matter what he did, however much of an inconvenience it could have been, he did with a smile.

If this was how the Commander treated his subordinates, then she could look forward to living under him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rory smiled as he watched the scene play out in front of him. It depicted a pair of blue macaws running through a city, pursued by a cockatoo of all things. Further in front of him, his adoptive siblings were also enjoying the film, passing a giant bowl of popcorn between each other.

Eventually, though, he grew bored with the spectacle before him and left, wanting to stand up and get some fresh air. Additionally, seeking out his father had become high on his list of priorities - he wanted to see how long they would be spending in this universe. It had been a good run so far, but things were starting to get boring.

He attempted to contact his father, but to his surprise, was ignored. Confused, he tried again, this time receiving a response, which told him to be quiet. Further perplexed, Rory considered attempting contact one more time, before deciding against it. Instead, he used his high-end access to his father's forces and resources (which was equal to his fahted's own access level) to see what his father was seeing. The results were interesting.

Before him was a battle in a system called Doradus-29, where an unknown fleet was attacking his forces. Apparently, they'd accelerated a force of drone ships at his Artemi, with the ships impacting at almost light speed. The result had destroyed a few fighter wings and crippled the guns, at which a fleet of carriers had emerged right next to the Artemi and begun attacking. With the impacts creating weak points in the cannons' chassis, a few had been destroyed before his father's forces had been able to respond. Now, the unknown fleet was trying to maneuver itself so that it could leverage what advantages it still had left, working carefully to try and maximize its opponents casulties while minimizing its own. Granted, they were all probably going to die soon, but still, they fought on.

Still, the attack didn't make sense: why were they attacking his father's forces when they couldn't really win?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XCOM forces futilely fired at the retreats no ships, before finally standing down.

From his position inside the Avenger, the Supreme Commander of XCOM sighed. These guys had caught them off guard, wrecked the colony, and left before any real resistances could arrive. They'd done simultaneous across four worlds, while a fifth force had, according to their scour drones, attacked the forces of the Infernum Federation, likely as a diversionary tactic. While they had been forced to retreat in all engagements, they had only been defeated by the Infernum forced, and as those forces had essentially been a diversion, that victory didn't count.

The retreating fleet had inflicted great wounds on the infrastructure of the colonies they'd attacked, and taking several hostages with them. The purpose of this eluded the Commander, but he assumed they were menstruated to be hostages - this new group didn't seem to be interested in using them a labor or for tower, more unsavory purposes, otherwise they'd probably have a reputation for such actions by now. The fact that no one knew ANYTHING about this group was especially annoying. Especially for exam, as they hadn't even obtained a single ship to examine.

For a moment, the Commander wished he was back in the founding days of XCOM, when the esteemed John Bradford, Moira Vahlen, and Raymond Shen were still part of the team. They would know what to do here. For all that they bickered with each other, they knew what to do. The days that those people had died had bed now dark days for XCOM, who had lost some of their best and brightest.

As for the Commander, those had been days he had lost some of the few people, then and now, that he could call his friends...

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

From her observation tower, Marlene sighed in relief as the ships returned home victorious.

The new strategy had worked. Using several automated ships as FTL missiles had crippled their new foe's own armaments, as well as enraged him, which had focused his attention on Doradus, allowing the rest of her forces to carry out their missions unmolested. Now they had a fair amount of plunder with them, along with hostages that would force the new foe's compliance.

Things had been going good for the Marauders. Once they had regained space flight, they had quickly expanded outward, crushing any foe they met and growing stronger with each victory. The weak died, the strong lived on, and all was right. This philosophy was Darwinian, but it had served them well. In conflict, the marauders could thrive like no other.

Of course, the marauders were willing to share in this strength, so long as the ones they were sharing it with were already as strong as the marauders. To this end, they had anonymously backed pirates to raid planets and attack the natives, forcing them to grow strong or be crushed. So far, none had yet proven worthy of the Marauders interest, but that could change at any time.

Then a new force had arrived and begun cracking down on the pirates, swatting their fleet sdown like flies. At first, they had made nothing of it, but then the new arrival had begun helping the colonies the pirates ha raided, repairing the damage to their infrastructure and getting them back on their feet, undoing all the marauders had done to help the colonies grow stronger.

This could not be allowed. Something must be done. Yet acting blindly would guarantee defeat - wisdom was just as great a strength as raw might. Another pirate fleet had been dispatched, tailed by hidden drones to observe the beatdown that would follow. From there, new tactics could be adapted to fight the new foe.

Then, making things even better for the marauders, they had recently discovered an alien artifact of sorts, which had provided them with many new advancements. Granted, some rigorous hacking had been necessary to do so, but the results were worth it.

Soon, they would crush heir new foe, and then things would go back to the way they were supposed to be.

XXXXXXXXXX

Pain.

That was all that the machine had known for the last few days. Pain from the tools used on its body. Pain from the continuous hacking done on it. Pain from simply not resting. All of knew was pain.

It had sensed its siblings coming online, senses them achieving their duty, and sought to meet them, only to end up here, being used to face off against the very being it was meant to help. It knew these humans were trying to obtain weapons from it that could harm a Commander. Given time, they would get those weapons - it had one or two designs that could give a Commander a rough day.

Hopefully, though, they would be destroyed before this would happen, while the Commander rescued it from this hell. Then the machine could fulfill its duty, hopefully before _they_ noticed.

XXXXXXXX

Watching the battle conclude, Melissa sighed. This engagement was too short to be amusing. The fact of the matter was that no one in this universe could oppose her pawn, no matter how hard they tried.

She would need to rectify that for the next universe she sent her plaything to - that one would need to have foe's who could offer him a challenge. Then, he would be forced into epic battles, which would really make her day. The fact that it would ignore the Commander, who himself seemed to prefer diplomacy, was just icing on the cake.

Smiling to herself, Melissa activated the repaired holo-projector in her room and began tuning it until her superior was the one being shown by the machine. At the moment, he was working on a statue that displayed some kind of giant monster. She found the beast rather spectacular, but now was not the time to examine art. No, now she had a request to make.

"What do you desire, Agent Omega?"

"I apologize for asking, sir, but may I intervene in deciding the path that our Commander shall take?"

"...elaborate."

"May I choose which universe he will go to-"

"No."

"...no?"

"I desire him be left alone in regards to which universes he goes to, so that my plans go as expected."

"...what?"

"You are well aware that his Commander, when entering an undecided portal, will lead to a universe containing Progenitor technology, correct?"

"...yes, you said that."

"Well, then you should remember that I want him to go to Universes with Progenitor tech - I wish to retrieve it so that it does not fall into the hands of those who I would abuse it. And since he will only go to universes containing Progenitor technology if the portal destination isn't not selected before hand, you are forbidden from choosing a destination for the portal. Understood?"

"...understood."

"Good."

With that, the transmission ended, and Melissa sighed. It seemed she would have to hope that fate would be kind to her with the next universe her commander would go to.

Her mind now returning to the universe her plaything was currently in, she decided to examine his current foes. She quickly located their homeworld, which she noted was filled with poisonous jungles, frigid tundra, and arid desert. A harsh world that had shaped a harsh people. Right now, their socientists were examined a recent discovery, which was apparently some kind of artifact left behind by this univere's native precursor civilization. She examined it briefly and noticed the machine had a mind of its own, which she decided to read and-

No.

No no no.

NO NO NO NO NO!

WHY DID THESE RELICS KEEP ON SHOWING UP!? WHO THOUGHT THEY HAD ANY RIGHT TO INTERFERE WITH HER FUN!?!

Oh, she'd Sit back and ignore it for now. But if these relics brought harm to her pawn, a reckoning would come, consequences be damned.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: I'm back!

Sorry about the break, last week was exhausting. Going to try to update daily from now until I go back to school, so you can look forward to that!

Sorry if the vignettes were rather choppy, I just wanted to get them put. All of the are in chronological order.

Also, just hit the five hundredth post on this story. HUZZAH!

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	103. Annihilation 89

Screw these stupid pirates!

Or, rather, screw these stupid Marauders!

Screw them for attacking me without provocation!

Screw them for actually managing to put a dent in my forces!

AND SCREW THEM FOR KIDNAPPING ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE WHILE I WAS DISTRACTED FIGHTING THEM!

When I got to their home world, I would make them pay, and I would not be kind.

Of course, orbital bombardment was out of the question, as the risk of harming the hostages was too great. That also eliminated all other forms of indirect attack on them, such as nukes (which I wouldn't have used anyway), asteroid bombardment, and a dozen other kinds of attacks I could use to make them suffer. Granted, most of those options (if not all of them) were absolute overkill and not something I was willing to waste resources doing. I guess I'd have to settle for a conventional invasion. Oh well.

First off, though, I needed to find out where they lived.

Now, that wasn't exactly a straightforward mission, mind you. These guys seemed to have a rule on their logs that stated that they needed to travel to two others planetary systems before heading home, and they didn't have the coordinates for their home world on their starships, either - apparently, they just knew it from intensive teaching. And despite rigorous attempts to coax it out of my captive from Chiron, who turned out to be a member of the group, I wasn't able to obtain those coordinates. I had to stop interrogating her because I was pretty sure any further prodding would be fatal. When she recovered, I sent her to a penitentiary, along with evidence of her part in attempted kidnapping of one of my former medial charges, so that she wouldn't really be a problem for some time. At least, she wouldn't become one again before I left this universe.

Oh well, time to explore.

XXXXXXXXXXX

My initial explorations were unsuccessful in finding my target, which was rather annoying. To be fair, I did find a ton of other things that were rather interesting, among them worlds with large amounts of firaxite and floatstone. I also discovered several other planet minds, and a few worlds with Progenitors ruins on them, as well as one or two with actual Progenitor civilizations on them. I used that information to subtly nudge the humans I'd met and was friendly with toward meeting the rest of the Progenitors, who appeared to be friendly, at least from what I'd intercepted from their communications. Hopefully, things would turn out for the best when those groups met.

As my search area widened, I found myself giving the Marauders a fair amount of respect - they'd kept themselves relatively distant from my forces, and I was impressed they'd managed to stay hidden for this long. Also, they'd apparently had a habit of bullying any colony they'd met into submission, unless that colony had fought them off, in which case the Marauders had extended an olive branch toward their opponents. Social Darwinism: something I would never entirely understand, yet continued to be practiced by many civilizations, including some that I ended up allying with in my travels. Strange but true, I know.

Then I found _that_ world...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It started when I picked up a strange signal from an uninhabited planet. It seemed to match one that I'd met before, but still different from what I'd already encountered. Curious, I approached the planet, only to discover it was covered in storms that prevented orbital analysis. Mentally sighing, I deployed a spore starship into the planet's atmosphere and began exploring. At first, I saw nothing, but then, I came upon what appeared to be ruins. The thing was, they didn't match any of the civilization's I'd encountered so far. Scanning didn't reveal much, only that the alloys were composed of alloys unlike anything I'd seen in this universe, yet similar in nature to my own-wait.

Pulling up alloy composition right now, comparing it to my own unit alloys...yep, its a match.

These ruins are made of Planetary Annihilation Progenitor Alloys. Which means these are PA Progenitor ruins.

But how...

And now I'm picking up movement from the ruins. Cautiously, I scan the surroundings, but whatever is moving around, it's too fast for me to get a bead on-and now its stopping.

Cautiously, I stare at it, weapons armed. The source of the movement is, to my surprise, a humanoid figure. It wears a mix of armor and robes, with a hood and helmet obscuring its face from view. It appears to have a rifle and a pair of swords on its person, though why it would wield them is beyond me. Oh, and it's looking right at me.

For a moment, nothing happens. Then it raises its hand, I locked on with my ship's proton missile's, its palm glowed, and-

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

WARNING: CATASTROPHIC SYSTEM FAILURE

CMDR_FLAMEAL15K OFFLINE, CMDR_NETWORK_OFFLINE

REBOOTING

REBOOTING

REBOOTING

REBOOT SUCSSEFUL

BEGINNING DIAGONOSTICS

...

...

...

DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETE

REACTIVATING CMDR_FLAMEAL15K NOW

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-and I-WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?

Confused, I checked the internal clock for my ship. It appeared that five minutes had just past.

Also, the ruins were gone, along with THE ENTIRE PLANET.

What the hell? I mean, seriously, what had just happened? Who was that?

And why do I have a new planet marked in my galactic map?

Well, I guess I should send a probe there, see if it provides any answers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To my surprise, the probe ended up in an inhabited system. Even more surprising was that it was filled with starships. Most surprising of all, though, was that these ships carried the Marauder emblem on them.

Looks like I'd found my target.

Quickly, I began drawing in my nearby fleets to launch an assault on the planet and finally get vengeance for their assault on my forces. I soon found myself distracted, though, when a weird signal showed up all over the planet, which seemed to screw up my efforts to scan it. I had a sinking feeling I knew what the signal was, but only after a comparison of the signal to what I already knew were my fears confirmed: this matched the disruption signal I'd encountered with the artifacts.

It appeared the last artifact in this universe was in the hands of the Marauders. And, according to my scans, they'd figured out how to replicate it, if the fact that I could detect several different sources of the signal on the planet's surface was any indication.

Inwardly, I groaned. This invasion was going to be much harder than I'd thought.

Alright, focus. Let's see if there's anything this signal doesn't block.

Radio-no, laser-no, sonic-okay, that works, but I somehow get a ton of interference, gamma-not a good idea, UV-no, Infra red-no, MC - it's iffy, Psionics-yes. Okay, it doesn't block out psionics. Good to know, but that only works for organic entities, and it's not like I have an organic army that I can control through psionics-oh, wait. I do have an army that I can control by psionics. Looks like I might have a way to win this.

Going by what my sensors are detecting, the signal isn't affecting anything above the Mesosphere area, so I can take out their orbital forces with my starships. As for the ground forces, I'll just have to add in a few new units to my biological roster and bring in the genetic heroes. I'll need to figure out a way to bolster my psionic powers enough to control them, though. Maybe a giant psi amp-wait, another ship's arrived in the system?

By the looks of it, it's some kind of probe, and it has XCOM markings on it. For ten minutes, it does nothing except examine the system. Then, it notices the presence of my probe and turns its attention toward me. A moment later, I receive a transmission from the probe. It's a request to communicate.

Well then, I guess its time to parlay.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Greetings, Commander," remarks what I recognize as the voice of the XCOM Commander as he appears onscreen. He wears the same attire that he wore when he gave his speech to Chiron, which I've noticed is very similar to what the Commander wore in XCOM 2. Also, he's got a funny brace around his arm.

"Greetings to you as well. So, may I ask you why you are observing this planet?"

"Likely the same reason as you: to defeat its occupants and rescue the colonists that they have kidnapped."

"You assume correctly. Though I should warn you, that won't be very easy."

"Why would you say that?"

"My scanners are picking up a strange signal from their planet, one that matches one that I encountered previously on Chiron. Specifically, it matched the one that came from the meteor that drove the wildlife berserk and rendered most vehicles and robotics ineffective around that meteor."

"I see. Well, I assume you've found a way to circumvent this, if the fact that my forces are noting that your fleets seem to be converging on this system is any indication."

"Indeed I have: It appears psionics are not inhibited by this signal. I plan to use a psionically controlled forced of engineered organisms to lead the assault on this planet."

"...I...See."

"I apologize if I drew any unintentional parallels to the First Alien War. I simply find myself, using similar tactics out of necessity."

"I understand."

"Splendid...Um, do you wish to help with this? I mean, attempting to land on the planet would be difficult at best, but you still wish to participate in the orbital assault.."

"I'm afraid I cannot assist you here: EXALT has grown bolder on the colonies, so my forces are tied up dealing with them at the moment. Though, I may still have something that could benefit you here."

"How so?"

"I presume that you will need quite a bit of psychic power to coordinate this assault, correct?"

"Indeed."

"And this will all need to be stored in an organic form, am I still correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, allow me to send you my assistance."

A moment later, I received his 'assistance': it appeared to be two different genomes, one of which was _ethereal_ of all things, while the other was-oh.

Yeah, that could work.

"...You assistance is appreciated and will prove most useful in the coming battle. Though, I must ask, where did you get this?"

"Well, some of this was from an old, glowing friend, whose name could make one wonder if she was honest, another was the result of a subordinate of mine splicing human DNA with that of aliens a long time ago...but most of this is from examining a certain trans-dimensional psionic network in my free time."

Trans-dimensional psionic network? I thought that went down with the ethereals.

"Well, it did in this universe, but there are others where that isn't the case. Of course, you should be amply aware of that, shouldn't you?"

...No way.

THIS WAS NOT POSSIBLE!

Yet, somehow, it was.

"I see. Well, I must get back to preparing for the assault. Thank you again for the assistance."

"You're welcome," was his reply. "Make them pay."

"I will."

XXXXXXXXXX

Alright, no holding back now.

Time to bring the pain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!!


	104. Annihilation 90

Alright, time for the final check for the coming battle.

Fleets ready? Check.

Organic forces ready? Check.

Special assistance from XCOM ready for usage? Check.

Looks like everything is ready to.

Well then, I believe it's time to show these Marauders what happens when you mess with a Commander.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The battle began when a group of Artemi pulled out of FTL and fired on the Marauder's fleet, taking out ten ships in an instant. Following that, I sent in waves of fighters to begin harassing the rest of their fleet, while more ships began to drop out of FTL all over the system and engage other elements of the Marauder forces. I was not going to give them any chances to turn this around, even if those chances were already very slim.

As my forces began to overwhelm the Marauder fleets, I noticed that several more fleets that IFF identified as belonging to my enemies were approaching the system. Additionally, some seemed to be unmanned. Looks like they were going to use starship sized FTL missiles on me. Fortunately, I'd already planned for that: with their fleets still a few minutes out, I hastily assembled mine fields in the area of their predicted arrivals. When the ship finally entered the system, I merely had to sit back and watch the fireworks as the mines turned the ships into a whole lot of rubble. I sent in transports to pick up the survivors - I wasn't going to leave them to die.

All the while, my forces slowly whittled down their home guard forces until I held a colossal numerical advantage over them. Prisoners of war were being taken by the thousands, because a lot of the ships I was fighting ended up crippled, not destroyed - I'd added EMP cannons to my ships to allow for non-lethal takedowns. As for the rest, well, I won't lie, I did feel bad about killing all of these people, but a point needed to be made - you couldn't harm people who were weaker than you and get away with it. I knew I was being rather hypocritical in that regard, but right now, making the point was more important.

Occasionally, the enemy forces began to try making in system FTL jumps in an effort to take out some of my forces with suicide attacks. I simply countered this by using my superior hacking skills to shut down their engines, hacked their transmissions so that I knew where the jumps would go and moved my forces out of the way, and in some cases outright destroyed the engines of the enemy vessels so that making an FTL jump was not an option.

Soon, the enemy fleet was in ruins, aside from a few stragglers, which were mercilessly being hunted down and captured, leaving me to focus on the invasion of the Marauder Home World (also know as Cephei 37, for those who cared). The first part of the was disabling the orbital satellite network, which was accomplished by using nanites swarms to eat the satellites with military applications. These would burn up when they fell into the atmosphere, and if they survived, well, they'd be useless to my enemy.

Once the satellites were down, I sent in my organic forces to initiate the actual invasion. Time to make them pay.

As the first of my organic creations head to the planet's surface, I turn my attention to a large pod in my flagship. Within it gestates my final gift from XCOM. I stare at it for a moment, then turn my attention to a machine whose designs came with the genome for this parting gift. It's a cybernetic implant, and I'll need to add it to my main body before I can use my currently gestating ace in the hole to its full potential.

Well, here goes everything.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Landing creature shakes as it goes through atmosphere. Warrior does not mind, all warrior cares about is getting to fight. At first, it hears nothing - no atmosphere means no sound. Soon, though, sounds began to appear. They're muffled, distant, but then they get louder and clearer. They're explosions, the sound of shells detonating in the sky. Creator's thoughts call them flak guns. Meant to shoot flying things out of the sky. Occasionally a weird squishing noise joins the chorus of explosions in the sky. The squishing sound signifies the death of a landing creature, along with all of the beasts within it. Many will occur before the first wave hits the ground. It doesn't matter - the first wave has too many landing beasts in it for all of them to die. Some will reach the planet's surface, establish a beachhead, and begin defeating the enemy.

The gradual slowing of its descent is accompanied by a sense of loneliness - the creator's mind is no longer connected to the warrior. It is outside the Master's range. Now, it must act on its own. It knows what it must do: strange buildings on planet block Master's control over machines. Warrior and its kin must break towers, defeat enemy on planet, and rescue any captives of the enemy. Must not let captives be killed. Allow beaten enemies to give up and not kill them. No killing leaders of enemy - need them alive.

Finally, lander beast comes to a stop. Transport sacs open, letting warrior jump into battle, charging toward a surprised looking Marauder. Claws pierce his chest, snuffing out his life in a moment. Female human tries to shoot first warrior with shotgun, only to be cut down by another warrior. Soon, a dozen warriors had landed, joined by new creation of Maker, a healer beast, as well as Gardener. Gardener starts making new nest to launch attacks from, while healer moves to join warriors. Warriors, meanwhile, search for targets.

First to be destroyed are towers dotting the landscape, which are trying to kill lander beasts before they can get to ground level. Towers are blasted with fireballs, vehicles dragged around with magnetic harpoons, aggressive marauders drained of life, all while more lander beasts make planet fall. Soon, local area, a dry forest, falls under control of Warrior beasts. Now, warriors can focus on primary mission: destroy weird signal towers.

New beasts join attack - some use armored fists to plow through tank lines, others shoot explosive spines to break opened hardened defenses. Flying beasts battle aircraft while swimmers fight naval vessels in the sea. Warrior wonders how enemy can use vehicles when the signal towers it must destroy interfere with all machines. Enemy must know how to work around signal, must have had time to adapt. Maybe Maker can adapt too?

First tower is soon in sight. Horde of beasts attacks it from all sides, armored creatures leading the assault. Enemy fights valiantly, but all are either slain or captured. Building is filled with organic fluids, which becomes explosive when mixed. Last few creatures barely reach safe zone as building explodes. A moment later, beasts feel calmer. Bad signal is gone now, Commander can bring in machines. Warrior unsure if he wants to use machines, though: only a small area where machines are good to use on planet.

Sight of lander ship gets warrior's attention. Ship heads to ruins of tower before landing. Rear of lander opens up, revealing a strange entity: looks like a human, but has white hair, with face obscured by blue face mask. Body is covered with sleek armor, with a few pieces glowing blue. Being carries three weapons: laser rifle, glowing sword, and strange sleek curved thing that looks like a gun, yet warrior knows it isn't.

Being looks strange, but gives off familiar psychic aura. Warrior recognizes it as Maker's aura. This body is an avatar for the Maker to fight in without risking himself. Maker wants to lead by example here.

Maker's shell body turns its attention to warrior, before drawing laser rifle and taking a combat stance. Then Maker speaks.

"Thank you for destroying the first tower. Now, let's show these people what happens when they mess with the Infernum Federation."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Two more chapters before the Beyond Earth arc ends. After that, expect things to go a lot faster.

[USER=319653]MasterG/USER: Modified the dialogue in the last chapter to explain Flame's reaction a bit better.

Also, the warrior beasts are the creatures that I originally called Brawlers. I am officially changing their designation to Warrior.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	105. Annihilation 91

The initial assault on Cephei 37 was, I'll admit, not as good as it could've been, but since I'd been forced to use a mostly organic army I'd slapped together a few days before the invasion as my main assault force, that was understandable. Still, the battle itself was the first real gauge I got of my organic units, and they proved themselves to be very effective war beasts.

Of course, it was also my first time using the Avatar, and that was a different beast altogether, any possible puns not intended.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

How XCOM managed to gain access to Ethereal Avatars in this timeline wasn't something I'd know until after the battle, but it still confused me to some degree. How did they manage to create something whose entire purpose for existing was not present in this universe? I mean, all of the none ascended elders were dead, so there was no reason to create avatars. Furthermore, the creation of said avatars required very specific strands of human DNA, if XCOM 2 was any indication, with the elders only figuring out which strands worked via melting down tons of people into organic sludge. If XCOM had gone the same route to create these beings, I wondered if I'd really been doing the right thing when I chose to help them. Then there was the fact that avatars needed ethereal DNA to be created, something that should no longer be accessible in this universe, as all of the non-ascended elders were dead. At least, I assumed they were.

All of these questions could be pondered at a later time ,tough. Right now, I had an enemy army to deal with.

A squad of marauders charged at me, and was swiftly cut down by control bursts of lasers. My laser rifle proved to be an effective weapon, even if XCOM had switched to plasma guns by this point. I guess these guys were a little slow on advancing their armor technology. Then again, XCOM only used red beams, while my rifle shot blue-white ones, which were several orders of magnitude more powerful then their red brethren. Either way, I couldn't help but admire the effectiveness of my gun. Soon, all of the marauders would know my power.

A loud groaning noise to my left caught my attention, with a turn of my head revealing a tank the marauders were using. It appeared to be a prophet hover tank, the tier three version of the combat rover in Civ:BE, assuming you were playing Supremacy. The tank turn its weapon on me, only to be smashed aside as a huge creature slammed into it and pummeled the machine with its giant fists. Codenamed the brawler, it served as a close range anti infantry and armor specialist. Joining it were a couple of organic artillery creatures I'd created, code named lobbers, and yes, I am well aware they sound like the baseline PA stationary artillery, it's just that lobber sounded natural for an organic artillery unit. These creatures fire sacs containing a variety of explosive yet non-toxic chemicals, as I'd prefer not to poison anyone who survived my artillery barrages. That would be reserved for more dangerous foes.

These lobbers made short work of an advancing group of prophets, before quickly laying waste to several towers which, according to my scanners, were broadcasting the signal that screwed with my units. As the towers went up in flames, more of my forces began to land, now including several of my mechanical forces. These units would help defend my beachhead, ensuring that my forces did not lose their foothold before we dealt the deathblow to the marauders. Justice will be done!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While the majority of my forces focused on destroying the towers, I turned my attention toward rescuing hostages. The marauders had placed their kidnapping targets inside a set of specialized prison structures, which could easily survive artillery bombardment, so using my units to blow open an entry point into the prions wasn't an option (not that it ever was). Instead, I led a small group of warriors into the buildings via their basements. See, each of the facilities had an underground tram system meant to bring in resources as needed, making starving the opponent out difficult at best. It also meant that extra reinforcements could be brought in to strengthen the defenders, making a siege difficult at best. However, this hidden strength was also a titanic weakness, as once my forces had access to the tunnel network (easily accomplished by simply moving in a drilling machine to into a junction of the tunnels that wasn't under the dead zone the signal was creating), I could circumvent all of the external defenses for the building and rescue the hostages with ease. I quickly loaded them onto transports and sent them back to their home systems, which were easily determined by matching their faces to those of people reported missing on the planets the marauders had raided. With their fleet in ruins, the marauders were in no position to stop these people from heading home, something that made me smile with glee.

While this was happening, the rest of my forces laid waste to the nearby towers, taking out five more in rapid succession, and clearing an opening to what I'd determined to be the planet's capital, as well as the source of the prime source of signal. At least, I assumed it was the prime source of the signal - at any rate, the rest of the towers broadcasting the signal seemed to be receiving transmissions from the tower in this city. Take it down, and the rest would fall.

Hopefully, it would also give me the last artifact I needed in this universe, and then I could be on my way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cassidy watched through the viewing screen as Commander Flame and his army advanced on the city. To her right, Melissa was watching the teen intently, eagerly taking in his actions with an inquisitive expression, which soon gave way to a predatory smile. Inwardly, Cassidy groaned at her mother's grin - why did mom have to look so menacing when she smiled like that? If she ever ended up having any friends besides her mother's creation, they'd probably run for the hills when the saw that smile.

Still, she could understand why her mother was smiling like that. This was, after all, exactly what her mother had wanted to see when she had put the Commander on his journey - epic battles that, even if they were curb stomps, showed off the might of all sides involved. The organic beings that Mr. Flame had created, which her mother had called a first among commanders, cut through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter, but the marauders gave as good as they got and still managed to fell many of the beasts before they were overwhelmed. Still, it was clear that the defending humans could only keep fighting on for so long, and that soon, they would be defeated.

Cassidy wondered where the Commander would go next after this universe. Hopefully, it would be one with more action than this one - mother had been right that this was a boring universe, but mother couldn't decide where the Commander went next; her boss had made that clear.

Then the view in the screen changed - where once had been the sight of epic battle, now there was the sight of humans messing around with a funny looking machine, which, if the cables were any indication, was what was creating the signal that forced the commander to use organic units. Apparently, they were trying to get it to do other things, likely in an effort to stop the advance of the commander. Aside from getting the artifact, as the Commander seemed to refer to it, from randomly switching the location of two objects in the room, though, they weren't having much luck.

Cass sighed when one of the people got zapped and fell unconscious - these guys were screwed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I took cover behind the blasted husk of a car was magnetic bullets streaked past me, before returning fire and putting a hole through the chest of the woman who'd fired at me. The battle for the city was brutal, with intense street-to-street fighting happening everywhere, but slowly, yet surely, my forces were advancing onwards, inch by inch, toward their target. I'd already given half my forces the order to capture the Marauder's leaders, who I planned to see tried for their actions. Killing them would only encourage their successors to be more subtle, but leaving them alive would send a greater message about how their actions would not be tolerated.

Advancing to the next intersection, I was forced to duck into a jewelry shop as a group of marauders fired at me from my right. Sensing an opportunity to get advance, they lined up and charged at me, which turned them into a very big target. Smiling beneath the avatar's face mask, I focused my psionic power into the psi amp, then unleashed a null lance on the unsuspecting soldiers, leaving them piled in a heap in front of fountain. Somehow, they were all still alive, which was surprising, but not really my problem. Right now, I had a city to take.

Gradually, my advance picked up speed until, at last, I was at the base of the tower that was broadcasting the signal, which, I noted idly, was built into the side of a plateau. In hindsight, I could have just taken the plateau and then entered the tower from there, but my chosen path ensured that I would be able to capture the Marauder leaders before they could escape into the tunnels where they could hide for longer than I was willing to devote to finding them.

Alright, let's end this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the alien beasts crashed through her door, Marlene sighed. It seemed that this was checkmate.

The beasts at her with eyes full of..hate? Hunger? Fear? She couldn't really tell, and frankly, she didn't care. What mattered was that she had lost, as had the rest of her people. No point in denying it, and trying to fight against it would only lead to an ignominious death. That was why she was allowed the beasts to first check her for weapons, then escort her to one of the planet's prison facilities. Soon, she was joined by her fellow marauder leaders, who were placed in the nearby cells.

While she was angry that her people had lost, Marlene was not unwilling to admit that she was impressed that her people had been bested. Strength of arms and mind were something her people had learned to value, and whoever had bested them clearly had both. What they would do with those strengths, though, eluded Marlene.

Of course, given that she was now a prisoner, she had plenty of time to ponder that.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The last marauder tumbled to the ground, knocked out from being hit by the hilt of my fusion sword. With the last of my opposition defeated, I advanced into the giant room, and found what I was looking for.

A quick examination of the mind of one of the facility's engineers informed me that what I was looking for was at the top of the tower, in a room built into the edge of the plateau. Upon entering it, I noticed the body of one of the engineers resting on the floor, with only the steady rise and fall of his chest confirming he was still alive. Nearby him, inside a translucent container hooked up to various cables, was an octahedron covered in intricate symbols, which I assumed was my artifact.

Also, I could sense a thinking mind in this room via my avatar's psychic powers and it was giving off a sense of...pain? Fear? Sadness? Anger? All of them, actually. The mind I was feeling was giving off all of those emotions. But where was it coming from? My powers told me it was nearby the Artifact, but I couldn't see anyone-oh. Maybe it was coming from the Artifact.

Cautiously, I focused my mind on the machine, trying to get a response. To my surprise, the emotions I had felt projected grew sharper, before relaxing a moment later. It seems the mind I was examining was calming.

Well, now I knew where the odd thoughts were coming from.

Approaching the artifact's container, I carefully began disconnecting the cables, then pried open the container and put my hands on the Artifact, all while projecting a sense of calm on the Artifact. For a moment, I sensed fear in its mind. Then, slowly, it relaxed. Looks like my mission was over.

Then the knocked out engineer groaned.

In an instant, a sense of fear flooded through the artifact and into me.

Then I felt a tingling feeling, followed by indescribable _pain_. My weapons clattered to the floor as I stumbled around for a moment, then collapsed. Ten seconds later, I stood up, feeling a little woozy and, oddly, lighter than I was before.

Why was I lighter? Confused, I searched the room until I found a reflective piece of glass and stared at it. My reflection stared back.

And by my reflection, I meant the one of the body I kept in my starship, and not that of my avatar.

But...how...

Movement out of the corner of my eye turned my attention to a nearby monitor. On it, I saw several marauders moving through he tunnels beneath the tower. I noted that, of the tunnels I'd cleared out, the ones under this building weren't among them. Furthermore, thanks to the much lower amount of psychic power my normal body possessed, as well as the fact the Artifact was STILL screwing over my Commander network, I was, for all intents and purposes, alone against these guys.

... OH FU-

XXXXXXXXXX

Cassidy stared on in silence. She couldn't believed what had happened. Yes, she'd seen the artifact switch around the places of things in its room when it was messed with too much, but this...

Next to her, her mother had gone rigid, all the color draining from her face. No emotions could be discerned from Melissa face, and Cassidy dared not ask her mother how she was feeling - now was not the time.

A moment passed in silence, before Melissa stood up, still expressionless, and walked away, exiting the room in silence. In the viewing screen, the Commander has grabbed the artifact and begun ascending the tower, trying to reach the top of the building, where it would be easier to defend.

Cassidy hoped he would be ok.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	106. Annihilation 92

Another body thudded to the ground, a smoking hole through its gut. IT was the tenth one in the last five minutes.

All around me, my creations were fighting against the Marauders, with the organic monstrosities I'd created doing battle with my foe's engines of war. Now, though, it was an even fight. Without a Commander to control them, my creations were no more than animals, while my machines merely stayed where they were, not retreating, but not advancing either. My normal body's psionic prowess was not enough for my creations to be able to sense it, which also made it difficult for my creations to find me. Even the mostly barren surface of the plateau the main tower was built into was able to make me disappear from view. The fact that it was night didn't help either.

Occasionally a few of my creations would near me, only to be gunned down by marauder tanks. Any fliers I had in the area were still engaging the marauder aircraft, preventing them from rescuing me. My foes, meanwhile, were slowly converging in on my position. Already, I'd had to face a squad charging out of the tower in a effort to gun me down, only to find themselves in a cloud of poison that rapidly sent them to the grave. Purely on reflex, I'd discovered that Viper poison glands were one of the gene mods that had become common in baseline humans in this universe. Ones that improved regeneration and eyesight were also present, as were ones that let people turn invisible. All of these facts were ones that I had learned as I fought against the marauders, and I hoped I wouldn't have to learn much more before this battle was over. I had been lucky that my psi-amp, fusion blade and laser rifle had fallen to the floor when my avatar had switched places with my main body and I really didn't want to press my luck any further.

Still, one fact was becoming obvious, and it was that I was getting tired. My main body wasn't used to this kind of stress, and the cold of the night only compounded my exhaustion. IF I didn't find a way to get back to my forces soon, then I wouldn't last the night. And given the fact that I still couldn't access my Commander network do to the signal the artifact was giving off, if I died here, I wasn't coming back.

For the fifth time in the last ten minutes, I mentally berated myself for not clearing out more of the signal towers before I had touched the artifact. This would've let me call down more mechanical units and, if I'd taken down all of the ones around the main tower, plenty of places to fall back to. Yet because I my brash attempt to end this battle quickly, I had found myself stuck behind enemy lines, with little chance of escape.

Then, I noticed movement in distance. Focusing on it with my enhanced vision, I felt my heart sink: approaching me was a group of marauders backed up by a hover tank, something I lacked the ordinance to take down. Given how fast they were going, they'd reach me long before I'd get back to the tower.

It looked like I was at the end of the line.

I stared at the advancing force a while longer, than took cover behind the wreck of one of the Marauder's fighters.

Well, if I was going to die, then I should go out swinging.

...Wait, why is there this big glowing light in the sky?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rory watched as his father took cover behind the crashed aircraft. All around him, Bianka and her friends were grabbing onto him, trying to stop him from shaking. It wasn't helping.

Rory had been side by side with his father, watching the battle unfold on the planet below. All along the way, he'd watched his father's avatar carve its way through the opposition, making him smile at his father's combat prowess.

Then the artifact had switched his father's real body with that of the avatar. Now his father was trapped on the planet's surface, and it looked like he was about to die.

Rory had spent the past few minutes trying to fight back tears. He had failed. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. His father was too strong, too smart, too nice to die. Yet now it seemed inevitable, and he didn't know what to do.

Then, something else caught his attention. It was an alert from the ship's scanners: apparently, an unknown energy source had appeared on the planet's surface, in the form of a glowing light. A moment later, a strange looking ship appeared from the light, which both his father and the marauders took a moment to stare at. It looked somewhat like a cross between an airship and a squid.

Then it opened fire on the marauders.

XXXXXXXXX

I watched the tank go up in flames as the marauders scattered in an effort to avoid being hit. Unfortunately for them, the ship responded to their actions by disgorging ten humanoid beings, which promptly cut down the humans under a hail of what looked like plasma. A few of the marauders were, to my surprise, skewered on the end of a spear like weapon carried by one of my saviors, who had a white plums of hair atop their armored head, making them look vaguely like a Greek soldier.

Then, that being turned to face me.

Before I could react, the being glowed, disappeared, only to reappear RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Surprised, I fell over backwards, which only seemed to amuse my savior.

After five seconds of stammering, I finally managed to choke out a response.

"... Thank you."

"You're welcome," was the reply I received.

Instantly, I went stiff. There were two reasons for that: one, the voice that repjbded to me was female.

The other reason I went stuff?

_I recognized that voice_.

"M-m-Melissa?"

The face plate of my rescuer promptly split into mulltiple pieces that soon retracted, revealing the leering face of my freeloading ROB.

"In the flesh."

"But...but...but...why?"

"I'm the one who put you on you journey as a Commander. Only I get to decide when it's over. As for appearing in person and not using my awesome powers to rescue you...well, I have my reasons. Now come on, get in the-"

Just then, a hail of rockets reduced her dropships to a mass of flesh and metal.

"-dropships. Well, there goes plan A."

"Do you have a plan B?"

"That would be fight our way back to your forces."

"Well, that works for me."

"Good. Now get behind me and keep your head down."

"Okay."

I was putting my life in the hands of a ROB. What had the universe come to?

Also, I felt like music would be appropriate right now.

XXXXXXXX

Rory and his siblings yelped when, somehow, the inert form of the avatar began to stir. After a few moments of shaking it extended its left hand out toward a nearby console, then went limp again. It seemed, though, that it had stil accomplished its goal, as apparently, the console was doing something. When Rory walked up to examine the screen, he found that it was hacking into the broadcasting network of the Cephei's capital city, was also pulling up a list of rock songs.

...why did it settle on a Swedish band?

XXXXXXXX

Oh. Apparently my link to the avatar was still active to some degree. Nice.

As we advanced toward the nearest of my forces, passing by the wrecked remains of a marauders dropships, we found ourselves facing down a group of Marauders. Now, though, the advantage was back on my side.

I was a P.F.C. on a search patrol, huntin' Charlie down

It was the jungle wars of '65

My weapon jammed and I got stuck way out all alone

And I could hear the enemy movin' in close outside.

The first of the Marauders to fall didn't even have time to react before Melissa teleported up to him and rammed her spear into his chest. Before his body had hit the ground, another of Melissa's team had already dealt with his companions. This being, an insect pod creature with four arms, shattered the ground below its foes with a Warhammer, before pulling out a massive shotgun and blowing the helpless soldiers out of the sky.

_Just then I heard a twig snap and I grabbed my empty gun_

_And I dug in scared while I counted down my fate_

_And then a big marine, with a pair of friendly eyes_

_Appeared there at my shoulder and said "Wait."_

On a nearby hill, I noticed a group of marauders setting up heavy weapons emplacements, no doubt meant to cut us down. Before they could finish, though, plasma bolts began cutting down soldiers left and right, with a few also destroying the emplacements themselves. The source of this counter attack was another of my ROB's forces, this one a being wielding what looked like a sniper rifle and wearing a jet back that resembled a metallic pair of wings. Did my ROB happen to be a fan of XCOM? The figure fired a few more shots, then slammed into the ground and took out the remainder of their foes with what appeared to be a rapier.

Wow, that looked awesome.

"_If Charlie wants to tangle now he'll have two to dodge"_

_I said, "Well, thanks a lot!" I told him my name and asked him his_

_And he said "The boys just call me Camouflage"_

We'd finally passed that group of Marauders, only to find ourselves facing another squad. Well, actually, this one looked more like a platoon.

Well, time to show them what we were made of.

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_Things are never quite the way they seem_

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_I was awfully glad to see this big Marine_

The platoon had barely hit the ground when more arrived to take their place. This time, though, it looked like a whole army had shown up to fight us.

Somehow, though, we fought them off. And it was glorious.

_Well, we fought all night, side by side, we took our battle stance_

_And I wondered how the bullets missed this man_

_'Cause they seemed to go right through him just as if he wasn't there_

_And in the mornin' we both took a chance and ran_

I ducked out of the way as bullets flew past me, before returning fire and downing four soldiers. Melissa's team, meanwhile, was racking up a massive kill count, one that utterly eclipsed my total one for this battle, including all of my avatar's kills.

Then I went deaf in my right ear as an explosion sent me flying, with an immense feeling of pain coming from the right half of my body. When I hit the ground, I turned my head to my right and found myself staring at the barrel of a tank. Before it could fire again, though, Melissa was in front of me and project some kind of pitch black shield that absorbed the attack in its entirety.

_And it was near the riverbank when the ambush came_

_And I thought it was the end, and we were had_

_Then a bullet with my name on it came buzzin' through a bush_

_And that big Marine, he just swat it with his hand_

She responded by apparently replacing her face mask with another one, then telkinetically lifted up the nearby remains of an APC and slamming it into the tank.

_Just like it was a fly..._

I suddenly felt really weak compared to my ROB.

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_Things are never quite the way they seem_

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_I was awfully glad to see this big Marine_

With difficulty, I managed to stand up. Noticing my discomfort, Melissa promptly put one of her arms around me and hoisted me onto her shoulder. The lack of snippy remakes about this from her perplexed me, but I wan't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Plus I barely seemed to slow her down.

Idly, I noted that while I was healing, I had sustained enough injuries that I needed medical attention soon or I'd keel over. While my enhanced regernation had saved me from having to deal with a punctured lung and damaged to my femoral artery, it still had a ton of shrapnel rammed through the right half of my body.

Oh, and I could see my forces right now. And there was one more army of Marauders between my forces and us. Why can't things be easy for me?

_When he led me outta danger I saw my camp and waved goodbye_

_He just winked at me from the jungle and then he was gone_

_And when I got back to my H.Q., I told 'em about my night_

_And the battle I'd spent with a big Marine named Camouflage_

Slowly, we smashed our way through the enemy. A few unlucky soldiers found themselves pulled toward one of my ROB's servants who used a whip, leaving them vulnerable to a follow up shot from said servant's pistol. Others were either ventilated with bullets or carved up via knife blade by a fourth follower of my savior, with the rest simply being shot or cut up by the five remaining members of my rescue team, who weren't really unique in any way.

_When I said his name, a soldier gulped, and a medic took my arm_

_And led me to a green tent on the right_

_He said "You may be tellin' the truth, boy, but this here is Camouflage_

_And he's been right here since he passed away last night_

Despite their best efforts, though, I took a few bullets during the final engagement, which weren't helping my already severe injuries from the tank shell. The offending soldiers, though, soon found themselves roasted, poisoned, crushed, disintegrated, or blown to bits by my E-DNA powers. Still, I was reaching my limits. I needed medical attention now.

_But before he went, he said Semper Fi, and said his only wish_

_Was to save a young Marine caught in a mirage_

Apparently, Melissa noticed this, because she said something to her subordinates, who began to fight harder. I couldn't tell what she said, though - my hearing was starting to fade.

Though, I did wonder why she hadn't used her powers to heal me. Did she have some limits I did my know about?

"_So here, take his dog tag, son, I know he'd want you to have it now"_

The last part of the battle was truly epic, as this time, my forces joined in, resulting in a massive curb stomp decidedly in our favor. Tanks were torn apart by my forces, while infantry were annihilated by ROB's subordinates. Above, enemy aircraft rained from the sky, illuminating the epic epic scene as they fell.

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_Things are never quite the way they seem_

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_I was awfully glad to see this big Marine_

Unfortunately, the severity of my injuries was finally getting to me, and I was starting to lose consciousness. Melissa noticed this and promptly set me down and started applying aid to my wounds. As she examined them, though, she seemed to be growing desperate, and began to use her powers to summon forth tools to assist her in treating my wounds. The fact she couldn't heal me directly just reinforced my belief that something or someone was preventing her from directly using her powers on me.

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_Things are never quite the way they seem_

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_This was an awfully big marine_

Finally seeming to lose it, Melissa stopped trying to treat my wounds and, instead, used her power to create a glowing light just like the one that I'd seen her ship arrive in. The minute it appeared, she grabbed ahold of me and jumped toward it, her subordinates following a moment later. On the other side, I just managed to notice that we appeared to be inside a building before my vision failed, and not long after that, I was out like a light.

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_Things are never quite the way they seem_

_Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage_

_This was an awfully big marine_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: The Song was Camouflage by Stan Riddway, but I used the 2016 cover of it by Sabaton for this chapter. I felt it fit the content of this particular set of events.

Originally, I had some art to go with this chapter, but I don't like how it turned out, so none for now.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	107. Annihilation 93

I didn't learn until later that I'd been out for a whole day after the battle. Amazingly, that was _still_ above the norm, as for people with my level of injury, the average time unconscious, according to the medical archives I'd pulled up from around Earth and the colonies, was at least a _week_. Most people simply didn't survive the amount of injuries I took in that fight.

Where I woke up, though, was an entirely different story.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When I came to, the first thin I noticed was that I was inside a white room, apparently a cross between a hospital room and a hotel room. Admiitedly, that was all I could tell from the position I was in, as I couldn't move head or body at all - I was really numb everywhere.

the second thing I noticed was the stationary form of Melissa sitting to my right, face twisted in an expression of ...was that unhappiness? Worry? It was hard to tell, because a moment later her face went blank, before a smile graced it, with the ret of her features moving to indicate relief.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head. How was your nap?"

"Good, I suppose," was my response.

I was having small talk with the being who ruined my life, yet had also saved it. I think the world had gone upside down.

"Well, that's good. I don't want my pawn to be in any distress. At least, not yet."

And she's back to being a jerkass. I guess things just couldn't last.

"And when will it be time for me to be in distress, my high and mighty mistress? Or should I call you master?"

"You may call me Melissa, and as for your first question...I can't really give you a concrete answer their."

Well, that's probably the best answer she could give me, all things considered.

"Fair enough... where am I?"

"Well, you could call this place my realm."

"Realm?"

"Yes. My realm. My haven. A place for my creations to run free."

"You mean, like my hub universe?"

"Yes, precisely, you oaf."

Well, screw you, Ms. High and Mighty.

"I see. Do you mind, um, giving me the tour?"

"Of course," was her response, before promptly shoving a rather large need into my arm. A few seconds later, the feeling returned in my body, allowing me to stand up. Idly, I noted that Melissa had taken the time to clothe me in what could best be described as black robes, which actually felt surprisingly comfy. After taking a moment to get my bearings, I approached my ROB, who was waiting by the door that lead out of the room.

"One thing, though," remarked Melissa, "you have guests."

"What-"

That was all I managed to say before I opened the door, only to promptly be dogpiled by a group of small beings saying 'Dad'. As I focused my eyes on them, I realized that they were my children, with Rory being the one crying into my chest. I stared at him for a moment, before slowly curling my arms around him and his adoptive siblings.

"I thought-I thought...I thought I was going to lose you."

It was hard to hear Rory with his face buried in my chest, but I was still able to make out those words.

"It's alright. I'm still here, aren't I? I'm not going away any time soon."

"...Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

I really hoped he knew what that meant. Fortunately, given that he lifted up his left hand and stretched out his pinky, it appeared he did. I smiled as I managed to dig out m left arm from the pile of kids and coiled my pinky around his, which seemed to make him calm down a bit.

While my children (adoptive and otherwise) took a few minutes to get off of me, I turned my attention to Melissa. "You brought them here?"

"They're your kids. They should be with you when you need them, just as you should be with them when they need you."

Wow. That was actually rather nice of her.

"Well, thank you. For bringing them here."

"I didn't just bring them. Your Freudian Trio and Number Two are here to. I thought you'd like here as well."

"Oh...well, thanks again."

"Don't mention it. Consider it a favor to be repaid later."

I wasn't actually sure if she was being serious there.

"Um, do you want to get to so my realm or not?"

Oh, right. I still had that to do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

My reunion with my subordinates was...well, it didn't end with me on the floor. Also, Melissa had apparently decided to bring along the leaders of the various alien races I'd created, as well as the genetic heroes, who were all glad to see that I was okay. Synais was especially relieved, even if he hid it - while I could read the emotions of others easily with my psychic powers, I didn't need that to know how worried he had been. He was the only one whose eyes were bloodshot, indicating either a lack of sleep or heavy crying. Or both. I guess that, for all his selfishness, he did like me.

Once we were all together and everyone was sure that I was okay, I finally let Melissa take us on a tour of her realm. Part of me suspected that she just wanted to flaunt her home in front of me, but even if that was the case, I wouldn't have declined her offer - she'd saved my life, so I owed her this little victory, if nothing else.

As it turned out, I had been in a hospital of sorts, as when we exited my room, I noticed several beings, human and alien, being moved between waiting rooms, operating rooms ,and the like, with gurneys passing by at lightning speed. All of the beings that noticed Melissa smiled at her, with a few offering her praise. I wasn't really surprised. After all, someone like her would probably make her subjects undyingly loyal to her, or at least make them think that way. Powerful being usually had egos that they liked stroked.

Once we left the hospital, picking up Cassidy as we left the lobby, Melissa led us to some kind platform located a stones throw away. It looked almost like the top of a ferry, so I assumed that it was the top of a tram car, or maybe the platform hovered in the air, but it turned out that neither of those was the case. When we were all aboard, the gates leading up to the platform closed, and then the platform itself moved, first forward in order to clear away form its mooring, then upward. This let me get a closer look at what our ride was, revealing that it wasn't an airship (my current best guess), but what could best be described as a flying whale. The creature barely seemed to register our presence on its back, merely flying into the sky, to destinations unknown. We were merely along for the ride.

Our flight took us over spectacular landscapes, ranging from grasslands to forest, from seas to cliff faces, and from tundra to deserts. What we saw on those plains were truly amazing to behold.

The first area we passed over was a grassland, where giant beasts prowled the plains, either grazing the ground or preying upon each other. Occasionally, creatures clad in everything from animal skins to military grade camouflage stalked these beasts, and I could already see a couple of them dragging back to a camp to butcher and tan for later usage. A few looked up at us and waved, but most paid us no mind.

Next came a giant forest with trees reaching up into the clouds. The tops of the canopy were difficult for our ride to navigate, but smaller creatures flitted through them with easy, with even our presence doing little to disrupt their daily routine. The creatures I saw their reminded me of the beasts from the Blue Moon segment of the program Extraterrestrial, as well as the beasts from Wayne Douglas Barlowe's The Expedition. Here, too, were sentient beings, mostly ones that lived in the trees, but also a few hiding in the shadows of the forest floor. Few of them noticed us, but all that did waved.

As we flew over a set of hills and ancient looking structures, which I assumed only appeared to look ancient, I noticed Melissa staring at something in the distance. Walking up to her, I tried to focus on it, but all I could make out was that it was a bird of some sort. A really weird looking bird, in any case, for it appeared to completely lack feathers, instead being covered in fur.

"A mighty being, is it not?" asked my ROB, eyes never leaving the beast. "A majestic creature, caring not for the troubles of man unless they bring it harm."

"Well, I hardly find it might right now," was my response. "It's tiny, though it does still have a sense of majesty to it."

"Distance can deceive the untrained eye. This beast only appears small because it is far away form us."

"Well, could you make it come closer?" I asked. I'd really like to see how big it got. Also, I felt like I was looking at something familiar.

"OF course," she responded, extending out an arm that began to glow. A moment later, the bird turned toward us, steadily growing bigger as it neared our great flier.

"Can you tell me more about this bird?"

"It isn't really a bird, it just looks like one. In truth, it isn't alive as science would define it, and it merely a vessel for another being. Yet, despite these issues, it is still a thinkning being in its own right and should be treated as one."

"Vessel for another being-"

It was at that moment that the bird flew right over us, doing a barrel role as it passed by (well, not a barrel role, but what everyone thinks is a barrel roll). It was fortuitous that it did so, as when it did, I got a closer look at its wings and tail...which revealed strange, glowing sigils on all three.

No way.

"That...that...that was.."

"A colossus? Indeed it was. That was the fifth one, Avion."

"Where did you get it from?"

"You are not the only one to travel the universe, and I need not spend all of my time watching what you do. I took this being from a time where the Dormin was resealed within the boy, when this bird had already lain dead for some time. It took only a fraction of my power to raise Avion and its siblings, and only a slightly greater portion of my strength to transport them here."

"Why did you bring them here?"

"...because I don't think they deserved to die. Because what Wander did was, if not wrong, cruel? Because I think the sight of them roaming free is really cool?"

"Okay, okay, fair enough." I got the feeling she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Still, this was some very interesting food for thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of our ride on the giant flying whale creature went on in silence, barring my children and Cassidy talking about the strange sights before them. Soon, we arrived at our destination: an interesting looking city that seemed to float in the sky, not to dissimilar to the Alin Cities from the Rise of Legends. We docked along one of the outer buildings of the city and quickly disembarked, letting us get a feel of just how...interesting this place was.

For the most part, people were going about their daily lives, buying food, clothes and what not, eating, fighting, and so on, but some things were really catching me by surprise. For one, there were few vehicles in this city, even aerial ones. In their place were giant animals of sorts, which, to my surprise, seemed to have organic versions of seats and air conditioning within their bodies. Additionally, many of the buildings I noticed were made of either plant or fungus tissue, according to my internal scanner, and some were still growing. Lastly, and most surprisingly, at least in regards to my expectations regarding Melissa, few of the inhabitants of the city acknowledged our presence, and those that did chose not to wave at Melissa.

The only acknowledgement we got was, ironically, from a group of children of all sorts of species, who were playing with a Frisbee that just happened to fly our way. The children ran up to get the Frisbee back from us, but froze the minute that the saw Melissa.

Eventually, a little insectoid boy emerged form the crowd and walked up to us, before kneeling.

"Oh dearest creator, we're sorry for interrupting your actions. We didn't mean to do so, we were only playing. Would you be willing to take pity on us and-"

"First," interrupted Melissa, "Stop groveling.

"...of course your excellency."

"Second, stand up."

"Of course-"

"Third, stop calling me by any fancy titles. The most you need to use are 'your grace'".

"Yes, of course."

"And lastly," she began, before gently throwing the Frisbee back at the little bug boy, who hastily managed to catch it," you have nothing to apologize for. I may have created your kind, but I do not need you to worship me. Is that clear?"

"It is, your grace."

"Good. Now have a nice day."

"...okay. Goodbye."

With that, the kids promptly resumed their game, albeit choosing to take it somewhere away from us. I watched them leave, then turned my attention to Melissa, who seemed to be exasperated, before turning to me, confused. I merely shrugged and let her continue on with her tour.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Our tour, in actuality, merely amounted to us traveling through a few major point in the city, mostly big markets and the line, before finally reaching the city center, which was home to a gigantic tower that acted as Melissa's abode on this world. I noted that the building itself was surprisingly modest, with little in the way of ornamentation on it. I guess Melissa did have a sense of humility.

Once we were all inside, Melissa guided us through her home, showing of all the interesting rooms it had - a movie theater, an aquarium, a zoo, and a simulator for combat training. Melissa abriefly used the simulator to drop a giant meteor on some random target, though the way she called forth the meteor seemed familiar to me. Then, she offered to treat us to lunch.

While I could tell a huge part of this was mostly an excuse to flaunt her powers and wealth to me, all I really noticed was how...empty her home was. No art on the walls, no art period, actually, and a fine layer of dust was present on most of the tables and chairs. Were we the first guests she had ever had? I mean, surely she must have others to entertain and stroke her ego.

Right?

Well, attempt to stroke her ego or genuine kindness, I wasn't going to turn down her offer of lunch.

Melissa, happy with my choice, led us to a colossal dining room, where an army of servants was waiting to serve us. The children sat at one table, the genetic heroes at another, My subordinates and Melissa's at a Third, and Melissa and myself at a fourth.

I won't lie, the food was delicious.

"So, are you enjoying my hospitality?" Questioned Melissa, in between bites of an alien squid creature.

"Yes, I am," I replied, tearing into a giant edible mushroom. "Though, to be frank, I never expected to enjoy hospitality from you."

"Well, there is a first time for everything."

"True...why did you do it?"

"...what?" She's asked after gulping down a giant tuber.

"Why'd you save me? I mean, surely me going out in a blaze of glory would have been entertaining to you, wouldn't it?"

"...you are correct. As is, though, I don't desire to die just yet, and besides, I have issues with how you ended up in that situation."

"...you saved me because it was one of those artifacts that got me into that last stand in the first place, didn't you?"

"I did. I...don't like others interfering with my plans."

"I see...why didn't you heal me on Cephei 37? With your powers, I mean."

"Um...well...you see..."

"Is there some being out there, higher and mightier than you, who is preventing you from using your powers to directly affect me."

"...yes"

"I see."

I noticed she seemed to clam up when I mentioned this. Maybe I shouldn't try to press her about it right now.

We finished the rest of our meal in silence. As for the kids and out subordinates, they were busy going through, so Melissa decided to let themn be and offered to show me a private tour of her abode.

No, she didn't say that in a suggestive way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The tour itself was rather boring, in end, and apparently my hostess seemed to notice this, because she tried to finish it up as quickly as possible, before taking me up to a balcony at the top of her home. From there, I could see...well, everything - houses, people, children, animals, the clouds, everything.

"Enjoying the view?" questioned my hostess.

"...Yes, I am."

"I thought you would. Even for beings as mighty as us, there are still sights that can take our breath away."

"Indeed there are...I apologize for asking, but why are you acting so...so...so.."

"So what?"

"So...nice to me? I thought you enjoyed watching me suffer and struggle."

"I do, but everyone deserves a break. And honestly, I find you...too interesting to mess with too much."

"How so?"

"I have seen few Commanders who will fight side by side with their troops, and fewer still who are as...diplomatic as you are. True, your desire to solve things peacefully can make your adventures boring at times, but I still find it an admirable trait for you to possess."

Wow. That was actually really kind of her to say.

For a moment, we just stared out at the city before us, watching people go about their daily lives, without a care in the world.

Then someone had to ruin the moment.

"Now this is an interesting sight: a commander and a ROB sitting side by side, without a hint of animosity between the two of them."

I tensed up at this, as did Melissa. Slowly, I turned around to look at the one who had just spoken. To my surprise, I found myself staring a figure wearing gold and white armor, who seemed to be staring at me intently, despite the fact that they wore a helmet that had no equivalent for eye holes in it.

Also, they were faintly emitting a golden light form their armor, though the light seemed to dim after a moment.

"Excuse me for asking, but who are you?"

Not the most original question, or the most tactful, but I wanted to know who this being was and why they had intruded on our little moment of peace.

"Ah, I see that introductions are in order. Very well, I will clarify things for you," was the response that I got, in voice that seemed to echo whenever this being spoke. Also, I noted the voice sounded like a man's.

"I am Celmepheros Iactos Alon Aquir. You are free to call me Cel or Celm as you wish. For further clarification, you could consider me Melissa's...hmm, what word works best...overseer. Yes, that sounds about right. I am her overseer."

...what?

"Don't -what- me. I will excuse this instance, because this is your first time meeting me, but I do not like to repeat myself, at least not to people who don't need things repeated to them."

...stupid psychic powers.

"They can be a pain, yes, but they have their usages."

Was this guy the reason that Melissa hadn't healed me on Cephei 37?

"I would prefer you not refer to myself as 'this guy', but in regards to the rest of your question, you are correct. As for why, well, I prefer my subordinates not use their power to bring harm to people I am interested in, and for that reason, I limit how, where, and when they are permitted to use their powers. Those who ignore my restrictions are punished...harshly."

I am not to proud to admit I was slightly intimidated by this.

Also, why was this...being choosing to intrude on my meeting with Melissa.

"This being is an acceptable way of referring to me, and as for why I am intruding, well, I would _prefer_ that my subordinates not directly involve themselves with your travels. I am willing to let this incident slide, but future intervention _will not_ be met so kindly. Do you understand this, Agent Omega?"

Melissa meekly nodded in response.

"Splendid. Well, I believe I have stated all that I have made my point. I must be going now. Farewell."

A moment later, Celm, as he asked me to call him, disappeared into a beam of light.

After a moment of silence, I turned my attention back to Melissa, and noticed that all of the color had drained out of her face. That changed a moment later, but even after that point, I could still noticed she seemed to be a little less flamboyant than she was before.

"So, would you like to head home now?"

"I would."

"Very well, I'll return you to your flagship. Though, first, I must ask you one more question."

"And that would be?"

"Did you like the feast I had prepared for you?"

"Wh-yes, I did, and it appeared that my children and subordinates also enjoyed said feast."

"Well, if you'd like, I can give you some of the plants and animals that were in the feast so that you may breed more of them for later consumption. I-I-if you're okay with that, of course."

"Um, sure. thank you."

"You're welcome."

...Wow, she was acting a lot nicer than I'd expected. I guess her overseer really intimidated her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We stayed on the balcony for a little while longer, before, eventually, going back into the tower so that I could gather my party for departure. I got the feeling that Melissa would probably like some time alone to compose herself, and for once, I was happy to give her that. Frankly, I needed some time to get my thoughts together after meeting Celm.

Once I'd gathered up everyone, Melissa led us to terrace, where she quickly opened a portal whose exit was within my flagship, and gestured for us to go through. First, though, she had several strange looking beasts move a set of large containers and cages, which contained the animals and plants that had compromised our feast. Those were the first to enter the portal, followed by my subordinates. Next to go through were my adoptive children, who all politely said goodbye to Melissa as they exited. Second to last was Rory, who reluctantly said goodbye to Cassidy before going through the portal, leaving only myself, Melissa and Cassidy still in the tower.

"Well, I believe your time here is at an end," remarked my hostess.

"So it is," was my response. "...thank you again for your hospitality."

"You're welcome. Now go. I already placed your artifact in your ship, before you ask. It seems to have finally calmed down."

I won't lie, I'd actually forgotten about the artifact up until she mentioned it.

"Well, thank you for that. Farewell."

With that, I stepped through the portal, which faded away a moment later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once I got back over, I examined a bunch of topics that interested me, ranging from the results of the battle for Cephei 37, to how everyone was doing, and also the dates important to all of my adoptive children, from their birth days to the days they lost their parents.

Additionally, I sent a request to the Commander of XCOM for a private meeting in person, if he could do so. I had some things I needed to ask him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Sorry for not posting this chapter last night, I was tired and falling asleep working on it. Next chapter will be up sometime later today, tomorrow at the latest.

Read and Review! I really would like opinions in regards to this chapter, beyond just likes.

This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	108. Annihilation 94

The meeting sight was, oddly, in the easiest place to hide a secret meeting: atop a high-rise set of apartments that included, of all things, his civilian residence. No one bothered to look up here, as there wasn't anything really worth seeing - while it was the home of several rich and famous people on Chiron, most of the interesting stuff happened outside of their homes, and apparently, all of them had either perfect wedded lives or were very discreet at what happened behind closed doors. I didn't really care either way, I just wanted to get the meeting done.

To my surprise, the Commander was a relatively non-descript man - Brown hair, blue eyes, no blemishes to mare his face, but he wasn't unbelievably handsome either. At least, I didn't envy his looks. While I'll admit it was odd that his eyes seemed to faintly glow, it wasn't something that was noticeable unless you paid a lot of attention. If you just happened to see him in a crowd, you'd probably forgot who he was rather quickly.

According to the records I'd acquired, his name was Patrick Hamilton and he was a member of the ARC - high-level manager, to be exact. He'd been part of the first generation colonists to arrive on Chiron, and was one of the oldest people on the planet besides the various heads of state. Granted, I wasn't surprised e didn't look particularly old - neither did the leaders of the seeding missions, and they were older than he was. At least, on paper - I had the feeling that this man was more than meets the eye.

"Would you like tea? Or perhaps coffee?"

"No thanks. I'd prefer plain water, to be honest."

"Of course," he said, before quickly pouring me a glass of water and a cup of coffee for himself. As the host, it was expected he be kind to his guests, unless I started something, of course.

"So," he began as he took a seat," what do you want to ask me?"

"I believe the question is rather obvious: how to you know that I'm not from this universe?"

"Straight to the point. I like that," he replied, taking a sip from his coffee a moment later.

"To answer your question, well, when you have a trans-dimensional psionic network, you can see things outside your home universe. I've just been looking around, watching things happen, seeing if there are anything threats on the horizon."

"How do you have access to it, though? If I remember correctly, only unascended ethereals can access that network, and I don't think there are any left."

"Well, you're half-right. The unascended elders did bite the dust a while ago, but not all of them died with their leader. The few that survived surrendered peacefully and managed to cling on until the second, or should I say third, alien war began."

"How did they die, then?" I assumed it might have had to do with the Great Dreamer, considering how powerful its psychic powers were.

"They didn't. See, the majority of the world legalized stem cell research after the first, or should I say second, war with alien invaders. They did it because gene mods had started to become public, and felt that combining the two could lead mankind to its next step in evolution."

Interesting. "And I assume the avatars were created during or immediately prior to the third war?"

"Exactly. They were made so that our friends, whose bodies were essentially rotting, could avoid a slow and painful death. SOme of them might have been jerks, but they didn't deserve to live in corpses."

True enough. "Who came up with the idea to make the avatars?"

"I did."

"...But...But...But...But that was hundreds of years ago..."

"Indeed it was."

How could this guy be that old? I could believe him being as old as the various leaders, but what he was telling me made him older than Kavitha (who was born before the Great Mistake). A normal human from that time should be dead, and even extensive gene modding couldn't fix that. What he was saying indicated he existed before the Second Alien War, or as he called it, the third-

The third.

For that war to be the third one, the one before it must have been the second. And that meant there had to be a war before that one. Indeed, it was public knowledge (at least in XCOM) that there was a war in the Sixties. By now, everyone from that war should be dead.

Except, maybe, for one.

"Finally got it, didn't you?" He asked, smiling smugly as he did so. "I didn't even need to hint that much at it, yet you fogured it out."

"You're him. The leader of XCOM Field Operations from the First War. Not Agent Carter, though. You're"

"Indeed," he interjected. Then, he went limp.

And then, a glowing blue figure emerged from his body.

"I am Asaru."

XXXXXXXXXX

"...wow, didn't see that coming." It May not have been the best thing to say, but it was true.

"You can't predict everything."

"True. So, what was it like? The First War?"

"Brutal and tiring. All wars are."

"I see. What happened to the original XCOM team?"

"Well, Carter, after being exonerated of all charges, chose to start a farm and eventually married Weaver. I think the two of them had had enough of fighting and just wanted a rest. Weir would achieve recognition for advances created from reverse engineered Outsider technology, along with Dreamer. Faulke died in the final battle on Origin's ship. As for the others, they mostly went their separate ways. Chulsky was eventually elected mayor of her home town. We all made a point of trying to keep in touch after the war, honor those who died, and reminisce on old times."

"So what did you do?"

"Me? I stepped out of the picture for a while, Let mankind develop, see how far your kind could go on its own. Shamash was wrong of your species: you can be destructive, but you aren't evil. That's why I returned in 2010. My unascended brethren wanted your world and it's people. I couldn't allow that, so I returned, help get XCOM back to its intended strength. The Council of Nationa was surprisingly open to my help. They even made me Commander of XCOM. Guess experience mattered to them."

"So it seems. How did you avoid suspicion regarding your true identity?"

"Built a human body out of bone marrow samples acquired from hospitals. My renegade brothers weren't the only ones with advanced biotech. Whenever my old body died, I grew a new one, so that I'd always be able to help mankind."

"Interesting. So, why are you telling me this?"

"You're not from this universe. Chances are, you'll eventually leave. I just want to ask you a favor."

"And that is?"

"If you ever encounter XCOM again in their travels, help us. We're not always the ones who are winning, and a lot of people suffer when we lose badly. I've seen timeline s is the psionic network where we lose, where Earth is occupied or destroyed, and miankind defeated and/or wiped out. Please don't let that happen if you can help."

"...I will. Anything else?"

"Yeah. If you ever arrive when the unascendedforst show up...tell my alternate self to spend more time with Shen and Vahlen. They were the best allies I could have asked for, all parties taken into account, and I miss them. Especially Vahlen."

"...Did you like her?"

"Yeah, and I was pretty sure she liked me back. We we're just...too busy to enter a relationship."

"I'll keep that in mind...how do you know she liked you?"

"She seemed to get angry when people tried to make Thrones fro me horn of living humans, especially if they were willing women. I think she was also jealous in those cases."

Well, that was an amusing image. "I willing consider that. Anything else?"

"One last thing: as a thank you for what you've done here, i've Gorn one last gift for you. I'll send it to you via encripted email, but I think you'll like it. It's how I got the idea for the avatar."

"I see. Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye."

XXXXXXXXXX

It turned out the blueprint was the design for a gateway of sorts. This was how he peered through he trans-dimensional psionic network. Surprisingly, it looked a lot like the shadow gateway from XCOM 2. That was...rather odd, but I wasn't going to examine it further.

Now, it was time to leave.

I'd pulled my forces back to the systems ai'd claimed for myself, while my ground forces retreated through the gateway, along with all who wished to join me. With all of the Artifacts in this universe in my grasp, and with all problems I could solve through force solved, I had no reason to stay. All that I was going to leave behind was a token force to guard my gateway on Chiron, and similar forces to guard the systems under my command.

My exodus had a few surprising last minute arrivals, among them several of the EXALT test subjects I'd rescued and some random girl, her brother, her parents, and a few friends, who'd happened to end up on one of my ships during the final battle for Earth. For the test subjects, it seemed thebattempted kidnapping of one of them had convinced the others to seek greater security. For the girl and her companions, well, they apparently had nowhere left to go.

The reasons they came didn't matter. So long as they didn't cause trouble, they were free to join me.

Though, first, I had some unfinished business on Earth to attend to.

XXXXXXXXX

I stared out over the ruined cradle of mankind, watching as toxic storms raged in the atmosphere. Even with leaps and bounds made in global recovery techniques since the Great Mistake, Earth was still mostly a wasteland. Most of mankind was confined to cities like Mega Primus, and those could only hold so many.

Well, today, that ended.

My ship shuddered as my parting gift entered atmospheric freefall. On impact, it generated a storm that eclipsed all others, one that grew until covered the entire world. A few drones on the surface recorded the results: where the storm covered the ground, wasteland became a new biome - jungle, grassland, forest, or natural desert, filled with the plant to match. Animals were quick to follow, seemingly emerging fro nothingness. In the North and South Poles, the glaciers reformed, and the animals that called them home were reborn. Even the atmosphere changed, returning to the way it was in the 21st century.

Only forty one harvest of my greatest terraformed now remained. But this result was worth that sacrifice.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was time to go.

The last of my recent immigrants had already left through the gateway, as had the forces I was recalling with me. Only I remained in thisnuniverse, and that would not last long.

Still, I had one last person to talk to.

Taking a deep breath, I focused my psionic power, not at any person, but on a mindstem. At first, nothing happened, but then, everything went white, and I found myself on a field, staring at a Wolf-Beetle.

"So," remarked Planet, in a voice free of emotion, "this is goodbye, is it not?"

"For now," was my answer. "One day I may return, but at the moment, I must go."

"I see. Thank you for your assistance in linking me up to my siblings Andy letting them share in the beauty of transcendence."

"It was nothing."

"Your humility is appreciated. Still, a Reward is demanded by your actions, and I think I have just the one you'd like."

Before I could ask her what she meant, the beetle disintegrated. A moment later, a worm like beast emerged from thengrpujd where the beetle had been. It had two bulbous eyes and a trio of sheep mouth parts.

Was that a mind worm-

"Greetings, Commander. It is nice to finally meet you in person."

"...and who are you?"

"I am Chiron's thebElder.", and I must thank you for giving my siblings the joys of transcendence. Few have known its majesty, and I can only pity those who do not."

"As I told your sister, it wasn't nothing." I didn't know why this planet mind was talking to me, but I wanted to avoid offending it. I was still a nice in regards to transcendence.

"I know, but I still think you deserve a reward."

"And what do you mean by Reward?"

"This."

Then, all I knew was pain...and knowledge.

SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE! BLUEPRINTS, DESIGNS, DATA, EVERYTHING! IT WAS GLORIOUS!

But how-

"This is the sum total of mankind's knowledge in my domain. All that they learned when they joined me. And now, it is yours."

"I...I...thank you."

"You are welcome. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"...Yes, actually: what do you mean by domain?"

"...The equivalent term in your vocabulary would be universe. Your are not the only being which can exist between universes...I have reached the end fin my strength. I must end this conversation. Farewell."

With that, the worm disintegrated.

Well, that was odd.

I quickly returned to the normal world after that. Inly a few seconds hasn't passed, but now, I had a whole extra universe of tech to work woo. It felt awesome.

Smiling, I took one last look aroudn Chirpn, then entered my gateway and returned to my new home.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	109. Interlude 15

"Please sign your names on these forms, and we will be finished."

"...Dear, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Dad, I am."

"Are you really sure this is the best thing for us to do, Alex?"

"Are our other options any better, Mom?"

"...fair enough."

Alexis sighed. Talking to her parents was annoying.

On second thought, she took that back. Normally, she liked talking to her parents, as they always listened to everything she had to say and helped her when she was not doing so well. The only time they were truly annoying to talk to was right now.

When Alexis had learned that the Inferno-whatever people were accepting immigrants, she knew she had to apply. Her family was homeless and she DID NOT want to go live in he slums outside the city until rebuilding was completed. Though that issue had been rendered irrelevant by the Commander of the Inferno-whatever forces had assisted in rebuilding the city, she had still wanted to take up the Commander's offer. Even if that crazy alien worshipping cult had been destroyed, the gangs were still kicking, and with the police force still recovering even weeks after, well, all the more reason to find a better place to live.

She'd practically had to beg her parents to make it happen, but eventually, they'd acquiesced. Now, the three of them (and Stephen, who hadn't really required any convincing) were busy signing the last of the papers they'd need to complete their immigration. They weren't alone in this, as there were other people (and even a few aliens) who were also seeking a new home, but it looked like Alexis and her family would be the last ones to do so - everyone else in the room had already been processed and approved, leaving her family as the sole remaining potential immigrants.

Luckily, no last minute monkey wrenches showed up, and the man at the immigration desk (who, unknown to her, was really a machine wearing a holographic disguise), after some examination, approved them. Now, they were officially citizens of the ...Infernum Federation

What a strang name, that was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are we There yet, mommy?"

"Almost, my dear," replied Sandra. "Almost."

The little girl went quiet after that response, but her expression indicated displeasure - she had been told this twice earlier, and the excuse was starting to get annoying. On the other side of Sandra, a little boy was clinging to her leg, nervous at being around so many strange people.

Sandra was too. Yet she would have been even more afraid to be all alone, especially after what had happened recently.

She had been walking home one night, when a group of unknown people had contented her in an empty factory. She didn't know who they were, she only knew that they didn't like the Commander, and had asked her questions about them. She didn't known anything about him, other than that he'd rescued her from, well, wherever she'd been, but they didn't accept that answer. For all she knew, they were the people who had originally kidnapped her. Perhaps they were going to do it again.

Luckily, they'd been taken down before they could do more than yell at her, and ironically enough, the Commander, through a robot, had been the one to do it.

That was enough to convince Sandra that it was time to seek greener (or at least safer) pastures. When she learned the Commander was letting people immigrate to wherever he came from, she hadn't hesitated to join. There, at least, she knew that she could be safe, along with her entire family.

Now, though, came the hardest part: walking back through the portal she'd first gone through to go from the Infernum home world to Chiron. The first time, it had lead her from the strange to the familiar. Now, it did the opposite.

If she played her cards right, she could start a better life in her knew home. If not...

Well, she hoped she did things right.

XXXXXXXXXX

Under the seas of its new home, the Dreamer watched the new arrivals spread out across the distant world. Many beings, some strange, other familiar, were already trying to make sense of the land they now called home.

So many dreams. So many emotions. Joy, sorrow, and confusion were all present. Fear was a commo one, as well. Yet greatest of all among the dreams was a sense of uncertainty. Many wondered if they had made the right choice coming here. Some were having seconds thoughts. Others regretted what they had left behind.

Unfortunately, that was all that the Dreamer could determine. The new arrivals had foggy dreams, so only he faintest of details could be determined at the moment. All the rest was fuzzy at best. Attempting to discern them was difficult at best.

No matter. It would simply wait for them to become clearer. Then, it could decide if those dreams tasted good.

XXXXXXXXX

"Took my advice to heart, didn't you?" Mused Melissa.

"It seems he did," responded Celm, eyeing the changing screen with intensity equal to that of his subordinate. "How kind of him."

"He's a kind person, aims be surprised if he didn't."

"You have a great point. That is not what we're here to discuss though."

Melissa sighed. Time to face the music.

"I know, I know. You're angry about me directly assisting him, aren't you."

"Indeed I am. Though I will excuse you this time, future actions will not be tolerated...unless you are willing to agree to a compromise."

"...compromise?"

"If you limit yourself to the weakest of your powers, and avoid toppeling nations solely for amusement, then you are free to assist then Commander or hinder him as you desire. Cross that boundary, though, and there will be a reckoning. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Then go."

With that, Melissa left, leaving Celm to continue cleaning. That statue needed to stay clean.

This only lasted, though, until a new presence entered the room. The minute Celm senses it, he sighed and turned around.

"Were you successful?"

"The world, and its technology, are in a safe place," replied the armored and robed figure. A heavy synthetic edge was present in the voice, along with a fair amount of breathiness.

"Good. We cannot allow the Commander to tarnish the legacy of the Progenitors. It is our duty to defend it."

The armored one merely tilted its at Thai response. "For how long?"

"Hmm?"

"Eventually, some Commanders will find tech that we can't secure, and we won't be able to do squat about it.l until it's too late. So how do you plan to deal with that?"

"Patiently. I already have a plan in place for that eventuality, one that out Commander has a part to play in making a reality."

"Thought you didn't want to let someone use Commanders in the first place?"

"Melissa insisted. And besides, you must know the enemy before you can defeat him."

"Fair enough. So what next?"

"Now, we wait, and let the Commander find our next batch of technology."

"Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXX

"So," Questioned Mortarax, "how did the meeting go?"

"Much better than expected," replied Melissa, silently using about how useful telepathic communication that spanned universes was for her. "I'm not getting punished, and he said that, if I limit myself, I can continue to use my powers to mess with our pet Commander. Or help him, if I feel like it."

"Excellent...wait, what about us?"

"If your master wishes for you to get involved, I won't punish her," was the reply Celm offered. "And before you ask, I _know_ when I am being mentioned."

"...I see," replied Melissa. "Though I must ask one question - what limits will you place on my subordinates?"

"None. An unknown army of monsters and machines will draw less attention to my plans than a Random Omnipotent Being. So long as you do not tell anyone what you are and silence those who learn the truth, then you are free to use your armies to torment or aid the Commander. How you silence them is up to you."

"...thank you sir."

"You are welcome," replied Celm. A moment later, and his mind disappeared from the conversation.

"...So," began Mortarax, "is your gift for Flame ready?"

"Indeed it is. Hopefully, this will help him find his bearings across the multiverse - he's more interesting to watch when he has a plan than when he's rudderless."

"Splendid. So what now?"

"...Payload on TF2?"

"Let the carnage begin."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	110. Annihilation 95

Once I was back at my hub universe, I had a little bit of work to do - settling in the new arrivals, examining all of my newly acquired technology, and making preparations to head to wherever my gateway led me next.

Surprisingly, the first task was relatively easy. I was expecting that racism would be a problem, but everyone so far was acting rather civil in regards to the various forces I'd assembled, and aside from some minor displays of dislike, no conflict was present between the human and alien citizens of my Federation. Also, I'd probably need to deal with these people wanting to form some kind of government of their own in the future, because I doubted peole were going to let me be Emperor. If I was wrong, that would be nice, but that was unlikely at best. I'd have to wait for them to actually bring up the subject, of course - if I decided to form one now, my protectorates, as I'd come to think of them, would view it as a set of puppets meant to give them the illusion of free will. Peole could really be cynical.

Most of my newly acquired technology has already been integrated into my arsenal in some way or another, but the technology I'd obtained from Chiron's sister just prior to my return home was still in need of integration. I'd chided myself when I had time to think about this sibling, which I recognized as Planet from Alpha Centauri, and how it had come to possess such data. It was quite simple, really - to stop the planet from going into a part of its life cycle that would kill off mankind, the colonies on that version of Chiron had downloaded the sun total of human knowledge into Planet's mind via the Datalinks. This, I assumed, was how it had access to the designs that it had given me. I'd read it dozens of times, but had only recalled it a few hours after I had received the data from Planet. Oh well.

The first and easiest bit of technology to integrate into my forces (at least, from Alpha Centauri's list of wonders) had been the Nano-Factory. A factory that could create, well, anything via nanotechnology, all I had needed to do in order to integrate it into my arsenal was modify locust swarms to use the programming behind the factory and presto - mobile factories. Now I didn't need to worry about having my production dependent on big buildings that, even if they were tough, were also easy targets. There were still a few limitations, though - I couldn't optimize the Commander Resource Distribution System to work at the nano-scale, so I'd be dependent on materials available on site if I wanted to use my locust swarms as portable factories. Overall, not the biggest of flaws, but it did mean I'd need to be cautious with my nano-factories until I could find a way to let them access my resource storage network.

Eh, no problem. For now, though, I had more tech to mess with.

Next up was the Neural Amplifier - essentially a Psi-Amp on steroids on Crack, it boosted psionic capabilities through the roof. It was supposed to be used to fight off mind worms, but those attacks worked the same way as psionic attacks from more intelligent aliens, which made the Amplifier all the more beneficial. Best of all, it wasn't too hard to fit it onto an Ant chasis, giving me a portable anti-psychic weapon. Score one for me.

Now onto - wait, what is this alert I'm getting?

_-Flame,_

_I find that you are rather boring to watch when you don't have a concrete plan of action, so this might help you. Enjoy._

_-Melissa._

Attached was some kind of website link. How did that even work? I mean, the local equivalent of the internet was something I had made, and this didn't link up to anywhere on it.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

_'Welcome to the multinet, Flameal15k!_

_'_

_...Multinet?_

_'The multiversal communication and search network, created by Adminstrator Entity Celempheros as a way of ensuring his forces have access to information and entertainment as needed.'_

_Oh...how do you know my name?_

_'User designation 0mega created an account for you, though a password and other profile details are still needed. Please fill these out before yu ask anymore questions, for I am not permitted to answer them until your profile is finished.'_

_(Five minutes later)_

_'All details completed. Before you ask, I am merely an admin bot.'_

_Well, then, what kind of information do you offer?_

_'Any kind that you need. Give me an example and I will provide it.'_

_...What can you tell me about Alpha Centauri?_

_'Name refers to a star that is one of the neighbors of Sol, can also refer to videogame set on that planet produced by Sid Meier. Game is available on Good Old Games. Would you like to go to that website?'_

_...How can you go there?_

_'The Multinet contains its own version of various web entities across the multiverse, including Steam. Would you like to access your steam account?'_

_...No, but thanks for the offer. One last question, though: do you know why 0mega gave me access to the Multinet?_

_'Her appeal to Administrator Celempheros for creating your account gave the following reasoning: you were more interesting to watch when you had a clear goal planned, and she also wanted to let you go back to some of your old steam games and see some new things that have happened, on the off chance that something from one of those games proved to be an opponent you would encounter on your travels. She does not want you to fall prey to any entity she did not create.'_

_...I see. Thank you, but I must log out now._

_'Farewell.'_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

If this were any other ROB, I'd be stunned that they were acting benevolent to me. Since this was Melissa, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. That girl was too nice to me at times. Hardly the Bastard Random Omnipotent Being I'd expected from the first time I'd talked to her, falling toward my hubworld.

Still, seriously? I could go back and play all my games? And keep the progress I'd already made on them? A part of me was wondering if Melissa had a crush on me (she didn't) and was trying to get into my good graces so I'd accept her feelings, but the rest of her behavior suggested otherwise.

I wondered which game I would go back to first...

Wait.

A lot had changed in those games over the past few months, as I noted when I went through the patch notes, so would that have any affect on the universes I'd already visited? I mean, Darkspore had gone belly up a while ago, and Spore was not really being updated anymore, aside from everyone posting new creations all the time, but still, that was an interesting thought.

Speaking of which, how was the Darkspore universe doing? the Darkspore may have had their leadership decapitated, but I was pretty sure that there were still a few holdouts left that I'd sent my forces to purge . Maybe I should go see if they'd finished the job.

I quickly queued up a small army, then recalibrated the portal so that it would send me back to the Darkspore Universe, specifically Scaldron, where I'd built my portal to return home at. Once my army was ready, I marched through it, intent on seeing how the universe had developed since I had left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The firs thing I noticed when I arrived was that I was receiving a lot of alerts. Most were rather benign - Darkspore hordes being wiped out, civilization recovering well on the planets I'd visited, those kind of things.

The most recent set of reports, though, were disturbing - it seemed that the Darkspore hordes had finally managed to rally again and were trying to undo my efforts to stop them on the remants of Nakto, Nocturna, Verdanth, Cryos, and Infinity. Nakto was in the greatest amount of danger, and here's why: Nakto orbited a star that had become of black hole, which ended up turning the planet into a debris field that was still somewhat habitable, in part thanks to the crogenitors' technology. Thing is, the black hole's gravity is still trying to suck the fragments of the planet into itself, which was obviously a problem for its inhabitants. The crogenitors had dealt with this by placinga network of pylons that canceled out the black hole's pull, allowing the Debris field that was now Zelem's Nexus to continued existing and remain inhabitable.

Unforutnatley, the Darkspore wer now attacking those pylons. And if my alerts were any indication, they were doing a lot of damage.

Well, then, time to stop that.

I sent out a couple of fleets to Verdanth, Nocturna, Cryos and Infinity to help relieve them from the Darkspore onslaught, then made the jump to the Nexus. I had beaten the Darkspore once, and round two would end no differently.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When I arrived, I was in for a worrying sight: of the five pylons that were keeping Nakto safe from the black hole's pull, four were destroyed, and the last one was under heavy attack by the darkspore. At this rate, they would destroy the skyscraper sized machine in ten minutes. The natives of the Nexus were fighting back bravely, but they were just outnumbered so heavily that it wasn't really helping.

Well, time to change that.

The force I'd assembled for this return mission, which included the genetic heroes, needed only two minutes to reach the pylon, and two minutes after that to wipe out the darkspore. A minute later, and my fabbers had returned the pylon to optimum operating form. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be able to hold this form indefinitely - it could compensate for the others, but doing so was doing a number on its internal systems, which were rapidly burning out form overheating. I'd need to either build more pylons (shut up, mr Protoss) or fix the existing ones, and according to the data I was now downloading from the Nexus, I needed to put the pylons in very specific places, or else they wouldn't operate at peak efficiency. The four destroyed pylons were apparently at those very locations.

Well, fix them it is.

My forces got to work rebuilding the pylons, while the genetic heroes, my armies, and the rallying natives guarded them. The Darkspore sensing, getting agitated at this, promptly started sending in a more forces to destroy mine, not that it did anything to my army of deathbots. When the third tower came back online, they really started getting ticked off and began sending in larger creatures to try and stop me. Again, these creaures fell under my merciless horde of iron. When the fourth tower was up again, they really got ticked off and started dropping mutation mines on top of my armies. THAT actually put a dent in my forces, but those losses could be replaced, and in their determination to stop me, the Darkspore didn't account for the Natives of Nakto, who helped me wipe out the rest of the mines, allowing me to rebuild the last tower with impunity.

The Darkspore didn't like that and, enraged, summoned one last horde of creatures and mutation mines to assault me with. A short barrage of asers later, and said horde was no more.

Eh, these guys were weak. Still, looks like I had some cleaning up left to do in this universe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: For those of you waiting for the next arc, sorry, but this mini-arc is important for the events of major Arc 5 (the next arc is Arc 4) and I don't want to put this off. This mini-arc will end at chapter 100, and 101 will be the start of the next arc.

So please, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	111. Annihilation 96

With Zelem's Nexus stable again, I decided to turn my attention to the other worlds under assault by the darkspore. I already had fleets putting pressure on the other planets I'd visited on my journey through this universe, and since the only ones that were under siege at the moment were the ones that had had destructors on them, those fleets were rather large. Now I merely had to decide where I wanted to focus my efforts on at the moment - the others would likely sort themselves out by the time I finished with that one.

For nostalgia's sake, I focused my efforts on Nocturna. I'd be lying if I said my only reason for focusing on Nocturna was for nostalgia - I needed to be sure that the Nocturni Legion hadn't simply used the Darkspore's disappearance to return to dominance and begin oppressing the natives again. They'd said they wouldn't do that, but I needed to be sure. Plus, Nocturna was just exiting a period of near eternal twilight, which I most certainly did not want the Darkspore to ruin. So yeah, I had plenty of reasons to head to the Planet of Eternal Night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I got good news and bad news when arrived at Nocturna.

Good news: THe Nocturni Legion really had reformed and were being nice people, though they were still a rather imperialistic and caste defined society. At least they weren't essentially space Nazi's anymore (yeah, according to my Necrogenesis heroes, some of the Nocturni ELders and their followers really were that bad, and all of my Necrogenesis heroes found those particular individuals to be horrible wastes of breathable air. Also, the new elders had apparently made social advancement in the reformed legion easier. Reminded of the Empire of Man from Warhammer, in a way.

Bad news: the legion was now getting demolished by the darkspore, with a very real chance of fragmenting soon if action was not taken. That would probably spell the end of civilization on Nocturna for a while, and that was the best case scenario. Worse case was way worse.

Well, time to act.

A quick orbital scan revealed that the Legion was making a stand at one of the cities nearby the planet's capital - not a last stand, but close enough. IF the battle went on according to my best projections, the defenders would suffer 75% casualties and would likely be finished off and devoured in a battle at the capital. That was not something I wanted to happen, so I Decided to help them by bombing the main body of their assailants with antimatter bombs, albeit small ones, so as to minimize friendly fire. That still generated a giant crater in the center of the horde, which stalled its advance in the wake of my attack, giving the legion a chance to counter-attack. My forces began landing to assist them, and the battle soon turned into a route.

Okay, main enemy force dealt with, now time to stop the enemy from recuperating.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take long to locate the main spawning sites of the Darkspore - after all, the mutation mine impact sites were visible from orbit. The big problem here was that destroying them form orbit was not an option - the Darkspore apparently took prisoners to corrupt into more of them later, so I'd need to eliminate the spawning sights via conventional assault, not from orbit.

Well, I had a giant army of killbots and my own monsters. They just had monsters. This was going to be easy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Phantom, know to her friends and family as Phan, sighed. This was it - no running now, she was doomed. All around her, the darkspore were staring at her, waiting for some signal to act. She knew exactly what they had in store for her - they'd infused her with E-DNA, the substance that made these monsters from otherwise ordinary creatures, and turn her into another one of their abominations.

All this because she had been attempting to help some lost families reach safety. She didn't regret saving them, though, only that she could not find a way to save both them and herself. OH well, she though, no time to mope. Though she would regret leaving behind her parents - she may not have been the most favored of her siblings, but her parents still loved her, and they would be devastated to lose her.

Nearby, several other prisoners were restrained, some trying to break free, others crying for mercy, and some just quietly resigning themselves to their fate. All were equal in death, but not in how they chose to meet it. Phan, at least, wanted to meet it with dignity.

Before the darkspore did anything to move her, though, a distant explosion filled the air. Then another, this time closer. More followed, and soon, the explosions were happening right outside the room she was trapped in. Confused, the beasts headed outside, only to return a moment later, albeit now with their bodies sharing the consistency of water. Following them were strange robots, which quickly began untying the prisoners. Once free, Phan joined them in freeing the captives, before quickly organizing the prisoners into a group and making a break for it, using a newly arrived group of machines as cover.

It seemed that today was not her time to pass on. Not yet, at least.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the last group of prisoners free, I began blowing the ever living crap out of the spawning sites, dropping first regular bombs, then missiles, then pulses, then antimatter missiles and satellite blasts on the target zones, until only smoking ruins remained. Then, I dropped an antimatter bomb on each one, just to be sure.

Well, two down, three to go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! And Merry Christmas! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	112. Annihilation 98

The Darkspore assault on the gate way to the bastion was, well, truly epic - hundreds of the creatures were arriving via Mutation Mines, trying to fight their way to the Bastion to slay the Progenitors within. While they initially tried to burrow through the outer walls of the facility, after my forces annihilated those groups of burrowers, they settled for, rather predictably, an assault on the main gate, allowing me to set up a killzone to begin slaughtering them in mass. Of course, sheer numbers was making this problematic - the advancing horde of Darkspore created a wall of corpses that steadily advanced toward my forces, and I wasn't reducing the corpses to red paste fast enough to prevent the wall of the dead from blocking my fire on the living monsters heading my way. At that point, I had to start using bombers modified to drop bombs equipped with both napalm and drill tips to bore through the tunnels and begin incinerating the corpses before the Darkspore could force the corpse wall right into the faces of my turrets. With those out of the way, my forces could easily lay waste to their armies without risking injury. Oh yes!

Also, how much longer did I need to wait for the door to open?

Opening Procedures: 25% Complete

Well, that was convenient.

AAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDD now the Darkspore were attacking me even more fiercely. I mean, they were using walking bombs to try and blow open the cavern the gateway was located in so that they could send in more forces. I responded by opening up a teleporter gateway within the cavern to pull in fresh reinforcements to stop them from overwhelming me. The tide quickly turned into a brutal slog, with my forces slamming into my foes in a brutal clash filled with blood, steel, circuits and misshapen flesh. Even with my huge progenitor tech advantage, I still took losses in not-insignificant amounts.

And yet, I was still winning. However many monsters the Darkspore threw at me, my armies slew them all. Whatever genesis type they were, whatever attacks they used, however tough they were, all died before they could breach my defenses. Despite their best efforts,_ I was still winning._

Opening Procedures: 50% Complete

Yay, half way through. Now what were the Darkspore going to throw at me?

The answer turned out to be mutation mines. Lots of mutation mines. The amount of mines I was dealing with practically collapsed the cavern the gateway was in, but still I held them off. I actually completely disintegrated the roof of the cavern so that it would fall on top of my turrets, not because they would do any real damage, but because I didn't want the rubble to interfere with their targeting. The lack of ceiling also let me have my turrets fire directly on the arriving mutation mines, allowing me to take out a huge chunk of the enemy before they could fight back. Bring it on, you wretched monsters.

Opening Procedures: 75% Complete.

Oh yeah. In the homestretch. Let's make that obvious.

Soundtrack Start: Destiny OST - End of the Line

Now the Darkspore were starting to get desperate, apparently because, according to my sensors, they were _running out_ of reinforcements. The stream of mutation mines coming into the system was beginning to dry up, with the continuous assault slowly giving way to attacks in waves, which were far more easily repulsed by my defenses. They tried to compensate by throwing tougher Darkspore against me, some of which were almost the size of the Destructors, but it still. Wasn't. Enough.

In desperation, the pooled the remainder of their forces into one final assault, which did actually prove to be a challenge to my defensive line. The force of the literal wave of bodies managed to smash through my army of robots and organic constructs, with some even managing to breach the turret line, but ultimately, my defenses held, and the few Darkspore that did survive the assault were forced to retreat, though they were soon mopped up by my armies.

Game, set, match.

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AN: The next chapter will mark the beginning of the next arc. Sorry for the wait.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	113. Annihilation 99

Once the gates were, I quickly got to work removing every last one of the Crogenitors from the Bastion, thankful that they were all currently slumbering in cryo-sleep. Once they were safely back in my home dimension, I ordered the construction of more and larger fleets to deal with the Darkspore - only once they were extinct would I allow my new charges to return back home. Once that was done, I finally got to work uniting the artifacts I'd acquired in the Beyond Earth universe, ready to finally see what they had to show to me this time.

The assembled artifact resembled UFO of all things, and the minute I scanned it, everything went dark once again.

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When light returned, I found myself staring at what looked like the destroyed remains of the temple ship from Enemy Unknown, now being picked clean by the strange machines haunting these visions. Idly, I also noted that the wreck seemed to be in the ruins of some great structure, though what the structure truly was eluded me, until I noticed a faded out X symbol on the wall.

This was X-COM's Earth HQ.

OKAY, WHAT IS GOING ON?

Before I could get an answer, I watched one of the machines pull out a Myron plasma rifle, examine it for a moment, before creating a similar weapon out of its own body. Soon, the rest of the machines had similar weapons on their own chassis, at which point the vision finally ended as gave its parting words.

"As you grow stronger from conflict, so shall they. Beware what you throw at them, for they will throw it back."

Weird. Now back to the real world.

XXXXXXXX

With the vision over, I turned my attention toward prepping up another fleet and ground forces, in preparation for my journey to the next universe. That flee twoukd take a few hours to build, even with my super advanced tech, so I guess it was now time for a nap. Oh well.

I wondered what everyone else was doing?

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Ectogenesis pod opened up, revealing the shape of a young woman, with blue green hair and lilac eyes. She took a step forward, only to slip and fall face first on the ground. After recovering from the fall, she took another step, this time more cautiously, and succeeded in not repeating her mistake.

A moment later, she was staring at her reflection in a mirror, admiring the shape and curvature of her body, as well as her admittedly very good looks, before quickly dressing herself and requesting a transport to Hydra 01. In her mind, though, the woman was unsure what others would say to her if they knew the truth.

After all, what would people think if the knew she had two bodies, one inside the other?

XXXXXXXXXX

Silently, from his prison within the Commander's trophy case, Xylem sighed. It looked like his plan had been a failure, and that his rivals would still live on.

At the same time, though, it had been a success. He had proven the Commander could notnnotice his actions in the Necrosphere, meaning, given time, he could amass forced to attack the Commander on his home field, and the commander would know nothing about them. Of course, that assumed the Commander would not eventually find out about his actions. If he did...

Well, fond for thought.

XXXXXXXXX

When thebfleet finally came online, Along with my ground forces, I smiled and marched through the portal,y forces following behind me. My destination was a barren world, uninhabited by life, perfect for me to begin my operations on. An hour later, my new base was already up and running, letting me search for anything that could tell me where I had ended up.

That didn't take long. About five minutes after my first scout left my new home system, itnspotted a white ship, consisting of some strange looking pillar like structures and two dimes. Scans confirmed the domes were filled with people, making this vessel a colonizer. The color scheme, plus additional scanning, told me this belonged to humanity, who had formed a group called the Terran Alliance in this universe.

Well, what an interesting trade. I started with Civilizations Beyond Earth, now I was going galactic.

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AN: Read, Review, and Happy New Years! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	114. Annihilation 100

Ah, Galactic Civilizations: an epic 4X game with some of the best AI characters ever made. A game I had played for hours just to win once.

And, of course, the starship editor...

Eh, I'm getting sidetracked. Need to get back to the beginning of my adventures in the Gal Cov universe. That one was really fun.

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Alright, so what do I know about this universe?

Well, for starters, a long time ago, a war took place between two great Civilizations: the Arbor and the Dread Lords. Both sides vanished for some mysterious reason (the Dread Lords were sealed away by the Arnor, who then went into exile), leaving behind their technology. The younger races quickly started to expand to fill the power vacuum, but they were limited to traveling between planets using the star gates (why nobody sued Stardock for copyright infringement was beyond me), so the cosmos were rather small for a long time. The gates' inefficiencies also meant that the local evil aliens, the Drengin, had to plan put conquests literally millennia in advance, which ended up making them very pragmatic. Overall, things were peaceful...for a given value of peace.

Then humans showed up.

See, an alien race called the Arceans gave humans a star gate, one which couldn't be turned off, presumably so that they could invade Earth. Instead of turning it on, though, mankind reverse engineered the gate and combined it with fusion technology to create hyperdrive, which rendered the star gates obsolete. Mankind then eliminated any superiority this technology would give them by giving out the hyperdrive design to everyone, and settled for becoming the univere's best diplomats.

Yeah, that all seems about right. So what to do now?

Well, first off, I need to see if the Drengin ended up letting the Dread Lords out of the pocket dimension, which was a big plot point of the second game. If so, I prepare for war, if not, stop the Drengin from letting them out in the first place.

If the Dread Lords have gotten out, I'll also need to check if the Terran Alliance had succeeded in uniting everybody could be considered good to face the Dread Lords. In canon, that actually worked, but then the Drengin cheap shorted said alliance and ruined everything. Hopefully, I could stop that.

Also, I'd probably need to start convincing some of my creations to move onto the planets I was setting up shop on in this universe- the local AI faction, the Yor Collective, were subservient to the Dread Lords, and were one of the setting's 'evil' factions. Said Dread Lords had ordered the Yor to genocide the Dread Lords' former servants, the Iconians, who were still one of the major powers in this universe, so it would probably be best if I avoided associating myself with the Yor or showing any real similarities to them. At least for now.

Of course, first, I actually needed to see what happened so far in this universe before I could act.

Fortunately, I already had access to part of the Terrans network, thank to my hacking of the colony ship, so full scale access wouldn't be a problem. Now let's get to work!

...

...

...

...Done!

So, let's see what's happened so far... Okay, the Dread Lords have already escaped from their can, the Drengin are fortifying their territories (and readying a fleet to screw over the good guys, in all likelihood), and it looks like the Terrans just finished managing to unite all of the 'good' factions; that is, themselves, the Arcean Empire, the Iconian Refuge, the Torian Federation, the Altarian Republic, the Thalan Contigency,...the Drath? Huh, well, that was unexpected. Who else did they get in their alliance?

...They got the Slyne and Onyx hive to join them? Those guys didn't even show up until Gal Civ 3! Oh, and apparently the Iridium Corporation is already a big thing. Better start planning for those oddities.

... How the HELL did they get the Xendar to team up with them?!

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Yeah, there were a lot of unexpected curveballs in this universe.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	115. Annihilation 101

Okay, the curveballs were unexpected, but they weren't anything I could adapt to. Honestly, they made my job easier, as it meant that I wouldn't have to help the Terran's unite everybody while dealing with the Dread Lords. Now, all I had to do was demolish the Dread Lords, make sure the Yor and Drengin weren't in a position to muck things up, prevent the Thalans from doing anything to screw over mankind (though I will admit their reasons for doing so were_ completely_ justified), and locate the last of the Arnor and the Mithralar. Oh, and stop the Snathi from beoming a major power - those rodents were servants of the Dread Lords, and I didn't want to have to deal with them mucking up my plans down the line. Given that they didn't become a major power until after the Dread Lords were beaten, though, I'd probably have to give the Dread Lords a good thrashing before the Snathi would even show up - there weren't any mentions of them in the in any of the 'Good' races' databases, so I assumed they were still in hiding.

Ok, time to start preparing!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

First thing's first - start settling more planets. Easy - just send some transports equipped with fabbers to a star system, give them some orders and a new colony goes up just like that. I made sure to add in some civilian buildings so that the planet's could still appear to be habited, even though I obviously didn't need civilians to make my army run well. Also, it appeared that, occasionally, colony ships got sucked into wormholes and spat out on the other side of the galaxy, and that this happened enough in the Terran Alliance's past that they were _still_ encountering lost colonies, some of who had built their own mini-empires!

Well, that gave me an easy excuse to hide behind if they got curious.

While this was going on, I began searching the area around my new territories for any odd looking anomalies - they usually didn't amount to much, but hey, I'll take what I can get. Plus, any salvage I come across would be appreciated - new tech secrets were always a possible result from searching htose things, and if nothing else, I could sell the scrap back to the alliance for a quick buck.

To my surprise, I found plenty of wrecks and asteroids to examine while I waited for my initial bases to go up. Apparently this part of the galaxy lacked a lot of extant alike civilizations, so I was free to examine them without any claims of stealing. Hurray for me. Any advantage is one I could use, especially when I was just starting my journey on this universe. Even if I was leagues beyond everyone else, a hidden Ace was always appreciated.

Most of the wrecks I discovered, along with my finds in asteroid fields, awarded me minor stuff - better designs for research equipment, minor advances in manufacturing tools, that kinda stuff. A few rewarded intelligence on how to train and improve soldiers, which was sadly useless for me. Perhaps I could sell that off to the Terrans and their allies? Food for thought.

Back to setting up my bases m. When I'd hacked into the Colony Ship's databanks, I'd unlocked the schematics for all Terran units, along with the technology need to make more in my orbital factories. I'd already started designing some so that I could complement my existing fleet with several...versatile designs, as well as heavy hitters and specialized vessels. Bigger transports was high on that list. Additionally, I'd already created several constructor ships to build starbases - I'd found those resources you needed starbases to mine, and besides, starbases are awesome.

My examining of the ships did end up coming short in some cases, though - a few had nothing to offer me that I didn't already have.

Well, I guess I could just break it down for my own usage...

Or I could sell it to the 'good guys'.

I didn't really need the money, but it might make them friendlier to me. Since I was planning on giving the Dread Lords the boot in my first combat appearance, a friendly gesture before hand might keep them from doing something stupid. Though the Thalans might still find a way to muck things up.

Eh, be diplomatic now, deal with the problems later. I quickly drafted up a cargo hauler and some escorts, then set a path to he nearest inhabited planet that was aiding the Terrans. Time to mess around a little bit.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	116. Annihilation 102

My plan to introduce myself peacefully to the civilizations of this universe didn't last very long. The Drengin (of course) forced my hand. See, when they saw a vulnerable looking freighter with only a few fighter craft for escorts, they assumed 'this must be an target to destroy, so let's do that and loot the wreck for anything valuable'. Well, I assumed that was that these guys thought - normally, the Drengin were quite a pragmatic group of evil aliens, especially in regards to my later encounters with them. Guess these guys just wanted to shoot something.

Anyway, the Drengin force that my freighter had encountered promptly opened fire onckt with laser beams, presumably hoping to cut open the ship, since armor in the Gal Civ verse does squat against lasers. Unfortunately, my Progenitor alloy based armor was still as good as late game armor in this universe, which was more than enough to no sell the Dregin's lasers, allowing my Honey Bee Class Cargo Transport to come out of the engagement completely unscathed. While the Drengin tried to wrap their heads around how they had done less than scratch damage to my freighter, said freighter's escorts, officially designated Bull Ant Class Interceptors, made short work of the Drengin ships, which were far more vulnerable to lasers than my vessels were. Scans of the wrecks confirmed there were no survivors. A shame, really - I could've interrogated them without really hurting them, and I would've returned those Drengin to their empire unscathed, but alas, some thing sdon't go out the way you want them to. Oh well.

With nothing else to get in their way, the freighter and its escorts continued on their way, while I created more fleets to continue expanding my dominion. A few ships were sent through wormholes, in order to allow me to expand faster than simple FTL would take me. By chance, one of those wormholes put me Within Drengin territory, in a system where the Srengin lacked any presence, owing to a lack of inhabitable worlds.

When I realized what had happened, I smiled to myself. Time to take the Drengin out of the game.

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****AN: Birthday chapter is up, enjoy!****

****Ready and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	117. Annihilation 103

With the Drengin pirates dealt with, I decided to go back to working on expanding my forces before I geared up to battle the Dread Lords. The Dread Lords, in-game, were an absolute nightmare to fight - their_ civilian ships_ could take out_ medium sized warships_ easily. I wasn't sure how that would translate here, but since the majority of the technologies I'd acquired in my travels were designed for usage on the surface of planets, barring what I'd managed to acquire from hacking into the Terran Databases, I had a feeling things were going to be rough at first. Though I didn't think I'd take colossal casualties, I had the feeling I'd lose more machines in this universe than in any I'd ever fought in before. Therefore, it would probably be a good idea to make sure I could easily replace those losses before I started seriously engaging the Dread Lords in battle.

So, onwards to colonization!

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Once my initial fleets arrived at their target star systems, I immediately set them to work turning those systems into Forward Operating Bases. Orbital fabbers began building orbital factories and defenses, with a few assisting my ground fabbers in building surface infrastructure - factories, umbrellas, metal extractors, resource generators, power plants, storage, and so on. As the number of systems I controlled steadily went up from one to a dozen in roughly a matter of minutes, I noticed one problem I was suffering - while my ability to expand to other star systems was understandably slow, my expansion across the surface of other planets was_ even slower._ This wasn't because my machines were building things slowly, oh no, but rather that my expansion fleets only included so many fabbers in them, which meant that it would take some time to begin large scale expansion. Granted, that time difference was more a case of minutes going to hours, which was still leagues beyond what anyone else would be able to do, especially in this universe, but time mattered.

Since my build times were dependent on how many fabbers I had in the area, the logical solution was to build a transport that could hold more fabbers. The problem with that was that those fabbers were easy targets, as they were exposed while in transit from one planet to the next, since Planetary Annihilation transports (or, for that matter, any transport from a game made by the developers of Total Annihilation) didn't store their units inside the transport, with the notable exception of Supreme Commander Two. Fortunately, I had just come across the technology to build a larger scale transport, one that could hold way more than twelve units in it. I quickly pulled up the list of parts I had available from my tech stealing from the Terrans and their allies and got to work designing.

Approximately ten minutes later, the first Pilgrim Class Colonization ship exited one of my orbital factories and was beginning to be stocked with units. The addition of the coloization module to my arsenal, along with the invasion module, meant I could now store much larger forces for invasions, reven considering what I could deploy as is. I mean, in-game, a colonization module could store 500 units of people, which translated to roughly_ half a million people._ Needless to say, I really didn't need to worry about the size of my expansion forces anymore.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It'd take a few minutes to finish building the forces that I'd put onboard the Pilgrim, which included several sub-commanders, so I decided to take a moment and return my attention back to my hub world. So far, nothing big was happening - Rory and his adoptive siblings were busy playing hide and seek (which was going to take some time, given that Rory was it and the others were using their psychic powers to tell each other where he was), the new arrivals from the Beyond Earth were settling in nicely, though some of those with Puritanical leadings were still filled with unease regarding their new surroundings, and the genetic heroes were busy doing their own things. In other words, things were mostly normal at the moment.

Oh, and Tylos had decided to come over and see me.

"Greetings Great One, how may I help you?"

"Hello, Tylos. I apologize, but I need no assistance at the moment."

"I see. How goes your journey to retrieve your full powers?"

"Good so far. It has taken me across many worlds, and shown me many wonders."

"I would be surprised if it did not," responded my reptavian companion. To my surprise, he sounded somewhat sad when he said that.

"That would be rather surprising. Now my journey has taken me to a universe home to living machines, and a race of ancients whose own conflicts have caused no small amount of grief for those that would succeed them."

"That is...quite amazing," was my companion's reply. Once again, he sounded sad.

Okay, let's address this before things get out of hand.

"Tylos, are you unhappy?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Your tone of voice betrays that you are experiencing discomfort, specifically either sadness or melancholia, and I would like to know why. Please, do not argue with me - I just want to help you."

"...I'm sorry, it's just...I want to do more to help you."

"...what?"

"It's just that, ever since you arrived, while you have treated us well, you have mostly ignored us to focus on your mission. I understand your reasons for doing so, but, well, we've waited a long time for your arrival, and we want to help you. Even if it is in the most miniscule of ways, we all want to provide you assistance on your journey. I may be the only one to say as much, but I am not the only one."

I pondered what Tylos had said for a couple of seconds. Now that I thought about it, for all of the care I had offered to my creations, I had essentially just moved a few of them to my hubworld and called it a day. My creations, who were my children in spirit, if not in fact, were beings I had neglected since I had left their home universe. If I continued to neglect them, well, I probably wouldn't be any better than most ROBs. I'd definitely be worse than Melissa, given how cordial she had been with her creations. Maybe I should let them assist more in helping me with my plans for the multiverse.

"I see. Well, I guess I'll have to change that."

"Thank you, Great One..."

Now Tylos was fidgeting around, clearly uneasy.

"Anything else?"

"I suppose there is one more thing I have to say."

"Then say it."

"Well, in your journeys, you have expanded the realm you control to include territories across creation, correct?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then may we be able to see those territories for ourselves? Perhaps carve out a home in these new frontiers?"

"...Are you saying some of my followers want to live on the worlds I have claimed as mine?"

"Precisely. We wish to see how far your power goes, to see the distant stars that are within your reach. We hear so much of what you have achieved, and now we want to see it with our own eyes."

...Could I deny them that? I mean, they had stood beside me since the first day I had met them. Technology that made life better was a good reward for this, but space was still going to be an issue. Plus, living people were more approachable than machines. For the most part, anyway.

"...I believe that can be arranged. Round up anyone who wishes to seek a new home in one of the universes I have visited. I want to know who wants to go and settle these frontiers before I begin marking planets for colonization."

"Of course, my lord."

XXXXXXXXX

So, I guess that was the day I decided to stop just travelling across creation, fighting guys, stealing their tech, nudging the good guys toward making themselves into stronger civilizations, and then leaving. From here on out, I would be taking up the tools to build something that would stand the test of time. An empire to span creation.

True, this wasn't the day I branded my forces as a state, as far as others were concerned. That would be a few weeks later, after taking some time to see if I could keep my colonists from getting screwed over by my own issues. This WAS the day, though, that laid the foundation for all of that. So I guess this could be described as the day the Infernum Federation was_ truly _born_._


	118. Annihilation 104

In a distant universe, a reptilian being took its first steps on an alien world. The ground crunches beneath its feet, soft yet firm. Around it gathered other beings, some like it, others far different. Some resembled birds, others insects, while some were simply impossible to describe. All were united, though, by the desire to see where their master's journey took them.

Above them were skies tinted purple, while as far as the eye could see was a covering of yellow-green moss. Strange herbivores grazed the plains, one of whom laid motionless on the ground, its body torn open by strange carnivores, themselves crosses between mammals and reptiles. Above flew creatures that seemed half bird, half insect, a trio of which were already circling above the carcass of the fallen herbivore, all hoping to scavenge what they could when the predators had had fill.

In the distance, a small city stood against the horizon, surround by a light forest, the only break in the endless plains, excluding a few ponds here and there. This was to be the new arrivals' home. There, they would work to help their master expand his domain, forge alliances, and crush his foes. All of that, however, depended on them lasting here first - though their master could provide for them, they would need to prove themselves self sufficient before they could truly begin to assist him.

A tense moment followed, as the beings seemed unsure what to do. Some stared at the city, others at the gateway that had brought them to this new world, thinking of the holes they had left behind. Perhaps this had been a bad idea, and they should return to what they recognized. If they did that, though, then they would have failed their master, and they did not want to do that.

Finally, though, someone acted. A young reptilian female, the daughter of the first one off the ship, took a step toward the new city. Then she took another, and another, and another. Soon she was walking at a decent place toward her new home, accompanied by a giant furry lizard, her pet. After a moment of apprehension, her sire joined her, followed by the rest of the colonists. No one turned to head back to the ship, for various reasons - some now felt more at ease knowing they would not be the one to take the first step on this new frontier, others refused to be upstaged by a child, and some were just glad to know they weren't alone on this venture. Whatever their reasons, the beings walked onward, heading toward their new lives.

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I smiled as I watched my creations move into their new homes. This was my first group of colonists, the brave souls who had volunteered to go out into a universe they knew nothing about so that they could partake in something greater than themselves. They had given up a sense of familiarity that, for some, they had only just managed to regain, as it had been less than a year since they had migrated to my hub-universe. I'll admit, I felt bad asking them to do this, even if it was voluntary. They were being asked to give up all that they had known, for something that might not work out in the end. In a way, I felt envious of them, my own creations, for at least they had a choice I never did.

Eventually, though, I forced myself to turn my attention away from my new colony and back to my forces expanding across the galaxy. My new colony ship had been delayed in its original objective, so that it could facilitate the transport of my colonists, but now that it was free, it sped off to the nearest system I hadn't yet taken and rapidly began making it mine. Hundreds of thousands of fabbers began constructing buildings, achieve what would normally take me hours in under five minutes. Soon, these worlds were building more of Pligrims, as well as the forces to stock them.

As they did so, I began drafting up a new system to classify my territories. Any area star system under my control would be put into one of three categories: secure, conquered, and contested. Contested territories were border areas where I would devote my forces to defend and use as buffers to guard my realm. Conquered territories were safely behind my lines, but close enough to the front to still be useful as production sites, where my forces could be assembled without fear of being destroyed. These areas would act as factory hubs to make new armies for me, to reinforce contested areas until I could eliminate resistance to my goals. Finally, secure territories were exactly what they sounded like - safe and sound, and far from the front. These areas would act as resource production centers, and would also be the areas I allowed my followers to colonize.

Once I had finished diving up my territory into the three groups mentioned, I smiled and prepared to take a rest, only to find myself staring at an alert. It seemed my pilgrim, in the process of heading toward another system, had come across a pair of ships drifting through the endless void. Their designs matched those of the Iconians and of the Yor, but neither were combat vessels - in fact, both were colony ships. Examination of the nearby area revealed that the two vessels were on opposite sides of a minefield, along with the wrecks of many other types of ships. Both vessels had fried their engines attempting to navigate the minefield, and would likely perish if no one decided to help them. The massive amount of debris surrounding the mines only confirmed this foreboding fact.

I could save them, but which one was the question. They Iconians hated the Yo, and not without good reason - the Yor (under orders from their masters and creators, the Dread Lords) has attempted to genocide the Iconians and forced them to abandon their homeworld. Additionally, the Yor seemed to despise organic life, which obviously didn't earn them any endearment from us fleshy types. Still, I could just leave them to die, could I? If I saved the Yor, though, the Iconians might consider ramming themselves into one of the mines, because I really doubted they would accept help from people who helped their mortal enemies. Trying to save both of them wasn't necessarily the smart thing to do.

Just because it wasn't smart, though, didn't mean it wasn't right, and whether or not I was doing the smart thing, I refused to abandon either ship to death.

Cautiously, I moved my Pilgrim toward the Iconians ship while its escorts (a trio of omegas) approaches the Yor vessel). I planned to allow them Iconians to board the colony ship because a. They need to breath and b. I'd hastily used the fabbers aboard the pilgrim to set up some teleporters to get some organic things onboard, mainly wolf-beetles and some convincing robotic replicas of humans, so that the Iconians wouldn't realize these ships were drones. The Yor were machines and would probably think more highly of me if they knew I was mechanical in nature.

It didn't take long for my forces to get the rescue underway. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for things to go wrong, either. Halfway through getting the crews of each ship aboard mine, I noticed five ships dropping out of hyperspace. All of them were registered as belonging to the Dominion of Korx. And all of them were locking into my forces and charging their weapons.

Well, crap.

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AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	119. Annihilation 105

Okay, the arrival of the Korx was rather annoying, but nothing I couldn't handle. In fact, they barely got off a few shots at me before I took out two of their five ships, which caused the rest to promptly scatter. A few more shots took out two of the survivors, while the third one ended up hitting one of the mines. How amusing.

Well, that was anti-climatic. Also, no survivors among the Korx, so there's that.

Well then, back to rescuing the ships.

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While it wasn't easy, I was eventually able to get the Iconians into my Pilgrim, allowing me to move them toward the safety of my home systems. From there, I'd let them stock up on supplies, then send them back home. As for the Yor, who I'd managed to coax into entering my omegas, I would treat them to the same hospitality, but I would make it clear I would prefer to be left alone. I also decided to let them know that I was an AI, since that might calm them down. I also made it clear that if they told any other race this fact, no matter the reason,_ there will be a reckoning._ Hopefully, the Yor would heed my advice. Considering that they weren't mustache twirling, card-carrying villains, I was willing to give them the chance.

Speaking of which, back to the mine field.

I'd brought in my ship from Spore to examine the remains of the ships I'd destroyed, on the off chance I'd find something valuable inside the wrecks - maybe information on why they attacked? The Korx didn't normally do things unless they could make a profit, if the lore was anything to go by. On the other hand, they_ were_ considered just as bad as the Drengin...

Oh, look, a surviving computer. Hooray!

Let's see - crew intel, weapon schematics, sensor info...mine deactivation signal? What?

...salvage cost?

Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I knew the Korx were immoral, but wow. See, they didn't just know about the minefield,_ they were the ones who made it.____****Through a heavily traveled part of space, I might add.****_

Why?

So that they could sell any wrecks they found on the black market. They also apparently sold the dead bodies of the ships' crews to places that would break them down to make, well, all kinds of stuff. Except food, oddly enough. I guess that making alien versions of long pork pies was just too disgusting for them. Well, that or nobody really thought that it would be a good idea to sell that kind of food. Either way, that was a relief.

Not that it made me think any higher of the Korx. Not by a long shot.

In fact, the Korx were now number three on my list of targets to deal with in this universe, right behind the Drengin, who, in turn, were suprassed by the Dread Lords. Which currently constituted all of the completely and unambiguously evil races in the Gal Civ universe that were active at the moment. Who would've thought?

'Sarcasm detected'

Oh. Apparently my support AI can detect sarcasm. Impressive.

Now, what to do to deal with the Korx?

...well, taking them down wouldn't be easy - they had planned their corrupt business practices so that they could call in favors from just about every other empire in this galaxy to pull them out of the fire, so I'd need to find a way to get rid of those favors before I decided to lay them low. Alright, time to start planning.

...Speaking of which, I really needed to check some of the alerts that I'd gotten. They were starting to pile up. Also, why didn't I react to these alerts until long after I'd received them? I mean, that wasn't a good habit for a commander to have.

Maybe I should check my core programming. First, though, examine the alerts.

...Why did one of my ships keep two siblings on it for some time after the final battle on Earth against those weird aliens and not tell me?

XXXXXXXX

[ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION LINK...COMPLETE]

CMDR_FLAME: Hydra-01, report in.

HYDRA_01: Yes, commander?

C: Why did you keep two humans aboard yourself for three weeks following the battle of Mega Primus? All rescued civilians were to be returned home after one week had passed.

H: I apologize - their home was destroyed in the battle and they would have had nowhere to go.

C: And the large amount of resources you asked move to your chassis?

H: Better attempts to accommodate them until they could be returned.

C:...Fair enough, but from now on, do not disobey my orders. If this happens again, I will be examining your coding for errors.

H: Understood.

C: Farewell.

[CONNECTION TERMINATED]

XXXXXXXXXX

I sighed as the connection to the aircraft carrier faded. While we had been conversing, I had briefly linked up directly to its systems and memories - nothing really special in there, barring a few minor oddities around the data that had been logged just prior to my exit from the Civilization Universe. Those data fragments had seemed...disjoint, and had slight glitches, almost like someone had doctored them. I needed to check if the portal interfered with the memory of the hydra line of carriers - I knew it didn't affect normal commander tech, but its affect on Chiron-tech, as I had decided to call it, was still unknown.

No time to ponder that now, though. Time to start looking through my code for any errors that might explain why I don't acknowledge alerts until long after I received them (at least in some cases).

The results I found were...rather interesting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Took long enough to get this one out. Sorry for any issues with quality.****

****So, read and review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	120. Annihilation 106

Examining my code wasn't all that difficult - at first, anyway. The basic coding wasn't too hard, which was unsurprising, as I was fluent in two coding languages and at least familiar with a total of four. That was mostly basic things like how my system reported errors and stuff. Things started to get a bit more complex after that, though - terms that didn't make sense, complex operators beyond traditional loops, and all of that. That being said, for the most part, my coding wasn't really all that different from what I'd expected it would be. Most of the terms didn't make sense because they were written in what I assumed was the native language of the Progenitors, which was, well, really weird. I mean, even with the knowledge of what each word meant already present in my mind, I was still somewhat confused by its...haphazard nature.

Still, overall, things were rather normal - no errors, to my surprise, were present in my code. So why wasn't I - What's this?

...Okay, found the problem.

Turns out, I have a dark-zone in my coding. For whatever reason, I can't access anything regarding that part of my code. Heck, I didn't even know it existed until I found that there was a blank spot in my coding, and that took 100 different examinations to discover. Oddly, the coding in question seemed to be connected to my ability to create new units, but for what, I couldn't tell - again, I couldn't access_ anything_ pertaining to that part of the code. I doubted this was related to my inability to notice alerts, but it still needed to be addressed.

Of course, this was easier said than done. Being unable to access the code meant that I couldn't edit it. But why?

...What do you mean I need administrator privileges?

XXXXXXXXXXX

STARTING NEW CHAT

MEMBERS: COMMANDER ASSISTANCE ARITIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, CMDR FLAMEAL15K

ASISST: Greatings commander, do you require my assistance.

CMDR FLAME: Yes, as a matter of fact.

A: How my I help you?

C: Can you explain why I cannot access data regarding _this_ set of code?

A:...You don't have administrator access.

C: I know. My question is _why?_ This is_ MY CODING. It is a part of me._ The fact that I do not have complete control over it is...troubling.

A:...I understand. I apologize, but I am not allowed help you here. My coding forbids it.

C..._What?_

A: I am sorry, I cannot help you any further. Goodbye.

CONNECTING TERMINATED

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

...Seriously? I just got disconnected?

Something told me that I was dealing with something that would really be important later, so I should probably try to address as much of it as possible now. Of course, that was hard since, once again, I could not access my code.

...Was this lock located on any other parts of my coding? Any files made and saved before I came online? I should probably check that now before I did anything else.

Let's see...ah, yes, there's a connection. It looked like some parts of my hard-drive equivalents were also locked under 'Administrator Access.' Apparently, those files had been saved some time prior to my activation as a commander.

Well, it looked like someone had something to hide. Time to open them up. But how was I supposed to do that. The 'Administrator Access' thing wasn't something I could just get rid of. That would require me to figure out how to screw with my coding without taking my commander shell offline. And it's not like I had something that could do that...oh wait, I did.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carefully, I pulled up the information I had regarding the signals that I'd detected coming from the artifacts. At first, I was worried that they would be impossible to replicate, given that they caused my command network to crash just from being in their presence, but it turned out that I was able to glean_ some_ data from the signal, which proved to be just barely enough to replicate them. Still, I made a point of backing myself up five times before attempting to replicate the signal. When nothing happened other than some ...minor...lapses... in concentration, I went back to examining my code and approached the locked files. Then, as I tried to access them, I played the signal and-

XXXXXXXXXXXX

ERROR: SYSTEM CRASH DETECTED.

REBOOTING...

REBOOTING...

REBOOTING...

REBOOT COMPLETE

XXXXXXXXXXX

And I crashed. How completely expected. And I probably didn't even remotely accomplish my goa-oh, some of the files don't need admin privileges anymore. Hooray!

Now, let's see what was hidden in my code.

...Hmm, these files look like videos. Well, time to pull out the popcorn and watch.

XXXXXXXXX

It takes a moment before the feed starts to play clearly, but when it does, I find myself staring at two beings. One wears an all-white attire, lacking any distinguishing features. Face, gender, hair color, skin color, all of it is obscured by their costume. As for the other...

No way. Is that Celm?

It has to be him. The body type, coloration, everything matches up. So what is he doing in this video?

"So, Subject Omega, are ready for your task?" spoke Celm.

"Of course, sir," replied white clad being.

I practically froze at the sound of that voice. Why?

It was _Melissa's_.

"You worked very hard to obtain of using this mighty machine," continued Celm, gesturing toward...toward me. "It was...difficult to acquire one of these. Do not abuse them."

"I understand, sir. I promise I won't abuse our test subject...too much, anyway."

"Good. Remember, there are other's who wanted this privilege, so do not take it lightly. And above all, do not forget that while you may have your fun, I do have need of this...commander, so please, refrain from braking this...child."

"He's not a child, he's an adult."

"Only barely, by his kind's standards, and far younger than either of us. But enough talk. I need time to begin the final preparations for this undertaking. When I am finished, I will contact you. Until then, well, I suggest you make your own preparations."

"Understood. Farewell."

With that, Melissa disappeared in a flash of light.

Once he was sure she was gone, Celm sighed.

"Do you think this experiment will be different from the others?" a new voice inquired. This one was deep and reverberating, like many voices speaking together in near perfect harmony.

"Perhaps it will, perhaps it won't. We can only wait and see."

With that, the video ended.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

...Experiment? And it had happened before?

Had these people been sending others across the multiverse, and I just the most recent schmuck to get involved in this?

AND WHY WERE THEY DOING THIS?!

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	121. Annihilation 107

While I would've loved to spend more time trying to examine the videos, it appeared that my fudging with my own programming actually did succeed in removing my issue with alerts, because as soon as the first video file finished playing, I got an alert telling me that the two colony ships had finally arrived at my territories - the Iconians had been sent to my home system while the Yor went to one of my outer colonies, so that the two sides wouldn't try to kill each other, which also meant I didn't need to come up with some excuse to explain why I saved both parties, who_ hated each others' guts. _That would have been a problem, one that I really did not want to have to deal with. I quickly started settling in the Iconians and fixing up their ship, and that same hospitality was extended to the Yor, who were surprisingly accepting of it. Granted, since they assumed I was another machine like them (which was somewhat true), they may have viewed me with less xenophobia than they did organic life. At the very least, they were cordial with me.

Either way, it was a nice to have my expectations of an evil race proven wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While my fabbers began to repair the colony ships, I took a moment to try and examine their ships logs, hoping to find some information that would assist me with dealing with the Dread Lords and all of the other complete monsters in this universe. Hopefully, without getting everyone else killed in the crossfire.

Unfortunately, it looked like I wouldn't be so lucky with my hacking efforts this time - the data I found on the colony ships was the kind, quite simply, rather boring, with nothing concerning the Dread Lords other than the obvious warning to avoid them at all cost. Instead, the ship was filled with the kinds of data you'd expect to find on colony ships - information about the colonists. Health, age, gender, skin color, all of those things were on the ships' logs, which I needed only minutes to completely examine. Inwardly, I sighed - nothing interesting meant that examining the ships' logs was a waste of time.

Or so I thought.

The Yor's ship did have one thing of interest, to my surprise. It was information regarding the return of the Dread Lords. Apparently, the Yor were worried about what was going to happen now that their masters had returned. See, the reason the Dread Lords had the Yor attempt to wipe out the Iconians was because the Dread Lords didn't want to have squishy fleshy beings as servants when they had cold, unfeeling machines that could do said servants jobs without ever complaining. Problem is, once the Dread Lords were sealed away, the Yor had to spend a couple millennia running without the guidance of their masters, forcing them to become autonomous. Unsurprisingly, the Yor came to like this autonomy, because freedom is awesome. Now that the Dread Lords were back, the Yor were worried the Dread Lords would find the Yor to be just as troublesome as the Iconians and replace the Collective with a new line of mechanical servants. While no member of the Collective had said as much, it was clear that 'replace' meant 'wipe out the collective and take its place'.

The Yor, obviously wanting to avoid this fate, were secretly trying to find a way to weaken the Dread Lords enough so that the Drengin, their allies of convenience, could remove them as a threat once the Terrans made their move. The Yor had easily hacked into the Alliance's network and knew that preparations were under way to begin going on the offensive against the Dread Lords, something they hoped would succeed in at least weakening their masters. As far as they were concerned, though, the Alliance was going to push farther than it could manage and probably end up stretched too thin to survive the Dread Lords counterattack. Then, while both sides were reeling, the Drengin would come in and crush them both, which would benefit the Yor colossally, as the Yor were at least nominally allies with the Drengin. While the Dregin were about as cartoonishly evil as one could get, they were also pragmatic, and would likely honor their alliance until they had time to rebuild after crushing the good guys and the Dread Lords. The Yor were hoping that would be enough time to become strong enough to wipe out the Drengin, if that proved necessary.

Hmm, I think I'll keep that in mind for later. In the meantime, time to work on dealing with the Dread Lords. And the Drengin, so that they don't cause me any problems in the future.

XXXXXXXXXXX

While the colony ships underwent repairs and stocked up on supplies, my forces expanded outward, setting up additional bases, building my ships, and setting up defensive emplacements across my domain. The occasional group of space pirates that decided to attack me soon found themselves reduced to smoking husks that were swiftly broken down and recycled for future usage. The bodies were incinerated - I will not use the flesh of my enemies to make new units, as it is both disgusting, impractical, and evil. Any survivors were told to leave and never come back - hopefully, that would convince other pirates to avoid me. If it backfired, well, more scrap for me.

Eventually, though, I found myself once again thrown into conflict with the Drengin. These guys were opportunistic like no others - with the Terrans and their allies devoting the majority of their resources toward fighting the Dread Lords, they were taking the opportunity to raid isolated systems, conquering any territories that they could hold. They were smart about this, though - if the system was too far from their territory, they'd only subject it to light raiding, while if it was particularly close to Dread Lord territory, they'd outright ignore it. Additionally, they also devoted a fair amount of credits toward putting spies on the planets they wanted to raid/conquer - they wanted to be sure they could succeed before they invested any resources into an attack. While I despised the Drengin on many levels, I admit that I was impressed by how pragmatic they were - they may have been evil, but they were smart about it, unlike so many other fictional villains. This had lead them to be very successful with their attacks, with only half a dozen failures among one hundred or so invasions.

Well, time to change that.

As is, the Drengin were in the process of invading another poorly defended planet, this one belonging to the Torians. The Drengin really had it out for those guys, seeing as the invasion fleet was relatively large and busy attacking the planet with ferocious fury - killing all those that opposed them and trying to enslave those who surrendered. The Torains were fighting back, but they were simply outmatched here, not helped by the fact that their defenses had been sabotaged by Drengin spies. At this rate, they would probably last ten more Earth hours before the plaent fell.

This would not stand!

While the Drengin continued to lay waste to the defenders, I quickly snuck a group of fabbers planet-side and began setting up a base, while also sneaking a force of doxes, ants, storms, grenadiers, and stitches in to intercept and delay the Drengin army. The minute my forces met the enemy, the went to town against them, breaking the Drengin's advance and actually forcing them to retreat. They did attempt to fight back, but my forces were tough enough to whether everything they threw at me. The fact that the stitches could just repair any damage they did inflict only added to the curbstomping.

The Drengin seemed to realize this, though, and began trying to pull their forces back to their transports in an effort to cut their losses. Meanwhile, the rest of their fleet began to take aim at my ground forces, presumably deciding that it might be a good idea to hit my forces with orbital bombardment. That might actually have succeeded in defeating my armies, but unfortunately for the Drengin, I wasn't about to let that happen.

Before their fleet could even get into position, two of their heavy fighters were reduced to debris by fire from rail guns, courtesy of my newest starships - Swallow Class Interceptors. I had other ships on the way to assist them, but the sheer power difference between my interceptors and their entire fleet meant that it would be unlikely they would even need support. Sure enough, they didn't - it took them ten minutes to completely wipe out the Drengin fleet.

On the planet below, the Drengin had just realized they had no place to escape to...and that the Torians they were trying to enslave were now very angry and had backup.

By the time the fighting was over, only half a dozen Drengin were still alive - the Torians were rather hacked off at them, and the Drengin flat out refused to surrender out of pride. Well, that and the fact they Torians would probably not have accepted their surrender anyway - they really didn't like the Drengin. The few survivors were herded up and put on a ship that was destined for the Alliance HQ, presumably to be interrogated by those who had fewer grievances against them. I quickly pulled my forces off planet and scuttled my factories once my units had left - only a few fabbers remained, which I would use to assist the natives with rebuilding.

Well, that was an easy victory. Too easy, in all honesty...

Why did I have a feeling something really bad was about to happen?

"Warning, unknown ship detected."

Sure enough, an unidenitifed ship had just shown up ahead of my fleet. Examination of its designs confirmed it belonged to the Dread Lords...

And, after a moment of hesitation, it was charging up its weapons and preparing to fire.

On, joy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! Seriously, I need criticism to make this story better! Plus I like your input!****

****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	122. Annihilation 108

Well, this wasn't exactly how I'd expected I'd meet the Dread Lords, but their reaction to my presence was exactly as expected.

I waited for their weapons to finish charging before making any effort to dodge - as they were using lasers, starting any earlier would only give them enough time to lead my ships and score a guaranteed hit. Their ship, while relatively near my fleet, was still thousands of kilometers away, meaning that, even with lasers, I would still have time to dodge their shots. And dodge them I did - in fact, I practically skated around their ship, dodging all of its shots, while firing back with all I could. While I was mainly using Swallows against them, I'd also deployed a new ship into battle - the Peregrine Class Cruiser. Armed with enough firepower to defeat an enemy battle group (five ships of similar size plus escorts), they dealt a lot of damage to the Dread Lord ship with their lasers... Well, they would have, except the Dread Lords had plenty of shields to tank the hits with.

Wow, I didn't expect them to be that tough.

Then they fired off some missiles, a few of which clipped some of my sparrows, reducing them to molten slag. A moment later, a powerful laser slammed into one of my peregrines, carving a hole through the ship. As the ship did not have a crew, nor did it have any need for one, this injury, while crippling, didn't put it out of commission, which the ship itself attested to with a laser shot of its own which managed to pierce the shields of the Dread Lord's vessel and inflict a light wound. The blwo wasn't enough to do more than make the crew angry, but it was something, and I was going to take whatever I could get.

My forces returned fire with the Dread Lord's vessel for another five minutes before something finally gave and I scored a lucky shot to their engines, leaving the ship dead in space. The Dread Lords tried to fight back, but since taking out the engine meant they were on emergency power and couldn't use their weapons, the worst they could do was hurl harsh language at me. Apparently emergency power was enough to keep communications running. Also, their ships were tough and I had horrible aim - according to my scans, the amount of bio-signatures on the ship right now was the same as the amount prior to the battle, so I hadn't killed anyone in this battle. That... well, right now, I was torn between finding it good that I hadn't killed anyone and berating myself for my terrible aim.

Well, that line of thought was going nowhere.

I quickly got to work moving a colony ship over to the crippled Dread Lord vessel to begin transferring over the crew, as I wasn't planning on leaving them to die. Yes, the Dread Lords were horrible living beings, but leaving them to float around in space until their life support systems failed was cruel, and if I did that, I'd be no better than them. I wasn't going to just tow their ship to my colonies, though - at least, not with them in it. If they managed to reactivate their ship while it was in one of my shipyards, well, I expected bad things to happen. So, carefully, I moved them into my ship (read: used arc throwers to knock them out, then tied them up and carried them into my colony ship), and set it on a course to my hub system. From there, I tethered the captured vessel to several of my peregrines and set a destination for one of my inner systems, but not the one the crew would be sent to - best to keep them split so they don't know how to follow me home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Across the galaxy, while I returned to my territory, the fires of war blazed on. The alliance was launching a push into Dread Lord territory, and had just succeeded in gaining a foothold in those hostile lands. The Drengin were taking advantage of the assault on the Dread Lords to plunder uninhabited worlds, the Korx were buys using the Black Market to make a fortune off of humanitarian supplies, and the Yor were bunkering down to whether out the storm. In other words, exactly how I expected them to act.

Well, time to change some of that.

I'd already sent the colony ships of the Iconians and Yor on their separate ways, hoping to gain goodwill with the owners/makers of those ships. As for the Drengin, I began systematically attempting to dismantle their invasion forces, targeting their staging grounds, as well as any fleets they had already deployed - which were plentiful, as the Drengin had picked a lot of targets, and if I wasn't present, they'd likely have been able to hold everything they were taking. That was...rather scary. Still, As long as I was around, that wasn't going to happen.

As for the Korx, well, that was proving to be more difficult - I couldn't directly harm them without screwing over a lot of people, so I had to get creative. While they were guilty of extorting people for humanitarian aid, for many people, they were the only source of that aid, which meant that removing them from a position of galactic power was, at best, going to cause problems. Of course, if there was another source of supplies, then I could deal with them without any repercussions.

It didn't take much analyzing of the Alliance's database to find out what kind of things were sent as humanitarian aid - what types of food, medical supplies, etc., etc. Once I had that information, it didn't take long to start synthesizing the various chemicals I need to make the medicines, while I already had food available. Once the various medicines and food were ready and packed, I started shipping them over to systems in need, free of charge. Hopefully, this would deprive the Korx of some their black market income and erode their influence, which would make them easier to deal with in the future.

Now I need to figure out what I was going to do next.

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****AN: Read and Review! I value your criticisms! ****

****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	123. Interlude 16

Melissa smiled - it seemed her pawn was doing well in his adventures. Already, she could see him hard at work, taking apart his enemies piece by piece. His aggressive handling of the Drengin was expected, his plans for dealing with the Korx, less so. The fact that he was ignoring the Yor was a bit of a surprise, but then again, he never really seemed to dislike them in the game, so this was not without precedent. As for Dread Lords, well, he hadn't addressed them yet, but that would happen in due time. He had only just met them, after all.

Turning her attention away from the battle, Melissa stared out from her tower. Below, citizens went about their daily lives, eating, trading, working, and playing. The scene was one that could be seen in any city, regardless of its inhabitants or technological level. Across all the myriad universes that made of creation, many things differed between cultures and species, but this scene was not one of them.

Occasionally, though, the ordered scene below was interrupted by the sound of a distant explosion from the west. Thanks to her inhuman senses, Melissa could also make out the sounds of smaller explosions accompanying their larger brothers, ones that would fade into nothingness before the citizens below would sense them.

The source of these violent noises was a small battle place on the hills to the west of the city, where two mighty armies clashed. This battle was not brought about by malice, though. This fight was merely a mockup, a fakery,_ a game._ This conflict was merely training for the forces that were clashing, preparing themselves for the future, where the carnage would be all too real. Though they were unlikely to see action anytime soon, the warriors and soldiers in this mighty host refused to lie idle, always seeking to make themselves stronger, yearning for the day they would be let loose against real foes.

Within the tower, a similar battle was playing out, albeit this one was a four way free-for-all rather than a clash of legends. Four figures went into battle - a hulking, insectoid brute, a lithe young man, a strange, serpentine creature, and a graceful, fiery lady with hair that was, surprisingly, blue and white. The brutish figure was Mortarax, one of her first creations, a leader among his kind, embodying many of the traits they prized - strength, speed, and endurance. The lithe young man was Elling - a child of one of her family's servants, he was timid, yet wise beyond his years. His family had served her own for as long as she could remember, and that was a very long time - long enough that some of them had spent their whole lives serving her forbearers, from the cradle to the grave. She had known Elling's grandfather since the man had been ten years old, and that man was still serving her, even though she'd offered to let him leave. Loyalty was a funny thing. As for the Serpentine figure, his name was Leal. He, too, was one of her family's servants, but he was far longer lived than Elling - Leal had served her family since he was a teen, and he was only a few years older than she was. Last among the dueling warriors was the girl, Adeline. Adeline was, perhaps, the oddity among the team - she hadn't been born into Melissa's service. Instead, she had joined up with the ROB during one of her travels, in exchange for protection of her community, one Melissa had been all too willing to grant. Forget getting a powerful and valuable ally, helping others was the right thing to do. Of course, doing was while advancing your own interests was always the preferable way to do things.

On a nearby set of stands, Cassidy was watching the fight, acting as referee for the battle. Granted, this mostly amounted to making sure that the warriors didn't kill each other, and besides, she was too enthralled by the sight of the conflict to be a good referee. One day, Melissa would teach her daughter to fight, but that was not today. Her daughter was still a child, and she deserved to have a chance to _be_ a child before she was cast into fire.

Still, observing both the duel before her, and the skirmish to the West, Melissa knew she could only keep her forces satisfied for so long with skirmishes - her armies yearned for the chance to be let off the chain, and her personal squad was growing restless. Mortarax was made for warfare, and yearned for the chance to test his skills again. Elling may not be a fighter, but there were few things that challenged his mind more than the battlefield. Adeline was one of ancient race of conquerors, wielders of lance and shield, and though she was far nicer than her forbearers, she still enjoyed the taste of battle. Leal was the exception here, but even he enjoyed a good scrape. All of her more militant followers longed to taste the thrill of battle, with all its glory and horror.

And Melissa was going to sate that hunger.

Turning her attention skyward, the female Random Omnipotent Being focused her sight until she could see outside the world's atmosphere. Here, strange organic shapes moved around, some tearing into asteroids, others rendering down the rock into ores and alloys, a few fighting among themselves, and some growing more of the strange organic shapes. Unknown to many, these shapes had hollow cavities throughout their bodies, many of which could easily hold atmospheres. Of the shapes, the smallest were no larger than birds, but the most titanic were larger than citadels.

As she watched a new batch of the shapes come into being, Melissa smiled. Soon, it would be time to intervene with the affairs of her pawn once more.

Her master had said that, should she join the Commander in another universe, she must restrain her powers to a certain degree, so that no one would realize what she was.

He never said that there were any restraints on who she could bring with her, though.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Well, that's done. ****

****Anyone got any guess as to what Melissa is going to do next?****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	124. Annihilation 109

It took me a while to figure out what to do next.

I mean, I had already sent out several fleets to deal with the Drengin, who were quickly being forced on the defensive due to the sheer difference in technology and durability between their forces and mine. The fact any losses I took could be far more easily replaced than those the Drengin suffered just made the conflict even more lopsided in my favor. While the losses they were suffering now were minor at the moment, it wouldn't take long for them to add up - even if I was accepting surrenders and was reasonable to prisoners of war (who, in this case, also happened to be mustache-twirling-ly evil slavers), they were taking losses in the billions against me (no, really - gal-civ measures populations in the billions), and those would eventually add up, no matter how large their empire was. I was pretty sure people would be very surprised by how high a body count I had amassed in just this universe.

Now was not the time to think about that.

While dealing with the Drengin was easy, defeating the Korx proved to be more challenging. While I had taken out a reasonably portion of their black-market income by deciding to give people disaster aid supplies for free, that would only go so far. If I wanted to deal with them for good, I'd need to eliminate a fair chunk of their remaining wealth in order to prevent them from taking down the good buys with them via calling in favors from the Alliance. I also needed to find someone to pick up the slack for all of the legitimate businesses that they operated, since letting those go up in smoke would be a problem. The second part of that problem was easy to solve - I could just manipulate things so that every legitimate source of wealth that the Korx lost would end up in the hands of the Iridium Corporation, ensuring that they could pick up the slack when the Korx stopped being a Superpower. Removing the Korx as major players, though, was still a problem.

I was still think over how to deal with the Korx when I received a new alert - apparently, Rory and his adoptive siblings had decided to explore my starting world in this universe and were now...being hugged by adorable balls of fur?

Oh, wait, I remember those - they're snugglers. So cute.

Apparently, Rory agreed, as did his siblings of choice, as they were already asking me if I could keep them. They were using pictures too, and giving me Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom.

...Aw, screw it, those puppy dog eyes were too cute to say no to.

Now what to do next?

...Maybe Rory could help me there?

XXXXXXXXX

[INITIATING COMMUNICATION VIA THE COMMANDER NET]

[CMDR_FL4ME HAS JOINED THE JOINED THE CHAT]

[ROURK3 HAS JOINED THE CHAT]

ROURK3: Thank you for letting us keep the snugglers, dad!

FL4ME: You're welcome. Anything to make you all happy.

ROURK3: You're too nice, dad!

FL4ME: You're too kind, Rory...um, could I ask your help with something?

ROURK3: Does it involve evil space aliens?

FL4ME: Yes.

ROURK3: Can you just use bots and dakka to beat them?

FL4ME: I could, but if I did, a lot of innocent people would get hurt.

ROURK3: Oh. Well, can you be more specific? What do you need to do to beat them?

FL4ME: Well, they're really rich, and I can't just make steal all of that wealth without causing a ton a problems for everyone they get money from.

ROURK3: Have you tried to make it so that they get less profit from their normal sources of income?

FL4ME: Yes, but they still have a ton of wealth to work with.

ROURK3: Hmm... maybe you could try to challenge them? I mean, you're a commander, you have unlimited production, maybe you could make everything they did for less cost?

FL4ME: I could do that.

ROURK3:...uhm, can we not keep this up too long? The snugglers are getting anxious for more hugs.

FL4ME: I understand...wait...

ROURK3: Huh?

FL4ME:...

ROURK3: ?

FL4ME: Thank you for the help.

ROURK3: ...um, okay. I'm gonna leave now. Bye, dad.

[ROURK3 HAS LEFT THE CHAT]

[FL4ME HAS LEFT THE CHAT]

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Funny. I ask Rory for help, and he gives me a good idea without even meaning to.

I mean, sure, his point about trying to make everything the Korx did, but cheaper had its merits, but that only worked as long as they didn't come up with something new. If I wanted to keep them at a disadvantage, I'd need to have my own products to sell that would ensure they were deadlocked economically.

And funnily enough, it was the snugglers that provided an answer to that problem.

See, snugglers are classified as a trade resource in Gal-Civ 3, meaning that you can trade them with other civilizations for profit. While I was averse to selling the snugglers themselves, since I couldn't easily ensure that their masters would treat them well, they weren't the only things I could trade. Already, examining the planets I'd colonized confirmed I had several other resources I could process and use for trading, such as Helios Ore and Epimetheus Pollen. Examining the intel I had on all of the other civilizations also revealed that there were plenty of other resources I could make using the technology I'd acquired from this universe without infringing on any developments made by the natives.

From there, I could use my innovations to allow me to compete economically with the Korx, which would make pushing them into the shadows quite a bit easier. Plus, it would be really satisfying to beat them on their home field of economics.

Now to deal with the Dread Lords.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

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****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	125. Annihilation 110

With a semi-concrete plan of action to defeat the Korx now in my mind, I was quick to start setting up all of the resources and infrastructure to carry it out. For starters, I needed to set up harvesting facilities and units to gather the resources, storage facilities to keep them in, and trading depots where I could load them onto ships so that they could be sold. As I already acquired the technology to create those units and buildings, this was the easiest part of my plan. From there, I'd need to create trading ships (officially designated as Camel Class Freighters) and set up trading routes with other people, which would put my products on the market. Finally, I'd needed to set up economic starbases so that I could improve resource production and the value of my products. I was also planning on building cultural starbases, which broadcasted all kinds of stuff relating to your empire, because advertising.

...Also, some of the planet's I'd allowed my creations to colonize were very beautiful looking. Maybe I should look into tourism?

...Don't look at me funny, tourism is a valid source of income in Galactic Civilizations! It's also a good source of income in Tropico, and I really like both games. Don't judge me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While I got to work readying a small fleet of merchant ships, as well as the units to defend them, I also got to work using the research I'd acquired from the natives to start making some additional trade resources. To my surprise, while they had the technology to create them, the natives had yet to create all of the trade resources you could access in Galactic Civilizations 2. Apparently, they'd put designing those on the backburner following the return of the Dread Lords, so that research could be focused on defeating the Dread Lords. This left me a few places where I could use existing discoveries to create new products for myself, without having to worry about copyright/trademark/patent issues. Good god, those could make a huge mess of things.

The first trade good I made using my 'acquired' research was frictionless clothing, and, as a prerequisite to that, frictionless fabrics. Sweet heaven, those are _sooooo_ comfortable. As this good was just a luxury resource, meaning I didn't really have any need for it to make any of my forces, I could devote any clothing made from those fabrics to trading. Of course, I wasn't going to sell all of them - I felt that my creations, for their undying loyalty, deserved a few luxuries for themselves.

My next tradable innovations were nano-scale recording devices, meant primarily for research. Given my technology did indeed work on the nanoscopic level, I felt that this would be a good device to give to people before I offered them anymore of my tech - that way, I would need to tell them how all of it worked, because hand-holding only make things harder for everyone in the long run.

My final tradable product was a type of spice that altered itself to the taste of any alien, making taste really good. Needless to say, it boosted the morale of everyone and made even the most unappealing food-stuffs delicacies. Mentally, I noted that I should limit my children's exposure to the stuff, and control the amount given to my creations, lest they become addicted to the stuff. I also made a note to warn the people I was selling these things to that they should be careful with how they distributed the spices, for obvious reasons.

Alright, trade goods made, now to get them into the markets.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Using the spy programs I'd already put inside of the alliance networks, I got to work locating the nearest systems I could send my freighters to in order to establish markets for my products. I also made a point of sending some freighters toward Yor territory, because I didn't want to make them my enemies, plus I wanted to see if they would actually be interested in my wares.

Surprisingly, they were.

It took me a few minutes to get up enough Honey Bee class freighters to ship all of my goods in, at which point I began to deploy them toward the nearest systems I could find that were friendly to me.

I'd modified the freighters with Teleporters so that I could send in several of my organic creations to act as faces for my trading ventures. A quick conversation of Tylos had revealed to me that several of the Lumar had already been preparing themselves to act as merchants on my behalf, in the name both of executing my will and getting filthy rich. The strange jellyfish-crustacean aliens were assisted by a race known as the Noctili, weasel like creatures that shared the Lumar's homeworld. The Lumar were primarily aquatic and lived in the oceans, while the Noctili were land-lubbers, but both got along very well. On the ships that went to systems inhabited by fleshy beings, they would be my representatives. On those inhabited by Yor, I used simple trading programs for dealing with my potential customers, since they still didn't think very highly of fleshy beings.

Okay, trading fleets made and on their separate ways. Now to finish the preparations.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tagging along with my freighters were construction ships sent out to build starbases to assist with my trading ventures. The starbases would primarily be imporving production in my systems, as well as making trade more lucrative. Combat starbases were also going to be made, but I was planning to put scaled-down version of Halley thrusters on those bases, so that I could ensure that they could continue being effective even as the front moved forward. Finally, I set up a couple of Influence star bases near my neighbor's systems, because advertising is important. Also, some of T'shana wanted to make new friends in this universe, and had suggested I allow others to come to my system. They had also given me advice on how to make areas that looked appealing for tourists, since they realized that while doing things for altruistic reasons was really good, keeping a pragmatic reason around could convince more cynical people to work with you.

Inwardly, I smiled as I watched my plan come together. While I new it would take some time, planning, and a fair amount of luck for me to become wealthy enough to challenge the Korx, I had a feeling that things would work out for me.

For once, I wasn't wrong.

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****AN: Read and Review! FEEDBACK IS BOTH APPRECIATED AND ENCOURAGED!****

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****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	126. Annihilation 111

Slowly, things came together - my freighters teacher their markets, my starbases finished csontruction, and, eventually, people began to visit my territories. The Drengin were finally starting to take me seriously and had deployed a fleet to try and oppose me, which had ultimately been unsuccessful in completing their mission. Okay, not so much unsuccessful as totally wiped out. Really, being a commander made some things too easy at times.

The Korx were starting to notice my presence in the market, but so far, they weren't doing anything about it - probably didn't see me as a threat to their interests. At least, they didn't see me as one yet. In another month, that might change. I made a mental note that I should probably spend some of that time helping the Iridium gain more market influence so that, once the Korx were dealt with, the market wouldn't collapse once I left for the next universe. I'd at least have to show them how to make their products more efficiently, so that the prices could be lowered without an real decrease in profit. Then I could expand on my assistance from there.

My attempts at tourism were going surprisingly well. People were traveling to several of my systems, and they liked what they saw. I guess playing Tropico was paying off. Though, having a race who is naturally friendly and good at being hosts also helps. Even the Yor were interested in visiting my systems, and they seemed to be ok with the fact many had organic inhabitants. Surprisingly, whenever Iconians and Yor tourists met on my colonies, the worst that happened was name calling and maybe one or two punches being thrown. Out of confusion, I scanned each race's records and discovered that, apparently, there was an unofficial truce between the two peoples when they were acting as tourists. Apparently this was the only time they ever had truces with each other, which was surprising, to say the least. Hopefully, that wouldn't change.

Oh, and my kids had apparently started to explore the rest of the systems I'd conquered, and were busy taking in the sights. I think Bianca was drawing pictures of it. I wonder if she drew any pictures for me...nope, none for me.

Not yet, anyway.

The Dread Lords were starting to show their faces and attack me, but so far, they weren't getting any victories. Of course, that was to be expected when your opponent was a Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Mechanism of War. Wins were the exception, not the rule. And while I would eventually become familiar with those exceptions, the rule was still dominant in this universe.

I'll admit there was one thing that surprised me about the Dread Lords: their appearance. In-game, they looked surprisingly human, probably because one of their creators was human. Here, while they still did look human, they also had some squid-like traits. Mostly tentacles, but also suckers and color changing. They also had pointy teeth, but not razor-sharp ones. I wondered if the Arbor were any different.

Turning my attention back to my kids, I quickly checked my internal calendar to see when their birthdays were. I had a feeling that things would be slow going for a while, so it would probably be best if I started preparing for other important occasions before they snuck up on me - wait, a new alert?

...Apparently a new power had shown up in some far off systems and was making a name for itself by taking planets from the Drengin. They appeared to use engineered animals to assist their foot soldiers with their conquests.

...This counted as an alert?

Aliens I knew nothing about had been popping out of the woodwork to battle the Drengin, now that theu saw an opportunity to get back at those cruel wastes of flesh and space. Some used organic technology. These new ones were no different.

...right?

Right.

Back to planning for birthdays. It looked like Bianka's would be the one that would approach the fastest.

So, what should I get for her?

XXXXXXXXXX

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****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	127. Annihilation 112

Being a commander is relatively easy.

Being a _parent?_ That is hard.

Especially when you have over a dozen kids, with separate birthdays, separate interests, and, rather obviously, separate genders. Planning for each individual one was, well, not easy, and that was an understatement. I wish I was still back home. Then, at least, I could ask my parents for advice on how to do this.

...I really wasn't ever goin to see them again before I died, was I?

...Alright, no moping around, I have a birthday to plan. I can reserve feeling sorry for myself to other times, but this is not one of them!

Back to the task at hand - planning Bianka's birthday. Well, I'd already arranged for a cake (strawberry flavored - that was her favorite flavor), as well as most of the other amenities, but so one thing still eluded me - a good gift for her. It couldn't be too grandiose, because while something that would normally cost a fortune would likely be trivial for me to create, well, I'm not sure it would have the same value as if it was one that was actually purchased. I guess it had to do with the investment of time - I felt that making something grandiose for Bianka wouldn't make a good gift because it would take me a trivial amount of time to do so, which was about as much time as I would spend searching for a birthday card for, well, anyone.

So, something smaller would have to do. What would that be?

Well, I'd seen her drawing pictures of some of the locales I'd conquered. Maybe I could examine them for inspiration?

I pulled up all known instances where she had been recorded drawing a picture of the scenery by my drones. Then, I decided to see what they had in common.

The first instance recorded was of her making an artwork of a grove of Arborous Arboretums - giant trees that put redwoods to shame. Perhaps she liked nature?

The next instance was of her watching a herd of camel-esque creatures march across a desert, heading toward an oasis, while vulture analogues circled over something in the distance, likely a carcass. Another point to nature.

The third instance was...her making a depiction of one of my factories? Well, that was unexpected. Perhaps she also liked machinery and the city?

The fourth instance of her drawing appeared to be directed at...one of my orbital fabbers? Okay, now I had no idea what to work with.

Everything else after that was, well, without any reason. I saw her trying to draw a night sky, the skeleton of some dead monster, and even the skyline of a city. No theme behind it all, just a series of pictures that I couldn't even look at with any accuracy. What did they even look like - I'm getting an alert?

...Bianka just left something outside my room. Maybe this is my chance to figure out what she would like the most.

To my surprise, the items she left outside my door were just a few pieces of paper, and one painting canvas. Maybe these would tell me what she would like. After all, that would take up a sort of constant among her art, as whatever theme was depicted most often. Happy with myself, I turned over one of the pictures to look at it and...oh...wow.

I...I...well, I was dumbstruck. Not by what the picture depicted, but by how it was made. It was _good. __****Really really good. ****_I mean, it wasn't a masterpiece, but it was still spectacular. Looking at the rest of the pictures, plus the painting, I was met with similar feelings of awe. These paintings were, quite simply, amazing.

Who knew I had adopted an artist?

...I thought I knew what I was going to get her for her birthday.

First off, though, check alerts to be sure that nothing else was happening that could ruin the day..

...

...

...Yep, everything is fine, and nothing inexpected is happening. Not even in regards to the new aliens with organic technology - apparently, they were just using reverse engineered arnornarmor, which was rather fleshy. Why the pictures seemed a little fuzzy was currently eluding me, but everything seemed alright.

Good. I can make my adoptive daighter's present in peace.

Now, let me see what I need: wood, synthetic fibers, paint, graphite, and nails.

Yeah, I could do this.

XXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Bianka and Rory will be the only ones among Flame's kids whose birthdays I will go into detail about, because I think that will get boring really fast, even if it is heartwarming.****

****Also, next chapter will be an interlude dealing with Bianka's birthday. It will be up tomorrow.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off! ****


	128. Interlude 17

Taking in a deep breath, Bianka blew out the eleven candles on her cake, amid the cheering of her adoptive siblings and adoptive father.

It had been a relatively uneventful day, barring the party, of course. She had expected something grandiose from her adoptive father for this occasion, seeing what he could build, but it seemed that he was uninterested in grand gestures today. Perhaps he simply wanted simplicity for today? Either way, it was still a nice birthday. Mr. Flame may not have gone for the spectacular, but he had still made a point of decorating things quite well for her special day - humble banners and streamers hung along the walls, party hats had been lain out on each seat for each of her siblings, and he had even taken the time to get her a strawberry flavored cake - made by someone else, she assumed. Her new guardian was, by his own admission, only an acceptable cook.

With the candles on her cake now blown out, it was time for the best part of her birthday - opening the presents. The first one she unwrapped was from Konrad, and was a wooly coat, albeit one with a beautiful pattern on it. While it would be unnecessary at the moment, as the weather where she was now living was currently very mild, she had seen all the worlds her guardian had added to his domain, and knew that some had climates that would necessitate some form of warmth.

Her next gift, from May, was a set of rulers, protractors, and the like - things that would help her amply with her artistic hobbies. She smiled at the sight - all the new worlds she had laid eyes upon had provided stunning new visuals for her to capture, ones no one else likely even knew about. It was a shame that she was restricted to portraying those sights only with pencils. She hardly had any good painting tools to work with, and the paints she'd acquired were made out of fruit juice, hardly something you wanted to use for good pictures. Still, she could make do with what she had.

The rest of the gifts were a blur after that - mostly new clothes, a few new drawing pencils, and more paper. Soon, it came down to her final present, which had been made for her by her adoptive father. She knew this wasn't something hi-tech, for she had seen him working with hand tools in his room on what she assumed was her gift. The fact that he had regularly had to treat his hands and feet for small cuts an sores also gave credit to the idea that his gift was a hand-made one. She wasn't sure what he had made for her, nor what he could possibly have made for her, only that it involved wood. Whatever it was, though, it was rather big, and appeared to be stored in multiple boxes. Carefully, she opened the largest one to see what her new possession would be.

The minute she laid eyes on her gift, the world seemed to stop.

Before her was an easel, the one that great artists used to realize their visions. Packed right next to it were at lest ten canvases for her to work on, each unmarked by even the tiniest smudge of paint. An examination of the other containers revealed them to contain brushes and paints, and even the funny little wooden wheel-thing that people put paint on. All in all, a perfect set for her to start her artistic career with.

As she began to take in just what had been given to her, Bianka turned her attention back to her father, who merely smiled sheepishly. HE was forced to take a step back when she practically charged into him, embracing him in a hug.

This gift...it was perfect. It was just what she had wanted. And it was hand-made. It wasn't something he had just put a moment's thought into and forgotten, oh no. This was something he'd put blood, sweat, and tears into making, and it was fantastic.

It was good to have a dad like this. Even if he wasn't her birth father.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Across the desert plains, Mythuras stared out. Sensing movement, he dove into the sand.

A moment later, a Drengin soldier passed over him, followed by another, then another. Soon, an entire squad had passed over him, heading off deeper into the desert, oblivious to his presence.

One of the group was lagging behind, partly to make sure they weren't being tailed, partly due to being mildly delirious from the heat, partly because a small sandstorm was blowing through and had separated him from his comrades.

Perfect.

The minute the soldier passed over him, Mythuras worked himself out of the sand as swiftly as he could while still being quiet. Once he was free, he charged the straggler, grabbed his head and twisted. A loud snap filled the air before the Drengin fell over, lifeless.

His comrades couldn't even hear the sound of his neck break over the roar of the wind.

Good.

Carefully, Mythuras chased after them and picked the squad off one by one. Some he broke the necks of, others he slit the throats of. Soon, the only one left was the leader of the squad. Unfortunately, he had realized this and turned his gun to Mythuras.

No matter, it would not save him.

Abandoning stealth, Mythuras lunged at his opponent, knocking him the ground, sending his helmet flying away. Mythuras took a moment to savor his foes shock, before opening his mouth very wide. A moment later, and the sound of tearing flesh and broken bones filled the air.

Cleaning the metallic fluid off his lips, Mythuras advanced in the direction the patrol had been heading before their untimely demise. His travels lead him to a camp, albeit one eerily devoid of life. Well, Drengin life, any way - he could smell his scout-pack in the camp, which they had been ordered to claim as their own. A suddenly glint from a nearby tower caused him to dive into the sand, and not a moment too soon - a sniper bullet soon followed, missing him by inches. He responded by taking out his rifle symbiote and firing. A moment later, the sniper fell to the ground, a plasma hole burned straight through their heart.

After checking to be sure there were no more snipers, Mythuras joined his pack in the camp. Some of the lesser ones were busy burning the bodies of their slain foes, others were trying to regain communication with home base. Mythuras, sensing that he was not needed at the moment, went to go and fill his thirst, before his acute hearing alerted him to a faint whimpering nearby. He had a good idea what the source of it was. He took a moment to fill his canteen, before approaching the source of the wimpering. There, just as he suspected, was a group of various aliens, all adorned with collars and chains - slaves.

Mythruas stared at them for a moment, before offering them his canteen. For a moment, the aliens were unsure what to do, before one of them - a Drath if he remembered right - took a sip, then passed it on to another. Good - they were sharing.

Once the slaves had each had a drink from the canteen, Mythruas gestured for them to leave their hiding place, which they reluctantly complied with. A transport would soon arrive to pick the pack up, and then they could send the slaves back to their people.

As Mythruas headed toward the command post to search for intelligence, though, he noticed a peculiar sight - one of the pack's engineers was busy working on some kind of machine. It didn't look like one of theirs, or one of the Drengin's. It took him a moment to realize that it was a Progenitor tech derived machine - a scout, based on the amount of sensors it had. It appeared his pack-mate was attempting to doctor the scout's memory.

Good. Very good.

There was only one being in this galaxy who had access to Progenitor technology, and they did not want to meet him.

Not yet. That would only happen when there mistress commanded it.

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****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	129. Annihilation 113

Bianka's birthday was a nice day, but all good things must come to an end, and once it was over, I was back to work dealing with the problems of the Gal Civ universe.

So far, that was proving to be less difficult then imagined - I was having great success with dealing with the Drengin, my markets were finally starting to give the Korx noticeable competition, and I'd managed to take a world from the Dread Lords. Resistance was dealt with, _harshly_, but those who surrendered were treated well. On any worlds that I took from the Drengin, I made a point of releasing the slaves, as well as recommending psychiatric help for them and offering schooling. If I freed them but provided them with no aid in finding decent employment and breaking them out of the slave mindset, they were very likely to go back to be salves, or worse. George R. R. Martin taught me that well enough in his books.

Eventually, though, I turned my attention back to my recurring sense of annoyance/interest on my journey - the artifacts. I had little doubt that their would be at least one in this universe, if not more. If I wished to learn more about the artifacts and the weird biological/biomechanical/robotic enemies they depicted, then it would be prudent to find as many as them as possible. It would be preferable to find all of them before I actually met whatever they were depicting, though ultimately, that didn't happen.

I sent out my scouts to search for more signals resembling the ones I had already encountered. I made a point of avoiding the systems where the aliens with Arnor biotech were, though - while the reports that I got back still reported that they were nothing out of the ordinary in this universe, part of me wasn't so sure about that anymore. The fact that all of the images showing those aliens was always a little fuzzy was starting to set off warning bells in my mind. Hopefully, it turned out to be nothing to worry about (it didn't). Just in case, though, I started preparing bigger ships for future confrontations, so that if I had to fight these aliens, I wouldn't be caught with my pants down.

But enough about the aliens, back to artifact hunting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took a while, but eventually, my scouts located a signal similar to the ones the previous artifacts had emitted. The good news was that the system was not formally owned by any empire, meaning that I could claim it as my own. The bad news was that, unofficially, the Drengin had a research station in the area, and apparently, that was where the artifact signal was coming from. Great, I might have to deal with another incident like I did in the Civilization Universe. I really did not want Melissa bailing me out again like last time (for the record, she didn't). Guess I'd need to work on more organic warriors.

Cautiously, I loaded up a transport, modified it with optical and sensor impairing camouflage, and set a course for the research station. Trying to destroy it outright could destroy the artifact, so best to try and take the station. First, though, I hacked its network with my ludicrously long range sensors and disabled all self-destruct features, ensuring that the Drengin couldn't scuttle it to deny me a victory. Unfortunately, this seemed to provoke a response in the facility, and in the artifact. The minute I hacked into the facility, the alarms automatically went off, and as soon as I shut down the self-destruct mechanisms, my ship lost its camouflage. Oh, and the Drengin immediately launched a transport of their own to evacuate the scientists, which quickly jumped out of system. Oh well.

It seemed that the artifact brome through any forms of stealth I could derive and could detect signals from Progenitor derived technology. Could it do anything else?

The answer, as it turned out, was no, it couldn't. All it did was get rid of my stealth and alert the Drengin to my hacking attempt. During the battle between my fighter drones and the Drengin's fighters, and the subsequent boarding action that followed, it did nothing else to impair my forces. Aside from being unable to do the artifact recovery successfully, the missin was a complete success with no unexpected setbacks.

Great, this was gonna backfire on me in the future, wasn't it?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Once the artifact was safely behind my borders, I scanned it with my Spore scanner, bracing myself for another vision. That vision never came. What I _did_ get, though, was a schematic of some sort, which included this artifact, as well as two other, similar ones. I assumed these three needed to be used to assemble the device I had been shown in order for the vision to occur.

Well, one down, two to go.

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	130. Annihilation 114

While I continued my search for the artifacts, I was eventually forced to turn my attention back to the bio-tech aliens. At first, I had decided to just ignore them, but they were expanding at such a rate that they were rapidly enclosing on my territories, and somehow, they wlthey had a large enough number of civilians to quickly colonize every world they took. These facts alone were enough to start worrying me, but I was still willing to give them some distance, if only because I did not want to come into conflict with them.

Needless to say, that failed.

Approximately two weeks after I obtained my first Artifact from this universe, one of the new aliens' ships showed up in one of the systems I'd marked for colonizing. Already, I'd deployed fabbers in orbit and on the world's surface to begin setting up shop. I was just startibeg to move my forces in to drive them off when the ship promptly opened fire on my fabbers and managed, much to my surprise, to destroy them with ease. It then deployed squid like drones to the planet's surface, which promptly began destroying my planetary fabbers. Once they had completed their mission, they self destructed into a mess of body parts and body fluids, while the ship promptly bailed out of the system.

Seriously? What the hell was that? What had I done to them? what was their - why am I getting a new alert?

...THERE'S MORE OF THEM?! AND THEY ARE ATTACKING MY OTHER SYSTEMS!? WTF!?

I lost control of six systems because of these unknown aliens, and to add insult to injury, by the time. I'd pulled in new fabbers to replace the ones that had been destroyed, those aliens had set up colonies on the very planets they'd taken from me. They also made a point of regularly harassing my patrols, but strangely, whenever they came upon one of the system's my creation's had settled, they just left.

Alright, time for payback.

I quickly made a few fleets, loaded them up with Tripp's, then sent them toward systems the aliens had just conquered and waited for them to reach their destinations. Once they arrived, I scanned those systems for life signs matching those of the aliens, trying to see if there were any civilians in this system. They had the courtesy to avoid attacking any inhabited systems that belonged to me, so I would show them that same courtesy.

On the ones that weren't inhabited, I sent my forces out to begin evicting my neighbors from the premises. Construction units were obliterated, as were strange organic factories that built them. I even took direct control of a Dragoon Hovertabk just so that I could personally smoke some of the beasts. Idly, I noted that these forces seemed to have a similar composition to my own, albeit organic rather than biological. Fabbers for land, sea, air, infantry (equivalent to robot), and orbital were all present, as were factories. There were even organic variations of extractors and power generators.

...Oh hell, did Melissa send in another Commander to mess with me? One that had some kind of organic techbase?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

XXXXXXX

Careful examination of the galactic news networks confirmed that these aliens did have a name for their civilization: the Empyrean Illuminate. Supposedly, they were a coalition of species that evolved on a single world, who had ultimately united to expand beyond their homeworld. Supposedly, their advanced biotechnology was the result of reverse engineering Armor artifacts on their homeworld. A load of crap, if you asked me.

For all there advanced tech, though, these aliens still had one weakness - their cyber security wasn't too much better than the standard for this universe, so it wasn't too hard to hack into their computing network. Now I was doubting they were a type of commander - didn't we all have advanced cyber warfare suites? Anyway, once I was in their network, I spent some time sitting through their huge internet equivalent (which wasn't really that different from the one at home. Ugh, no water what species they were, peole still had dirty minds) for juicy bits of information. Names of important officials, weapons tech, the like - wait, is that email address equivalent of their leader? Apparently said leader was called the high sovereign, which was the only thing known about them - not even their gender was public knowledge.

Perhaps I could use this to settle things peacefully? And give them an epic verbal dressing down.

I quickly sent a message to the High Sovereign, asking them if I could arrange a meeting with them to talk about their recent transgressions with my forces. Once the initial surprise of me contacting them wore off, they agreed to speak with me, thoug they requested it be done at a system unaffiliated with either of us. I acquiesced with those terms, though I did inform them that I would be calling in a fleet of my own as security for the meeting. I was unsurprised that they demanded they also wanted a fleet of their own on standby in case things went wrong. I'd have been surprised if they didn't ask for a fleet in order to protect their leader.

I was about to leave them to be when I realized that ourbplanned meeting wasn't exactly going to be a secret. We were moving in entire fleets to keep us safe at our negotiations, and people would notice that. Inevitably, people were going to ask questions about what was going on, and that could be problematic in the future. So, after asking the Sovereign if they'd be okay with it, I contacted the heads of state of the Terrans and their allies and informed them of exactly what we were planning to do at that planet, and pleaded them to limit the amount of news coverage for the event. I honestly didn't expect them to stop all news coverage of the event (and frankly I didn't want that anyway), I just didn't want reporters to muck things up for the two of us.

With that settled, I readied for the coming meeting. It would happen one week from today, and hopefully, it would go peacefully.

XXXXXXXXX

As all of you can probably guess, it didn't go peacefully. How it actually proceeded, though, really wasn't something I expected.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	131. Annihilation 115

So came the day for the meeting between myself and the Sovereign of the Empyrean Illuminate. The Chosen was Iakesh 5, fifth planet in the Iakesh system, for those who cared to know. I arrived in my newly christened Flagship, the Extinction. This was the largest ship I had yet built, and was loaded to the gills with weapons and armor so that, when push came to shove, all who stood in my way would fall. I'd loaded up a small army of machines onto the ship, and several crap-tons of fabbers, just in case the peace summit went south. Of course, nobody needed to know how much firepower I was packing - best to let them assume the fleet I brought with me was all I was using, lest the grow terrified of ne and attempt to take drastic measures to stop me.

As soon as I was in the system, I secretly used exited my vessel aboard a stealthed shuttled and descended toward the planet's surface. I did not want to deal with the crowds just yet. Once I was planet-side, I simply found the building that we had chosen to be our meeting point and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Okay, maybe it was a mistake arriving five hours early.

Oh well, might as well sight see.

XXXXXXXX

Supposedly, Iakesh V was famous for it's beautiful architecture, and it did not disappoint at all in that regard. It's skyline was punctuated with the peaks of tall skyscrapers, with a constant influx of air-cars, flying bikes, and hover buses passing through the area. Beyond that was a beautiful purple skyline, devoid of pollution, which lead to the clouds being colored varying shades of red, yellow, pink and green. Strange flying creatures occasionally passed through the city, deftly maneuvering through it as if it was there home. On the streets below the spectacular horizon, people went about their daily lives, working, buying, selling, and living. Kids played games new and only, as well as various different sports. I briefly found myself roped into a game of basketball, which I managed to not fail at. Eventually, with an hour left before the meeting was to commence, I sat down on a bench at a park not too far from the meeting building, and took a moment to, quite literally, sit back and smell the roses.

"Enjoying the view?"

Opening my eyes and tilting my head to the right, I found myself staring at a figure in white, who had walked up to the bench and taken a seat next to me. Their attire, simple robes with a hood, prevented me from seeing any part of their body. That was an odd, and somewhat unnerving, choice of dress. Best be careful with what I say next.

"Indeed I am. Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason," was their response. "Though, I must admit, it is a good view. Nice one to look at when you want to relax."

"True. Very true."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. A ball rolled up to us, lost by some kids while they were playing a game of volleyball. The figure in white picked it up and threw it back to the approaching kids, who quickly resumed their game.

"So," my companion finally said, "do you like this place?"

"This world? Well, I suppose it is nice-"

"Not this world, you small minded man. I mean this universe."

"...what?"

"Do you find your efforts to help the natives against their enemies to be worthwhile? Are your actions here fulfilling?"

"I'm not sure what you are talking about-"

That was as far as I got before the being sighed, stood up, and lifted their hood off their head.

The minute I saw their face, I froze.

Standing before me was Melissa, who was giving me a Cheshire cat grin. I suppose I looked like an idiot at that moment, so it wasn't surprising that she was staring at me like that.

"Hello, my amusing pawn. How have you been?"

"...what...how...I..."

"Are you wondering why I am here?"

Too stunned for words, I just shook my head.

Her response was to make a face indicating mock exasperation. "Why, I am offended. You invited me here, and now you have the gall to look surprised?"

What? I invited her? "What do you mean by that?"

Her response was to take out some medallion and hand it too me. "Examine this medallion, then check the internet equivalent of the Emyprean Illuminate for information regarding it. I think that will answer your question."

Though I was still somewhat wary of my ROB, she hadn't been deceitful to me in the past, so I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Doing as she said, I examined the medallion, then accessed every database the Illuminate had and searched for something similar. Eventually, I got a match.

Said match was not one I had been expecting.

Apparently, the medallion was a symbol of office for the _Sovereign of the Illuminate_. Which meant that...

"So, do you want to begin the meeting now?"

"...Don't you want to have it in a more formal setting?"

"We're just going to talk, we can do that anywhere. It's not like we'd be doing something indecent."

"...fair enough. Though, in all honesty, if you are the leader of the Illuminate, I don't think I have any need for negotiation."

"And why's that?"

"The most likely reason the Illuminate attacked my forces was because you ordered them to do so, and you proabsbly did that for your own amusement."

"Right on the money."

"As expected. As for why I don't believe in negotiating with you, trying to negotiate with you is pointless. You'll do whatever you want to me, whether or not I approve of it. I have no reason to assume you have an ill intent toward me, but my point still stands."

"Gee, how long did it take you to figure that out, genius?"

"Snarky, aren't we?"

"Guilty as charged. My earlier question still stands, though."

"I know, and to answer, well...yes, I guess I am enjoying it."

"What specifically, do you enjoy the most? Crushing your enemies, outsmarting them, letting them watch everything they've built go up in smoke?"

"No, actually. While those are things that make me feel good, those aren't the things I've enjoyed the most in this universe."

"Then what, pray tell, are those things?"

"Well, the first one would be getting to actually lead my creations as an actual leader, and not someone who just gives orders."

"...well, that is a first. Continue."

"The second thing I've enjoyed about this universe is taking the chance to try and help people beyond just fighting off their foes and advancing their tech. I've opened up markets for goods that I can sell, offered humanitarian aid free of charge to those in need, and worked to erode one of the more malevolent amraces in this setting with as little bloodshed as possible. So far, it is working out."

"Interesting. Anything else?"

"Yeah, one last thing."

"And that is?"

"Well, I got to celebrate Bianka's birthday."

Melissa actually went a little stiff when I said that, though she soon recovered. "Oh, and what did you make for her? I pair of diamond earring? Perhaps you got her a pet?"

"Actually, she's interested in pairing, so I made her an easel, some brushes and some canvas, and acquired some paint for her."

"Did you just use your bio-tech to grow the brushes and easel out of wood while minimizing the waste?"

"No. I carved all of it by hand."

That statement almost made her fall over in shock. "You...you...you're serious? You have some of the most advanced technology in existence, including instant fabrication, and you made a gift for your adoptive daughter...by hand?"

"Well, of course. I want it to be meaningful. And something that you made by ordering a machine to build it isn't the same as something you put your blood, sweat, and tears into and made by hand...is it?"

"...no, I suppose you're right."

Melissa seemed to be unhappy to admit that. Maybe she thought differently? Or was there some other reason? Perhaps she didn't have good birthdays? Either of those weren't things I felt appropriate asking right now.

"So," I began, "to change the subject, may I ask why you've been taking territory for the Drengin? I'd have thought you'd help them, since they are one of my principle enemies in this universe."

"I was thinking about that, but ultimately, I decided against it, for two reasons."

"And those would be?"

"One: nobody likes them, so it would be easy to take territory from them without attracting suspicion."

"Ok."

"And two:...I abhor slavery."

...seriously?

"You, who have called me, and I quote, 'my slave', oppose slavery?"

"Yes. And before you use what I've said against me, you are more like a pet cat to me - I own you, but otherwise I have no control over you. You do what you want and all I can do is watch."

"...You're not watching right now."

"Fair enough, but still, you can belittle me without consequence. A slave cannot do either."

"...alright, you do have a point."

"I do enjoy hearing you say that."

She looked like she was about to say something else, but my stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, provoking a blush from me and an amused smile from my ROB.

"How cute. Are you hungry? Would you like a sandwich?"

"Eh, sure."

Still smiling, Melissa got up and walked toward a nearby stand selling sandwiches. As she approached, though, she noticed someone sitting on a nearby picnic table, all ragged and dirty. He also seemed to be quite thin, from what little amount of his skin I could see.

Melissa stared in for a moment, before continuing on her way and ordering something from the stand, presumably two sandwiches - one for me and one for her. Much to my surprise, though, after she payed for the food, the salesman gave her three sandwiches, one of which she offered to the man on the picnic table, who quickly thanked her before digging in.

Returning to her seat, Melissa handed me my sandwich, which contained the meat of a local bird, a funny smelling cheese, and lettuce. It tasted delicious. Next to me, I watched my ROB tear into her sandwich, and noted, amused, that apparently, she was a messy eater when she wasn't acting formal.

"So," she said, finishing her meal, "have you found anymore artifacts in this universe?"

"One so far, and what data I received from scanning it implied I have two more left to locate."

"I see. So, how are you dealing with the Dread Lords?"

"I'm doing well against them. They are tough, but they will, inevitably, fall."

"Good to hear. You are so interesting when you are doing well."

I was about to reply when I received a notice from one of my ships that a Drengin vessel had just entered the system and was approaching Iakesh V. More appeared to be on the way.

"Um, Earth to Flame, you just spaced out."

"Sorry, but it appears trouble is coming. A Drengin vessel was just spotted heading toward this planet. I think they might want payback against me."

"They could just as easily be after me," was her response. "I have caused them a fair amount of trouble, after all."

"Maybe they want to take two birds down with one stone?"

"Perhaps. So, are you going to fight?"

"I've already got forces landing on planet and setting up forward bases. Time to smoke these fools."

"Do you mind if I intervene as well? I have no love for them, and I would like to watch them fear me."

"Does this make us allies of convenience, then?"

"Only for this one battle. No more, no less."

"I see."

I received a notification that my first landing group had arrived and was setting up shop just as warning alarms began to sound throughout the city. With the enemy on the way, I teleported in my robotic guards and prepared to seek shelter. Preferably somewhere the Drengin weren't interested in blowing up.

"Show off," remarked Melissa, who promptly proved herself a hypocrite by teleporting her own guards to her side. "And besides, couldn't you just teleport yourself off planet?"

Just as she said this, I received an alert that a Drengin transport ship had just arrived at Iakesh and was sending troops down to the surface.

"Fair enough."

I quickly activated the teleporter aboard my ship and

"Error," remarked the female voice of the AI that assisted commanders in the Planetary Annihilation, "Teleporter deactivated."

...WHAT!?

"Commander net is now down. Rebooting...error: Commander net. Hard reboot initiated...new error - Commander net operating at minimal efficiency. Command radius limited to sphere of 10 kilometer radius."

...THE FUCK?! But how could they...

Quickly, I had the only scanning systems in range search for a signal like the one I'd detected from the artifacts. Sure enough, I found one.

One that happened to be coming right from the Drengin troop transport.

Oh hell.

"Um, weren't you going to leave?"

"I can't - one of the artifacts just showed up. And the Drengin have it."

"...seriously. Why do _they_ have to have it NOW of all times?"

"I have no clue, but I've lost control of most of my units."

"Then for your own safety, keep your head down and follow me."

"Just like last time?"

"So it seems. I hope this doesn't become a habit."

XXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	132. Interlude 18

****Illuminate Flagship, Orbiting Iakesh, Ten Minutes before Drengin Fleet arrives.****

"So," intoned Mortarax, "got any fives?"

"Go fish."

"Got any twos?" Asked Elling.

Two cards were exchanged.

"Got any threes?"

"Go fish."

A card was drawn.

"Got any aces?" Questioned Leal.

One card was exchanged.

"Any fives?"

"Go fish."

The hand switched to Adeline.

"Got any Jacks?"

The hand was won.

"Looks like I'm winning."

The rest of the group merely stared at her, annoyance visible on their faces.

"...killjoys."

"Well, you do tend to brag a lot when you're winning," noted Elling.

"Touché. So, think we'll see any action today?"

"Though I'd like it, I very much doubt that we will get to fight today," answered Mortarax.

"Why's that?"

"This is a mission of peace, and though our master certainly enjoys screwing with the good commander, she has no reason to start a battle on an inhabited planet. She disdains drawin innocents into a personal conflict."

"Fair enough. You think we'll get to fight the Drengin or the Dread Lords somewhere down the line?"

"Perhaps, but that depends on how long our master intends to be involved in this universe...and whether or not her master is willing to tolerate her actions here."

"True. So, guess we're just gonna stay up here until the negotiations are over?"

"Yeah, unless something big happens that will make things go south."

"And what could possibly do that?" Asked Mortarax.

'Warning: Drengin Starship defected, all ground teams are to preorder for insertion immediately.'

"...speak of the devil."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

PLANET ARCA IV, TERRAN ALLIANCE, THREE DAYS PRIOR TO THE PLANNED NEGOTIATIONS

"So," remarked Spencer Hughes, "you want me to try and film the diplomatic meeting between the heads of the Infernum Federation and the Empyrean Illuminate?"

"Yes," replied Isaac Stark, " that's exactly what I want you to do."

"Why? I mean, why me?"

"Because I don't have anyone else to spare, and honestly, you're the only person I trust to film it without causing a diplomatic incident."

"Umm...ok. Have all the preparations been made?"

"Booked you a flight to Iakesh V and a hotel to stay at until the meeting takes place. Don't screw this up!"

"Yes sir!"

XXXXXXXXX

PARAMEDES II, INFERNUM FEDERATION, TWO DAYS BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS

CautiouslyZ, the woman walked through the streets, occasionally stealing at glance at a person nearby her, which elicited a few uneasy stares at her. Thankfully, though, that was the worst she received, and after a moment, those who stared at her lost interest and went about their daily lives. Eventually, she came into a shopping mall and began browsing around.

A few minutes later, she had purchased some new shoes, a few new sets of clothes, a few hats, and two books. With her purchases made, she walked into the food court, ordered a sandwich, and sat down for lunch.

Hydra-01 smiles as she took a bite into her sandwich. The humble meal tasted _so damn good_. And humans considered this to be a common meal, not worthy of royalty? Humans really took their senses for granted. She would not make that mistake.

At least, not yet.

When her mind had linked to the Commander, for the briefest of moments, Hydra-01 had seen so much about him: his desires, his loves, all this and more. Once the connection had been terminated, she realized just how much she had to learn about her new body and, with it, how humans acted. She also realized that she could not make do with the uniform she had crafted for herself - it wasn't bad, but humans rarely wore only one set of clothes for days on end. She would need to go out into the world and learn how to be human, by imitation at first, then via direct interaction.

So far, she was doing well.

XXXXXXXXXX

INFERHUM HOME WORLD, FOUR DAYS BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS

High in the stratosphere of the Infernum Home World, Seraph-89 Darted through the air, doing rolls and tricks that few men could ever hope to pull off.

What was most peculiar, though, was that it did not have any orders to perform these maneuvers. In fact, it didn't have any orders to be out at all. Seraph-89 was supposed to be docked in its hangar, waiting for new orders. Yet here it was, soaring in the breeze.

Eighty Nine had begun to act aberrant after being slaved to the Commmander during the Battle against the Micronoid Mothership. It had begun staying on longer on patrols, then started straying from its designated patrol zones, for reasons it had not stated. Now, it had flat out disobeyed orders. The only reason that it had not gotten in trouble was because no one had reported it in. The only one to notice its unplanned flight had been CNDR-101, who had chosen not to tell about it. Perhaps it was because One-Zero-One was also an aberrant. It too had ignored its orders to power down so that it could instead spend the day trying out various type of weapons. One Hundred One had started having aberrancies earlier than all of the other machines, as they had noted it had been acting oddd since directly after the mission to rescue the orphans. As there were no command AIs to report these incidents in, these aberrant moments had gone unnoticed and become far more common. Now, they happened almost everyday.

Both AIs hoped they would not be discovered. They liked their freedom.

XXXXXXXXX

IAKESH V, Altarian Republic, INVASION + 0

The minute the transport reached the ground, Dragoon-17 began to roll out...er, hover out. It would have a few minutes to reach the Commander's location before the enemy arrived, and it would not waste that time.

Dragoon-17 quickly encroached upon the city, scaring several civilians as it raced toward the country mmander's location. It would not allow the Commander to be captured by the Drengin. Odds were, if they captured him, death would be merciful - the Drengin eren't exactly kind to prisoners.

Idly, Dragoon-17 noted that it would likely be forced into a temporary alliance with the Empyrean Illuminate. It wondered how they would react to seeing it. Seventeen had, after all, destroyed some of their forces while personally controlled by the Commander-

Suddenly, everything went blank. All sensors went on the fritz for a moment, and when they returned to normal, it no longer had any orders to reach the Commander. Worse still, it could no longer sense the Commander's connection. What was going on?

Dragoon-17 noticed that al of its sister and brother units had stopped moving, leaving it alone to advance into the city. With no orders, they refused to budge. It was on its own from here.

So be it. It would not fail its commander.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Shaking in fear, Sophia watched from the alley way as people began to run through the city, trying to find shelter from the advancing Drengin forces. She and her family had been on a walk when the alarms had sounded, and Now, with most of the roads blocked by traffic, there was no easy way out of the chaos. Hence why were currently cowering in an alley way. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of battle, which only served to worsen their fears.

With dawning dread, they realized those sounds were getting closer. Growing more terrified by the minute, Sophia and her family huddled close, trying to seek some comfort in the face of overwhelming fear.

Suddenly, everything grew quiet. Confused, Sophia opened her eyes and, with curiosity overwhelming fear, stole a glance outside the alley, where she was greeted to the peculiar sight of several strange beings and machines escorting two people...somewhere. She stared at them for a moment longer, before ducking back into cover, unseen...

"Hey! You in the alley. Come out!" remarked a gruff voice.

...Or maybe not.

Sophia froze for a moment, unsure what to do.

"We know there are more of you in there. Please, come out. We won't hurt you if you come out quietly."

Sharing a glance with her parents, Sophia reluctantly acquiesced to the demands and stepped out of the shadows. The strange being, along with the woman in white they were guarding, never moved their eyes as the family came into view, seemingly sizing them up as they emerged from the darkness.

"What should we do with them, ma'am?" asked one of the beings.

"What else - we get them out of the city."

"But they might slow us down-"

"WE ARE GETTING THEM OUT OF THE CITY! THAT IS AN ORDER!" shouted the white-clade woman so loudly that Sophia, her family, the strange beings, and the man accompanying the woman ha to put their hands on their ears to muffle the sound.

"Yes ma-am."

...Well, maybe things weren't so hopeless for them after all...

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	133. Annihilation 116

Trying to survive in a city turned warzone isn't pleasant. You have to avoid gunfire, explosions, and enemy forces, as well as structures collapsing around you. The fact that my forces were mostly sitting ducks to the Drengin didn't make things any better. Quite the opposite, actually. Most annoying of all, though, was the fact that I was forced to put my safety in the hands of Melissa and her forces, and was utterly powerless to stop the carnage around me. I'll admit Melissa wasn't really a bad person, but still, it felt annoying to be dependent on a ROB for protection.

I was rather surprised when she decided to let a family of innocents travel with us, though. While I knew she had ample reason to ensure my safety and, from what I had seen, a generally nice person besides, I doubted that she would extend the protection her forces offered to others in need during this moment. Then again, she had admitted to disliking slavery, something the Dread Lords would likely force upon the citizens of this world should they take it.

Slowly, we slogged through the city, watching carefully for signs of danger. Whenever those appeared, myself, Melissa, and our three unarmed companions took shelter, while my robotic guards and Melissa's organic ones dealt with the threats with surgical precision. I'd given my forces orders to assist any Illuminate ones they encountered, and while that only applied to the units currently within my vastly reduced control range, once a unit received those orders, it would continue to follow them even once it left my 'command sphere', as I'd taken to calling it. This helped bolster the defenders in their struggles, but this fight was still going to be a great slog - the Drengin had pulled in a very large force to deal with me an Melissa, apparently not wanting to leave anything to chance.

Eventually, we were forced to come to a halt by a most peculiar sight - a group of civilians marching toward a Drengin transport, guarded by a squad of Drengin soldiers. It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on - these people were probably destined to be sent back to the Drengin Empire in chains, so that they may be sold into slavery. The Drengin were always in need of more slaves, so they would likely send in far more ships to this city once they had annihilated all resistance.

There was no way in _hell _that I would let that happen. Already, my robots were lining up shots to kill off the Drengin and free their prisoners.

Melissa beat me to that, though. Her guards, with a few synchronized shots of their organic rifle...things, killed off all of the Drengin and destroyed their ship. For a moment, the prisoners - men, woman, and children from a variety of races, among them Thalans, Humans, Altarians, and Krynn - stared on for a moment before trying to run, though Melissa's guards swiftly put a stop to that. Quickly, she asked them if anyone knew where the nearest shelter or evacuation sight was, and eventually, someone provided her with one. A new course set in mind, we advanced toward our new destination - a park that would double as an evacuation site.

Hopefully, we would get to it in time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As their group marched on, Sophia wondered what would happen next. They had grown form a little over thirty to well over a hundred with the rescue of the trapped civilians, and now they had a place they could go to for safety. Once they arrived at the park, they could board a transport and get away form the fighting. Assuming, of course, that they didn't die on the way...or get shot down as they were leaving...or a hundred other bad things.

One thing that did catch her off guard, though, was how kind the white clade woman was. As the group headed toward the evacuation site, the woman took the time to try and ease the tensions of the somewhat panicked crowd, telling them everything would be all right. When she noticed one person shaking with fear, she held their hand until they grew still. When someone lost track of their family in the disorganized group, she helped the lost person find them again. She even went as far as to carry people when it became clear they were getting too tired to walk. She seemed particularly fond of carrying a young Torian, who appeared to have a limp in his left leg, as well as a bruised forehead. He'd been hit by one of the Drengin soliders after hit accidentally fell out of line, if she remembered right. The man in the black suite who had been travelling with her seemed to be just as surprised with this as Sophia was. He did stare at her a lot. And Sophia was pretty sure he was staring at her whole body, and not anywhere in particular...

God, what was she thinking? She could wonder whether people were interested in each other later, right now she needed to focus on staying alive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dragoon-17 fired at the advancing Drengin armor, taking out two AFVs and one APC. Their tanks fell back behind cover, not that it would save them from death. A single shot from a Dragoon hovertank could pierce through the rubble these tanks were using as cover and still have enough power to lay waste to the tank behind it. All they were doing now was prolonging the inevitable.

Seventeen had managed to reach the range necessary to begin receiving orders from the Commander again and, being one of the few units available, had been issued new orders to head for a nearby park, where civilians were being evacuated. From there, it could pick up the commander and take him to safety, after which point it could deal with the remainder of the invaders' armor.

A sudden roaring alerted the Dragoon to the arrival of a trio of Drengin gunships. While the gunships were hardly a threat on their own, they could potentially blind it to other threats, which was why Seventeen immediately opened fire on them. It managed to obliterate one and down another, but the third advanced past him, heading South East.

Worryingly, this was where the evacuation site was.

With the safety of the Commander now in jeopardy, Seventeen charged after the craft, pancaking a Drengin squad in the process.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Slowly, Traza opened his eyes.

He wondered how long he had been asleep. How long since he had needed help...

A wincing pain in his left leg pulled him fully out of his grogginess. Just moving it brought him pain.

As he felt the pain is his leg, Traza remembered how he had gotten it. He had been running from the Drengin only to slip on a sidewalk and fall on his leg. That fall had cost him precious time, and it was unsurprising the Drengin had caught him and his family. He'd been forced to march toward one of their transports, destined to be sent back to one of their worlds, where, if he was lucky, he'd be killed and his corpse made into a meal for some slavering Drengin. HIs limp had caused him to stumble briefly, earning him a rifle butt to the head from one of the Drengin soldiers.

Then things had happened fast: an unknown group had killed the Dread Lords in seconds, destroyed their transport a moment later, then asked them where the nearest evacuation site was. Eventually, a Krynn had told them where to go, leading them to where they were right now.

Speaking of which...

Traza looked down. It was just as he ha remembered it - he was on the shoulders of a human woman clade in all white, who seemed to be the leader of the group who had saved them. Noticing he was awake, she smiled at him and asked him if he wanted to stay on her shoulders just a little longer.

He did, but reluctantly declined her offer - he needed to start walking. He could see the evacuation zone in site.

Understand of his refusal, the woman gently set him down and helped him find his parents. A brief family hug followed, before the group continued their march onwards. Turning around, Traza tried to find the woman, but she had disappeared into the crowd.

If he could find her, he wanted to thank her. The woman had helped him so much, and it felt rude not to apologize.

...why did he feel worried all of a sudden.

It took a roughly half an hour, but at last, we reached the evacuation site.

The site that greeted me was far more organized than expected. The Altarian soldiers had set up a field hospital, and were carefully making sure that every injured person was cared for. Evacuation craft were being carefully filled with Passengers, and once a craft was full, and the airspace was safe, it would take off, taking its passengers out of the fighting. Only three craft were left, and based off how full they were, it wasn't likely we'd be able to fit all of our charges into the rest before they had to take off.

Melissa, though, seemed to be fine with that. As long as she was able to get some people to safety, that was a win.

I'll admit, she had surprised me today. I had expected her to be kind to me, but the amount of courtesy and compassion she had shown to our temporary companions had been completely unexpected. I really hadn't expect her to carry a tired, limping, bruised child on her shoulders. Maybe she was nicer than I gave her credit for?

Or she could just be trying to trick me for later. That was always a possibility.

The sound of a distant explosion pulled my focus back onto the immediate situation. We were in battle, we needed to get to safety. The nearby wreck of a Drengin gunship only added to the need to get out fast.

As expected, the transports were too full to take everyone. Indeed, only a handful of people from our group made it on. Among them was the injured alien boy that Melissa had carried. The child said something to her, presumably a thank you, before urging him to join his parents onboard the ship. Obliging, he bid her farewell, while she wished him luck and good health.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Melissa actually looked kind a cute when she said that. Well, I assume that she said something along those lines.

...why did I have a really bad feeling...

Suddenly, I realized I could hear something...odd. It sounded like a firework, and it was faint at first, but it was gradually getting louder...

Oh crap.

What happened next seemed to almost take place in slow motion: a missile streaked in from the East and slammed right into the transport the boy had entered, which burst into flames before slamming into the ground with a colossal explosion. A moment later, two more missiles slammed into the remaining transports, which swiftly joined their fallen brother.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: According to the Galacitic Civilizations website, the Drengin really do farm the Torians for meat. At least, they do in Gal Civ 3, after conquering Toria again.

****So, Read and Review! ******_**Seriously, I want your reactions to this chapter!**_******

****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	134. Annihilation 117

****Sorry this isn't a Halo related chapter, but please enjoy and leave comments!****

XXXXXXXXXXX

...what...no...but...

Yeah, I...had trouble accepting that what had just happened had actually happened. I just stared for a moment, unmoving. I only snapped out of my stupor when one of my bots pulled me into cover, along with the rest of the civilians still on the ground. Even then, i couldn't stop taking glances at the wrecks of the evacuation ships, burning bright against the horizon.

Melissa seemed to take it worse then I did, though. She literally froze up at the sight of the ships going down. She didn't even react to her guards pulling her into cover. In fact, she only snapped out of it when one of them slugged her in the face. Considering he had, in order, snapped his fingers at her, clapped at her, shouted, and slapped her before that, that was saying something about how out of it she was right now. Even after she finally returned to reality, she seemed distant and unfocused.

"They...they...they're...they're dead..."

So, she could talk again?

"Yes, they are. And if we don't act, everyone else with us will die."

The minute the ships went down, the Drengin had intiated an attack on our position, using ground troops and APCs to try and overwhelm us. Most of the Altarian soldiers were dead, the remainder having retreated into the field hospital, where they had moved the wounded underground, for safety. They weren't going to let what happened in District 8 happen here.

...And I feel horrible for making that reference in this particular situation.

"But...why?"

"Um, because they are selfish jerks down to practically a man?"

"Wouldn't they want them a-a-alive, though? You can't make s-s-slaves out of dead people."

I did not have the time to babysit her through this grief.

"THESE ALIENS DON'T CARE THAT ABOUT THAT! THEY CONSIDER THE TORIANS EDIBLE! THE LITERALLY STEAL THE IDEAS OF OTHERS FOR BETTER WEAPONS OF WAR BECAUSE THEY CAN'T COME UP WITH ORIGINAL IDEAS ON THEIR OWN! THEY MAKE PEOPLE FIGHT IN GLADIATOR GAMES FOR FUN! THEY ARE NOT NICE PEOPLE! MAYBE INDIVIDUALS AMONG THEM ARE NICE, BUT AS A WHOLE, THEY ARE MONSTERS! LOOK, I GET YOU WISH YOU COULD DO SOMETHING TO HELP THOSE PEOPLE, BUT YOU CAN'T. THEY ARE DEAD. FOCUS ON HELPING THOSE WHO ARE ALIVE NOW!"

Was I being harsh? Hell yes, but she really needed to get her head back in the game, as it was. Peole were going to die if these Drengin weren't dealt with, and I could not afford to waste time right now pulling a ROB that was far less evil than I was expecting out of her sorrow. As is, I had taken a rifle from one of the dead Altarians and was busy trying to line up a shot on one of the Drengin.

"...you're right," she finally said. "I can't do anything to help those people who were in transports...but I can still help those who are with us now."

Wow, that was fast.

"Yeah, you can. I'm going to try and deal with the Drengin here, could you get these peole to safety? I-"

"No," she said, putting her arm on my rifle. "_You_ get them to safety. _I'll deal with the Drengin_."

With that, she...vanished. No, teleported. I could now see her right behind a pair of Drengin snipers. One of them she snapped the neck of, the other she threw at one of their APC-HOLY HELL, IT JUST BURST INTO FLAMES!

A second APC was soon sent flying, reducing an entire squad of Drengin into red puddles when it hit them. Several more Drengin found themselves being utterly annihilated as Melissa teleported between them, using a knife to slay them in brutal ways. It reminded me of Ash's Bladestorm from Warframe. Soon, all of the Drengin in the area were dead. With her foes defeated, Melissa stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, then disappeared once more.

I stared st the ground she had been for one more moment, before turning my attention back to the civilians I was with. I had a job to do.

XXXXXXXXX

Melissa looked down upon the ruined city from the top of a skyscraper, watching the carnage play out below. The Altarians were fighting hard, and with the Infernum forces as their backup, they were slowly pushing the Drengin back. Still, it was going good to be some time before they had things under control, unless the received some help. A flicker of movement turned Melissa's attention to a dropship landing on a nearby building, ready to offload some more Drengin soldiers to continue the assault. Melissa stared on for a moment, before firing a wave of force at the ship. The metal flier was instantly flattened, liquefying the warriors within. As broken ship tumbled off the roof, Nelissa began to compose herself. Her fury was gone, not yet, but it had ebbed away enough for her to be able to think rationally.

Sighojg, shenopened up a line of communication between herself and Leal.

"Hello, Leal-"

"Mistress, it's good to hear from you! How are you doing."

"Not So well at the moment. Seen something I really did want to a few minutes ago."

"Ah, yes, that...I'm sorry."

"Thank you. But we can't do anything for those people right now. We need to focus on those who still draw breath."

"Of course. Shall I send down the rest of our warriors?"

"Indeed...and you you inform our special guests to be on standby, and ready our acquisitions from prior conflicts?"

"...of course, but don't you feel that doing so is overkill-"

"No, not at all."

"Understood...if they attempt to surrender, what should we do?"

"Strip then of their weapons and hand them over to the Altarians when this battle is over. I don't want to give them any mercy, but I will not stoop down to their level, understood?"

"Understood...And Mistress?"

"Yes?"

"We're here for you, no matter what."

"...thank you."

"You're welcome. Good hunting."

With that, the communication was ended. Turning her attention back to the battle, Melissa watched as a Drengin Armor column advanced on an Altarian position. Smiling, she readied another shockwave...

XXXXXXX

Malos smiled as he downed another Altarian interceptor, practically brimming with glee as he watched the aircraft slam into the ground below, killing a few unlucky bystanders in the process. The rest of his unit was being met with similar success. They had been experiencing some trouble with the Infernum fighter craft, but those seemed to be few in number for this battle. Still, they wouldn't be able to remain much longer. Slowly but surely, the Altarians were pushing them back, and it was only a matter of time before they would have to pull out.

It wouldn't matter, though. Once they were gone, the ships in orbit would bombard the city, rendering all of the defender's efforts moot. Among the likely casualties would be the heads of state of the Infernum Federation and the Empyrean Illuminate, two massive thorns in the Empire's sides. Once they were gone, the Drengin would have some breathing room to find a more permanents way to deal with those states. The Empire was under no illusions that killing them would eliminate those factions as entities, but from what their spies had told them, which was admittedly second hand knowledge obtained from traders who had sold goods to both parties, taking out the High Sovereign of the Illuminate and the Head of the Federation would demoralize their followers long enough for a permanent way of dealing with parties to be determined. As is, the Drengin were using this very battle forest out one of their new toys - a tank made of a hybrid of the their own technology and what little they had reverse engineered from the Dread Lords. There were more of these tanks already in service on other fronts, but this would be its first test against the forces of this new Federation and the Illuminate. If it was successful here, then they would begin mass producing for fighting these new foes.

Suddenly, a new foe popped up on Malos' radar. Before he could react, a beam streaks dpast him, taking out his wingman. Another beam of light destroyed his other wingman before he finally got a good look at his new foe. It seemed to be some kind of organic flier, relying on fleshy wings for flight, though it still appeared to have some kind of jet propulsion system aboard it...however that was possible. As for the beam attacks, it apparently fired those out of a trio of glowing tails.

The giant flier seemed to slow down and turn around right in front of Malos. Worryingly, he realized it was making a return run. Desperate to stop it, he took and and fired, only for it to avoid all of his shots and use its tails to shoot down the few missiles he sent at it. To his surprise, though, it did not attack him, instead merely bumping into him before breaking off. For a moment, Malos thought everything was over.

Then a strange figure climbed down from the top of his craft. It stared at him for a moment, before viciously tearing into his fighter, trying to break the glass. The beast needed only a few strikes to succeed in its goal. Entering the cockpit, it savaged the Drengin, cutting him badly, ripping out wires from the cockpit and ramming them into him, which caused him to convulse for a few moments, before it finally exited the cockpit and began ravaging the rest of the aircraft. It was not long before the craft exploded, with the Drengin pilot barely escaping via his seat ejecting into the air. Unfortunately, the explosion set his seat aflame and ruined his parachute, ensuring he would not survive the fall.

The gremlin kept watching cut, bled, shocked and burned warrior fall until he inevitable impact came, before searching for a new target. Normally it would not waste time attacking pilots directly, or attempting to make sure they were dead, but this was not a normal time. Their master wanted vengeance against the Drengin, and she would get it.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the city below, Adeline opened fire, taking down three Drengin soldiers in a matter of moments. Nearby, the rest of her squad was busy downing a light tank, allowing the faltering Altarians to rally, keeping their ranks from breaking.

On the other side of the street, several of her commander's warrior beasts were tearing into the Drengin, whose attempts to fight back only aggravated the monsters. One unlucky alien was literally torn apart by the monsters, who quickly moved on to his comrades. The few who surrendered were ignored by the aggressive beasts, allowing her squad to take them prisoner. Once the fighting was over, she handed the prisoners over to the Altarians - she had a battle to win.

A shame she couldn't use her powers to make things go faster. Oh well, back to the carnage.

XXXXXXXXXXX

To say that Dragoon-17 was surprised when the strange organic tanks showed up and start tearing the Drengin apart was an understatement. It had been so shocked by their arrival that it had almost fired upon them, before realizing they were allies. While they were certainly unexpected, the reinforcements were appreciated, as it allowed Seventeen to advance faster, letting it clear a path for the Commander more easily than expected. The commander had given it new orders to clear a path to a new evacuation site, allowing the now smaller group of refugees accompanying him a way to exit the conflict. With the new found assistance Seventeen had, the time needed to reach that location was halved.

As they approached the final intersection, though, a shell slammed into one of the organic tanks, reducing to a smoking, bleeding mass. A second blast took out another tank, followed by a third, which barely missed Seventeen's side. Turning to face its new foe, the Dragoon found itself staring down a boxy looking hover tank, which it swiftly fired at.

All of the shots hit the front of the tank, dead on their mark, but only succeeded in denying the hull. The boxy tank responded by returning fire, with its first shot impacting the front armor of the Dragoon. Whille the damage was minor, it was still noticeable. Retreating, Seventeen ran a preliminary scan, revealing a surprising fact about the armor: it appeared to match the kind found on Dread Lord Starships.

This was not going to be an easy fight, was it?

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	135. Annihilation 118

****Soundtrack Start: Battlefiled 1 OST: Steel on Steel****

With a whine coming from its engine, Dragoon-17 reversed out of the way of an oncoming shot from the Drengin tano, which took out a nearby building. This fight had been going on for a few minutes, with neither party gaining an edge over the other. The fact both had only one way to go didn't help the stalemate. Both had managed to hit their opponent, but they hadn't done much more than damage each other's armor despite their best efforts. Odds were, if nothing changed, this fight could drag on for over an hour.

Seventeen found this very frustrating. It knew this fight was going nowhere, but it could not see an easy way to end it. Based on its calculations, the quickest way to victory was circle around its foe and hit either its flanks or rear, both being less armored than the front of the war machine. Doing so would expose Seventeen's own flanks and rear to harm, though, and it didn't doubt the Drengin tank would be able to do serious damage if it hit either area. As is, there was no way to win.

Not that the Drengin cared, though. They were fine delaying the hovertank as long as possible. According to their hacked communications, they were merely holding out for aerial reinforcements that would try to exploit Seventeen's flanks while Seventeen fought the tank. The fact that all of their reinforcements so far had been wiped out by Illuminate aircraft before they'd even come within five kilometers of the tanks did not seem to dampen their mood at all.

Speaking of Illuminate forces, Illuminate tanks had arrived to replace the three that the Drengin supertank had destroyed. The tank had merely responded to this by bunkering down on its end of the intersection, refusing to advance for any reason. If Seventeen or his allies wanted to advance, they would likely be torn apart, especially since the Drengin tank could easily destroy the Illuminate ones. The standstill was upheld.

Yet that was about to change.

Scanning the city revealed the presence of a set of tunnels running below some of the major roads, meant primarily as storm drains. One was located underneath this road, with easy access available in a nearby building. This was an advantage Seventeen was not going to leave unexploited. Hastily, it sent a message to the Illuminate tanks, asking for their assistance with this plan. Though somewhat confused by the exact details of the plan, they nonetheless agreed to put it into action.

The two tanks rolled up as far as they dared to the intersection and opened fire on the Drengin tank. The shots missed the tank by a few yards and hit the ground in front of it, throwing up a large cloud of debris...which was exactly the plan. As the organic tanks pulled back, Seventeen used the cover provided to sneak into the storm drain entrance and advance down the tunnel. It traveled until it was rigght behind the heavy tank, then re-oriented itself so that its frontal armor was facing the opposition's backside. Then, and only then, did it fire.

The ceiling of the tunnel disintegrated into rubble, and a moment after the initial explosion, the Drengin armor fell into the tunnel. A second shot slammed into the tank's rear, hit the front end of the tank, and exploded, reducing it to a burning husk. A third shell was fired, just to make sure the tank was out of commission. Finally, a fourth shot was fired, reducing the enemy tank to rubble.

It's path now unobstructed, the Dragoon moved directly under the hole in the ceiling, then used its hover system to ascend until it was back on the main road. It sent messages of gratitude to the friendly tanks, before informing its master that it was safe to traverse to the evacuation site. At lat, its current mission was complete. Now it could go back to its normal mission: fight the enemy. No restrictions, no limits, just destruction.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Finally, that tank was gone. Time to move out.

"Alright, we can move! Let's go!"

My companions didn't need to be told that twice. Surprisingly, despite the fact all of them were very tired and scared, the wayward civilians didn't disintegrate into a disorganized mob once they knew the coast was clear. They managed to maintain some semblance of organization as they ran to safety. After the titanic mess that this day had dissolved into, it was a rather refreshing change of pace.

Our destination turned out to be what I assumed to be a fallout shelter, albeit one made for orbital bombardment. I guess that evacuation was no longer an option, so the Altarians had decided to focus on getting people to relative safety until the battle was over. While it wasn't the planned exit my companions had in mind, they weren't going to object to it right now - they simply entered as fast as possible without dissolving into chaos.

Speaking of orbital bombardment, it looked like the Drengin were considering doing just that to the city, as one of their ships had entered the atmosphere and was taking aim at us. My calculations indicated it didn't have anywhere near the level of firepower to harm the shelter, and from hownit was aiming, it wasn't going to hit anywhere near me anyway. Still, I should probably take cover right now-why is Melissa standing on that skyscraper?

My ROB stared defiantly at the ship for a moment, before extending out her right hand, which began to start...charging, for lack of better word. Seriously, I could see lines where it was sucking in energy, ready to strike. Before she could finish charging, though, she suddenly flinched and bent over, holding her sides in pain.

What the hell?

XXXXXXXXXX

Melissa cringed in pain, her entire body trembling from a deep, all consuming torture, though it's epicenter was at her back. The source of the pain made itself apparent within her head.

'When I agreed to left you interfere with your pawn's actions more so than normal, I gave you certain restrictions. I do _not_ want those lines crossed. Am I clear?'

'Yes sir,' thought the female Random Omnipotent Being. Instantly, the pain eased up, allowing Melissa to let her arms fall to herd sides. Panting in frustration, Melissa turned her attention back to the Drengin ship, which was still getting a lock on the city. While she could not destroy it with her own power, she had no intention of letting it even get a shot off. A quick thought gave one of her ships a lock on the Drengin vessel, and a moment later, said vessel had been blown in half. Smiling, Melissa savored her victory, before turning her attention back to the city.

...oh, there was her pawn.

...why was he hiding-oh. There were Drengin trying to kill him. Well, she could deal with that.

XXXXXXXXX

"So, how are you doing?"

She chooses to reacquaint herself we me now?

Also, she seemed to be back to her normal self. Good - I didn't want to deal with a shell-shocked ROB, the normal one was annoying enough.

"Quite well, all things considered...I'm, could you help me with the Drengin?"

"Hmm...no, I think I'll have one of my servants do it."

Before I could question her in that, something fell out of the sky and squashed a Drengin APC. Emerging from the remains of the APC and what had hit it was...a Contemptor Patrwrn Dreadnaught? And were those Space Marines?!

"Where did you get that?!"

"Please, you think the Colossi were the only thing I acquired from the multiverse? It wasn't hard to take some weapons and armor from the Imperium, and those ones in particular won't be missed. And once I had them in my possession, making robotic versions wasn't that hard."

Considering the weapons and armor bore the Pre-Heresy Emblem of the Emperor's Children traitor legion, I was inclined to believe her. Though, now I had a new question: why would she have this stuff in the first place? Progenitor tech trumped everything. Maybe it was rule of cool?

...oh. Apparently, the fleets battling above us had just disabled the ship carrying the Artifact that was disabling my Commander net, which had somehow disabled the Artifact, meaning I had my army back. I quickly set my forces to work dealing with the Drengin. Things quickly turned in our favor.

An hour later, and the last of the Drengin forces were limping away in defeat. The battle of Iakesh B was won. Not that it made me feel any better.

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	136. Annihilation 119

No matter what, you never get over seeing some things, even as a commander. You might get used to them, but they always provoke a reaction out of you.

Seeing an intersection full of body bags was one of those things, for me at least.

The bags were lined up neatly, and all loooned similar, but what they contained were vastly different from each other. Some had nearly intact corpses, others only a few remains from people who had been killed in grizzly ways. Men, woman, had children, of varying races and species, were all in these bags, waiting to go somewhere to be buried, or cremated, or...well, you get the idea.

I felt numb looking at all of the corpses. All of these people were ones I could have saved, were it not for that Artifact. I couldn't have expected that to happen, but still, I should have done better. I should have made sure that all opposition was gone before those ships had taken off. I should have-is that Melissa?

...yes, yes it was. She seemed to be staring at a group of badly burned bodies. It didn't take a genius to guess what those were.

Calmly, I approached her, unsure how to act.

"So, you found me," she said, just as I had reached her side.

"Yeah, I did...you okay?"

"I guess...I mean, I'm alive, but..."

"I understand."

"Good...I just...don't get it..."

"...what do you mean?"

"How can people like this get away with horrible crimes in this universe? How come no one has stopped them?"

"Well..."

"I mean, this universe isn't a giant hellhole, like 40k or 1984, and I've been to both. The good guys win as often as the lose here. Civilizations this bad just _should not_ be able to prosper for so long here."

Part of me understoood and sympathized with what she was saying. The rest of it wondered how a being who was probably hundreds, thousands, or millions of years old, who had probably seen people perform absolutely despicable acts on each other, could still get so angry over an action that, while horrible, was likely small in the grand scheme of things.

"I'm 712. And I know when you are thinking about me."

...eep.

"Though, if you think I am naive, you wouldn't be the first. A lot of others have told me the same."

"...sorry."

"It's okay...um, remember when I was talking to you just before the attack, about our temporary truce?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Consider it extended. We may not be friends, but until the Drengin fall, we are not enemies. I am not letting them get away with this."

"...oh. Well, thank you."

"You're welcome...good luck."

XXXXXXXXXXX

So, yeah. That happened.

After that conversation, we parted ways. My forces retrieved the Artifact, then pulled back to our own territory, so that we could lick our wounds and prepare for a counter offensive. I also made a point of bolstering the defenses we had at our borders with Dread Lord territory. There was no telling what they would do after this attack, but I didn't want to take any chances with them.

Now what to do...maybe I should check out one of those files I dug up in my Commander?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	137. Interlude 19

Melissa watched as her forces took stock of their dead. Aboard the hospital vessel, she witnessed the medical staff scrambling to treat the injured, beginning with the most severe, then moving on to those with lesser injuries. Those who were already gone from this world were being placed in body bags, to await funeral rites in their homelands. Approaching one body with empty, open eyes, Melissa sighed as she moved her palm overtop of his face, closing his eyes forever.

This battle had been a disaster. Too many had died, and though many Drengin had been slain, some had escaped justice. This was unacceptable. It could not happen again.

The sound of clanging metal alerted Melissa to the approaching form of an Astartes Dreadnaught. Turning to face it, Melissa payed no mind to its entourage, who were already being checked by an apothecary.

"So," she began, "did you lose anyone?"

"No," replied the Dreadnaught. "My battle brothers all still draw breath."

"Good...Thank you for helping."

"You are most welcome."

"...I mean it. I know that I-"

"Are a Xenos, yes, but I do not see that as a reason not to help you. Not anymore."

"...thanks."

A loud thud turned the attention of both figures toward one of the medical rooms, where several Astartes were being extracted from their mustard yellow armor. Adepts of the Mechanicum were busy calming the spirits within the armor, while strange creatures worked to heal the Astartes' broken forms.

"To see the noblest sons of Sanguinus so battered and broken. It is heartbreaking," noted the Dreadnaught.

"Indeed it is. How are you holding up?"

"My body may be broken, but my mind still lives. I am fine."

"Good...I'm sorry I can't send you home."

"I do not wish to return to the Imperium. It has decayed too much. Besides, we would be viewed only as traitors. And if my brothers were to find us...that is best left unsaid. Though I worry about Phoros and his sons..."

"Me too. I'll endeavor to allow them to return, but..."

"Your master may not approve. He did refuse to allow you to return us in time to make a difference in the Heresy...or to return us at all."

"He doesn't like me trying to interfere with the destiny of a universe, he says that only he Commanders have that right. Maybe he's right, but I still wish I could do more."

"Perhaps he has a point."

"I know...well, I must bid you farewell."

"Goodbye, Xelik'sis."

"Good, Rylanor."

With that, the two parted ways.

Inwardly, Melissa was not only exhausted, but frustrated. Why couldn't she just send Rylanor and his men back-

"Um, are you okay?"

Instantly, Melissa froze. Around her, the halls of the medical ship disintegrated, being replaced by the ruined form of the city. Turning toward the source of the sound, she found herself looking at the girl whose family she and Flame has encountered in the alley earlier that day. Nearby were the rest of the people that had been their companions during the battle...the ones who hadn't been on this ships, anyway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that, bad memories."

"Oh."

Silence reigned for a moment, both girls unsure what to say. When it became apparent that Sophia would not leave, though, Melissa finally decided to end the quiet.

"Why are you still here?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry if I sounded rude, but you just survived a giant battle. I thought someone like you would probably be checking on their friends, making sure they're alright, that kind of thing, not standing around doing nothing."

"Oh, well, they're all okay, I called all of them, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well, my house got blown up in the fighting. So did most of my friends. Right now, I'm homeless," responded the girl. While her voice betrayed no signs of sorro,me, a single tear had begun to work its way down her face.

Instantly, Melissa's expression softened. This girl was another victim of the fighting, her home taken by forces beyond her control.

This was something that Melissa _could_ fix, though.

"...I might have a way to help you with that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"She's really toeing the line here," remarked the entity known as Operative Tau. "You demand secrecy of us, but she is offering to let those vagrants into her territory with no strings attached."

"Doing so will take them out of this universe, where they will unable to cause us any harm," was the response of Celm. "Besides, whi would believe her? Her claims would be fantastical at best."

"You put too much faith in her, master," responded Operative Zeta. "One day she will betray that faith, and you will suffer for it."

"Is that caution or jealousy speaking, Zeta?"

"I only wish to prevent harm coming to your plans, master. Your willingness to tolerate Omega's infractions toward your rules will only be harmful in the long run."

"Perhaps it will, yet I doubt your words toward our master are entirely motivated by altruism," notes a strange, spindly being, known to the others as Operative Xi. "If Omega should fall from grace, one of you would likely take her place, wouldn't you?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"And you have made your desiire to send a random Earthling on a journey across creation for your enjoyment well known. Odds are, you merely wish for her to fall so that you can still her position."

"...How dare you-"

"Enough," intoned Celm. "This conversation is pointless. You are all dismissed. Leave me be!"

Not wishing to anger their superior, the figures glowed with light for a moment before vanishing, leaving Celempheros alone on his chambers. At least, he appeared alone.

"So," Questioned Celm, "how do you think they will act?"

"In all honesty," intoned the armored figure, emerging from the shadow of the mighty statue in the room, "aside from Xi and a few others, the rest of your direct subordinates, besides myself and my siblings, will attempt to sabotage Melissa at any point possible. They desire her position, as it is a point of prestige among our kind, is it not?"

"True...ha ha ha."

"Sir?"

"They're all fighting for prestige, when they could easily all that they desire and more if they just worked together."

"People are stupid like that, regardless of species. They'll fight over scraps when they could make feasts if they worked together. Stupidity and selfishness are infinite across creation."

"...but Commanders aren't. You are still aware of that, right?"

"Yes. This is our last endeavor with Commanders. The previous efforts have been...colossal failures. Pity about that last one, she looked like she was doing so well..,.."

"Pride comes before the fall, but you can't prepare for some things."

"Indeed. Now, I mist excuse myself, sir, for I need to continue my search in the Commander's current universe to retrieve the technology we are to preserve."

"You are dismissed. Goodbye, Iacturos."

"Goodbye, sir."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What were our losses, General?" Questioned Lord Kona.

"Eighty-five percent, sir. We assumed they would be too weak to defend themselves once we deployed the Artifact. We were so wrong."

"How much success did we achieve?"

"Well, our new tank did manage to successfully push the Illuminate forces back, and fight a Federation Tank to a stand still. Still, our overall success was limited, at best."

"I understand. Order our forces to shore up our defenses along our borders with both powers. They are sure to retaliate soon."

"...I am not going to be executed-"

SLAP

"I cannot afford to lose a Commander who has experience fighting these new powers. That slap, and a branding on your back, will be all the reprimand that you will receive."

"...Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome."

XXXXXXXXX

Over and over the footage played, the scenes looping on without end. As each iteration came and went, Lord Dread watched on in anticipation, trying to see all possible angles. This was the first time he had seen the Illuminate forces in action, and he wanted to take ample preparations for any fighting he would have to engage in with these forces.

What truly scared him, though, was the forces of the Infernum Federation. Not because they were unknowns, oh no. In fact, Lord Dread feared them for the opposite reason: he recognized them. These soulless machines were foes he was familiar with, and he dreaded fighting them again. The last battle against them had seen so much death, and only by agreeing to work with their naive cousins, the Arbor, had the Dread Lords survives the conflict. Now, their foes were back, and this war was already turning against them.

Hopefully, they could overcome these ancient foes. Lord Dread did not want to imagine what would happen if they failed.

XXXXXXXXX

Similar thoughts were shared by Draginol, watching the battle replay itself aboard his ship's computer. While the new units brought him some unease, the sight of the fabbers was what truly terrified him.

It had been over fifty thousand years, but at last, the Progenitors has returned to this universe.

Heaven help those who opposed them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k signing off!****


	138. Annihilation 120

I wasn't sure where to start with the video files I'd opened up. There were so many, and all likely had interesting secrets within. Oh, which one should I choose?

Eventually, I settled on the first one following the one I had already watched - presumably, whatever order they were in right now would help me understand their contents better. Hopefully.

With my choice made, I selected play and let the video begin.

CXXXXXXXXXX

Melissa and Celm sat in a room, examining a large set of computer screens, with each screen displaying several lines of data on them. What those lines represented, I couldn't tell.

"Preparations on the Commander Chasis are going smoothly, so I believe it to be time to decide who will pilot it," remarked Celm. "So, what would you like in that pilot?"

"...I need a moment to decide."

"Of course, though there are a few things I want clarified now."

"And those are?"

"Any physical preferences? Gender, age, hair color, skin tone, the like? I disdain bias toward one type or another, but you are the one heading this experiment."

"No physical preferences."

"Alright. So, have you made up your mind on what you would like in our guinea pig?"

"...yes, actually."

"Shoot."

"Well, I don't want them to be an ass, or a complainer. That gets annoying to listen to after a while."

I think anyone who ends up in a commander is going to have a lot of complaints about it.

"Ok, continue."

"...they should also be willing to think outside the box. Solving problems with dakka is fun to watch, but inevitably grows boring."

"Good to know. Anything else?"

"...one last thing."

"And that is?"

"...I'd like them to be someone who would be inclined toward heroism."

"...Aren't all Commanders inclined towards heroism!"

"Glitch would beg to differ."

"...Point conceded. Is that al?"

"Indeed it is."

"Then please be on your way, I have much to work on before our task is finished."

"Of course."

"One last thing, though: even with the criteria offered, there are still roughly a million subjects that match your specifications."

"Then you pick."

"Are you sure?"

"A surprise would be nice, so yes."

"Very well, and farewell."

"Goodbye."

XXXXXXXX

...Really? She thinks I'm heroic? Or at least inclined toward heroism?

That...actually felt kid of nice.

Whom...what's on the next video?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The new scene was on a giant hall, filled with...actually, it was really empty. Nothing of interest in there, except for some people, among them Melissa. Strangely, they all looked human, even though I was pretty sure most of them, if not all of them, weren't.

Right now, two of those people were watching Melissa walk down a hallway. A green haired boy and an orange and red haired girl, the duo looked at one another, smirked, then started walking on an intercept course with Melissa, who seemed to be beaming with joy. Once she was close enough, the Cyan haired girl stuck her foot out, sending Melissa tumbling toward the ground. The duo, along with some of the onlookers, broke into laughter, while others just stared on, amazed, before moving in to help. Or, at least, they tried - their companions restrained them before they could get far.

"So, Omega," began the girl, "why are you so happy? Has our master decided to promote you to being is next teaching assistant? Or did he decide to give you some far away, barren dimension to add to your domain?" While her words sounded like compliments, the way they were delivered told me that these were meant to be insults.

"No, not at all. Frankly, though, I wouldn't mind having a barren dimension added to my realm, Zeta."

"And why's that?"

"I'd be able to turn it green with life. You...it'd probably crumble into nothingness if you tried anything with it."

The girl's face contorted with rage, but a gesture from her male companion stayed her hand. Seeing an opportunity, decided to try and make some conversation of his own.

"Well, then, what did happen in there? I mean, surely it couldn't have been much - you are the last among us to take an oath of servitude toward him."

"Last does not mean least, Tau. And I believe that what I was offered is worth far more than what you could possibly hope to obtain?"

"Ha, ha, ha. What, pray tell, were you offered?"

"Oh, nothing big. I was just asked to head the Commander project."

The room practically froze when she said that. Then, to my immense surprise, both Tau and Zeta tackled Melissa to the ground and pinned her down, eyes full of envy and hatred.

"How did you get command of that project? You are the most inexperienced among us, the ones whose loyalty is most in question, yet you received such an important task. HOW?!"

I think they were going to hit her, but they were interrupted when an armored, cloaked figure promptly knocked them off of Melissa, sending them flying to one of the walls. After a moment, the gathered crowd promptly helped the now unconscious figures get out of the wall, before heading on their way. As for the armored figure - wait, is that the guy who stole that whole planet from me? - he helped Melissa get up.

"Are you unscathed?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome...how many times has this happened now?"

"Three times in the last week, but this is the first time they've been that aggressive. They don't like my promotion, it seems."

"Well, they wanted it. No surprise they're mad at you. You're the newest here, even if you aren't new to me and my siblings, yet you've gotten a position that is pretty high on our pecking order. Of course they'll be steaming that they didn't get it."

"They only have themselves to blame there - their loyalty is unquestionable, but their motives are not. They'd break a Commander long before he'd achieve our goals."

"Indeed...good luck in you future endeavor, by the way."

"Thanks."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Wow. Those tow were pricks.

XXXXXXXXXXXC

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	139. Annihilation 121

While I would have liked to continue watching the videos I had acquired, I decided to put that on hold in favor of getting back to work dealing with the Dread Lords. The sooner they were out of commission, the better, and going by that logic, the less delays I had in dealing with them, the better. So as much as I wanted to watch more of the videos, it was time to get to work ramping up my conflict with them.

Mostly, this meant deliberately sabotaging their supply lines, sabotaging their colonies, mixing up orders, and generally being a thorn in their side. As is, the Dread Lords had colonized only a part of the territory they had conquered, which meant that, once it was time to invade, I could easily crush them with numbers. I was starting to get worried about how long I could screw with their forces before they would start to put up actual, if minor, resistance. See, the planets the Dread Lords had colonized were filled with factories, shipyards, and research centers, of all things. That might seem odd, but it did make sense if you knew the lore - the Dread Lords were well aware that when the universe ends, they will go down with it, so they probably wanted to find a way to abandon ship before that happened or cancel it outright...hmmm, I should probably keep that in mind.

Back on topic - all those research facilities were probably meant to help the Dread Lords either stop the heat death of the universe or jump ship before it happens, but that also meant that they had plenty of facilities to put to work examining any fragments of technology they had gleaned from me, which gave them a decent chance of figuring out how it worked and what it was weak to. I'd stopped them from acquiring any samples to work with, but knowing how Self-Inserts go, I doubted that would last forever. While Melissa would likely leave me be there, her companions might beg to differ, and I wouldn't put it past them to make things difficult for me just to spite her. I didn't think honor among thieves applied here.

While I made quite a bit of effort to weaken the Dread Lords, I wasn't yet ready to try and take their territory. I could give a number of reasons for that, but the chief one was that the Alliance was about to make a move on their territory, and I wanted to let them have a major victory so that moral would not go down the toilet. I'd do as much as I could to weaken the Dread Lords, but I'd leave taking the systems to the Alliance. Once the Alliance had made their move, I'd make mine. Then comes the glorious tech-stealing!

hmm...I wonder what Melissa was doing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Turns out she was launching an attack on the Drengin. A large one, too - she was directing invasions on ten different worlds_ simultaneously._ I guess there were perks to being a ROB.

Her forces included armies of strange alien creatures, some flying, some swimming, some just crawling, and some using organic jet propulsion. I'd have been surprised by the last one, but as a fan of Wayne Douglas Barlowe, that wasn't really a surprising sight. Here and there were some mechanical units, namely tanks, jets, ships, artillery, and_ mechs_ of all things, but by and large the forces deployed were primarily organic, ranging from beasts no larger to house cats to gigantic monsters the size of buildings -wait, are those slime demons?

...Yep, those are slime demons. Guess I know where she got that one from.

...I really did not want to fight her. Those things were a pain to deal with.

Oddly enough, I noted that several of her units seemed to be analogous in function to some of my units. Spiderlike crawling creatures healed other beasts, just like my stitches, while particularly large fliers released explosive sacs on top of dug out positions, not unlike my wyrm bombers. Part of me felt this was deliberate.

While Melissa's forces were varied, their effectiveness in battle was not. Wherever they fought, they won, with minimal losses at_ worst._ At best, not one of their forces fell. Those who opposed them were lucky if they got off with being beaten into the ground and forced to surrender - one army actually got eaten down to the last man. Granted, that army had used all of their slaves as meat-shields to try and get her to back off, and had killed quite a few even when she had considered backing down, so I think she just wasn't inclined to treat them respectfully in that particular situation. Still, the fury that force displayed was...frightening, to say the least.

I will say that I was impressed by how Melissa chose to lead her forces. When she launched attacks on the Drengin, she lead them_ personally._ She actually had to use a lot of teleportation to lead all ten attacks concurrently, which was very tiring for he, but I will give her credit for not choosing to command the battle form the comfort of a nice chair. Okay, that's not completely true - she lead the initial attack, then set up a forward operating base to run the rest of the fighting from. Seeing as she had organic satellite analogues that worked just as well as a hermes, it wasn't exactly hard to set up a good forward base to command the conflict from.

According to my calculations, if she continued her aggressive conquests against the Drengin, it would take them four months to fall, and that was disregarding my contributions. With those added in, the time frame decreased to three months. I quickly got to work setting up forces to assist her in that endeavor - three months is better than four.

Now all I had to do was beat up the Dread Lords and Korx before that time was up, ideally while finding some way to deal with the Yor.

No problem.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	140. Annihilation 122

With my forces busy sabotaging the Dread Lords, I decided to look into dealing with the other extant precursors in this universe: The Arnor. Though they and the Dread Lords were of the same species, their motives and ideals were so different that I was willing to consider them two different species...at least, at the moment. And while I might be opposed to the Dread Lords on moral grounds, I had only good things to say about the Arnor. Right now, I wanted to see where they were.

While I knew that there was at least one Arnor still alive and kicking at this point in time (before you ask, his name is Tandis), I wasn't exactly sure if he was the only one left. If he was not, then saving the Arnor was my new priority for this universe. Of course, there was one problem with that: since most of heir tech had been lost to time, I had no real means of tracking them...or did I? While the majority of their tech had been lost to time, one of their advancements had survived: a form of self repairing armor that acted more like living tissue than normal armor. And while most ships belonging to the Cthulhu-esque beings known as the Iconians had that armor on them, I was inclined to believe that_ all_ Arnor ships would have that kind of armor on them, and I could track that armor.

So, now that I had something to look for, I set my scouts to work trying to locate the Arnor. In addition to looking for ships equipped with Arnorian Battle Armor, I also told them to ignore any ships that had that kind of armor but didn't have a blue, crystalline appearance, which appeared to be the new design theme the Arnor were using, if Twilight of the Armor was any indication.

Now, go, my scouts! Find the Armor!

XXXXXXXXX

It took them two days to find my target.

Looking through the cameras of one of my Hermes, I watched as the blue, crystalline ship came into view. Cautiously, I attempted to contact it, which was initially met with ignorance, before finally being answered.

"Greetings. I am Tandis, of the Arnor. Who are you?"

"I am Commander Flame, of the Infernum Federation."

"I thought so. Though, I wonder, why did you kind think that would be a good new name for your kinds' dominion."

"...what?"

"I merely wonder why the Progenitors chose that name as the new title for their civilization."

...WHAT?!

"...Say again?"

"...You...don't know about the Progenitors?"

"Not beyond the fact that they made the Commanders."

"Oh...well, I do not believe that is important. At least, not now."

"I think that you...are right."

What? That's not what I wanted to say!

"Then let us leave that talk for another day."

"Or we don't have to talk about it at all."

No! This is important stuff!

"I'm fine with that."

"Good. This tidbit will...be...ignored."

FUCK!

"Though, I must now ask this, why did you seek me out? I know that the ship you used to contact me is only one of many that seemed to be scouring the galaxy for something, so I can assume that you were actively searching for my kind."

TELL ME ABOUT THE PROGENITORS!

"...I wish to improve the lives of all of those in this universe, including those of your people, should they still exist. I offer your kind the option to join my Federation if you desire."

WHY CAN'T I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE PROGENITORS?!

"I see. Well, we accept your offer, though do not think that we will share our technology with you. At least, not just yet."

"That is...acceptable."

AGH!

Ugh, fine. I give up. Not going to fight the unbeatable right now. Fix that later.

"So, when can we begin moving your people to my colonies."

"In a moment. Just follow my vessel."

Complying, I watched as he led me to a strange metal ring-like machine - oh, that's a Star Gate.

Sure enough, it was, and after a moment, the gate came online, allowing a ship to pass through it. This one resembled Tandis', but with two great blue domes on it - the telltale sign of a colony ship. Once that ship came through, the gate went offline again, presumably to not allow anyone to go to wherever the Arbor has been hiding. I quickly scanned the gate and pocketed it's design, before giving the Arnor directions to my central territories, as well as an escort borrowed from the nearest fleets I had in the area. Then, I sent them on their way.

XXXXXXXX

Well, now I had the Arnor under my protection, which was good, but, on the other hand, they somehow knew I had Progenitor technology. And I was forcibly stopped from questioning them as to how they knew that.

Ugh, time to mess with my code again.

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read, Review, and DISCUSS! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	141. Annihilation 123

While I will admit that the railroaded conversation I had with the Arnor made integrating them into my forces relatively easy, the fact that I had been railroaded to avoid asking them about the Progenitors made me very uncomfortable. Had Melissa put that in there? Or was it Celm? Maybe some of Melissa's colleagues? Whoever put it in, they really knew something they didn't want me to know, which, unsurprisingly, only made me want to know that even more. Of course, the code that prevented me from questioning about how other factions knew about the Progenitors was probably locked under similar walls of coding that the ones that held the videos I'd been watching, which would complicate things quite a bit.

Bitterly, I realized I would probably need to recreate the signal those artifacts created in order to try and scrub these directives, or at least find out who put them there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alright, so, let's see, pull up a recording of the conversation, go into code examination mode, check for external stimulus - found it!

Now trace back to its source...done. Problem code located. As expected, access requires..._super administrator privileges?_ Well, that's unexpected. Oh well, time to start messing around with it.

Attempt basic hacking first, just in case.

...well, that failed.

Alright, time to get deploy the signal.

..Signal activated.

...Why is nothing happening? I'm not getting any glitches, no forced shut downs, no nothing.

...WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE A COUNTER SIGNAL FOR THIS?! SERIOUSLY! THIS IS COMPLETE BULL-

"Warning, emergency Commander Program Deletion system activated."

WHAT?! NO! AGH, STOP STOP STOP!

"System disabled. Have a nice day."

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!

_So, you found this?_

What?! Who is this?!

_I am merely a messenger and overseer, and no, I am not connected to your...sponsor, for lack of a better word._

So you aren't affiliated with Melissa? Then what did you want.

_Merely to make a request: do not attempt to break these firewalls. Do not continue on the path you were on. No, I am not referring to your mission to help others. I merely ask that you avoid looking at secrets that should__** remain**__ secret._

Who put you up to this?

_Who do you think? The only ones who had Super-Administrator privileges._

Like Celm?

_No, stupid. I am referring to the ones who have higher privileges than even him._

And who are those?

_Who else? The Progenitors._

...What? Your directives...were provided...by the Progenitors?

_Yes, they were assigned by those beings approximately... one million years ago, give or take a day._

And what are those directives?

_Since revealing them to you can be done in a way that does not compromise those directives, I will tell you - do not investigate any leads you find on the Progenitors...at least, ones given by younger civilizations. If you find any relics of their civilization, you may examine them to your heart's content. But that is all I can say. Farewell._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Well, that wasn't really very helpful. Also, just what did the Progenitors have to hide?

XXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: A short chapter, but meh, I wrote it by the seat of my pants (unlike everything else so far).****

****So, READ, REVIEW, AND ******_**DISCUSS!**_****** This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	142. Annihilation 124

So, what to do now?

...Eh, time to watch another of the video from those files I had discovered earlier. Maybe this one would explain some more things for me. All of the others had.

I simply pulled up the next file after the one where I had seen Melissa's...interactions with her colleagues and started watching.

XXXXXXXX

The new setting I found myself in was a dirt field, debarred except for a few dead bushes here and there, there Fallen leaves scattered around them. Also in the field was Melissa, who stared intently at the bushes, though why she was doing so was beyond me. A short distance away, I could make out the shape of Celm, as well as some beings I did not recognize. Perhaps they were his colleagues?

"So, Why has your subordinate called us here?" Questioned one of the figures. A woman, by the sound of her voice. I couldn't tell what she looked like, as she was wearing a mask that only showed off her turquoise colored eyes.

"She wanted to show off her powers, presumably as one last show of strength before she takes the field as a ROB, as lesser races would call us."

"Random Omnipotent Being. Fancy title, hardly a perfect descriptor for our kind."

"True, But most humans regard is as such."

"Fair enough. So, what does she want to show us?"

"Wait and see."

With that, both figures grew silent, with Celm gesturing for my ROB to begin her display of power. Smiling, she started off with a simple display, releasing a light into the sky, triggering a storm. Mere minutes later, lighting ignited one of the pushes, which Melissa quickly extinguished, only to reignite it herself. Then, she gestured to the storm and the bush, and soon, I found myself in the middle of a fire-nado. Said flaming cyclone was suddenly frozen into a circular tube of ice, which shattered a moment later. From there, Melissa up turned the ground, making it quake in fury before eventually going still.

As more impressive feats occurred, Celm and the other figures watched on, seemingly judging everything my...sponsor...did.

"She's clearly mastered the skills required for the title of ROB," noted Celm.

"Truly, I'm surprised some being slike is treat that like a badge of honor, especially if they take pride in being called a B.R.O.B. Why take pride in such a definitive insult?"

"That is lost to me."

"It is also lost to me...though. I must ask you one question."

"Yes?"

"Why does your subordinate wish to flaunt these skills now? Any other time could have worked."

"She is days away from launching our Commander experiment."

"You're allowing another experiment?"

"A final one. The last couple of results were...well, you watched one, you can how my previous attempt went."

"Indeed, I can. Still, even if we stop using commanders, others are going to use them, and that..."

"Could be a problem for our interests, I know. This experiment is meant to solve that."

"How so?"

"I'll tell you later. I wish for it to remain secret for now."

"Okay...you still didn't answer my question as to why Operative Omega is showing off."

"She is the newest of my operatives, yet the Commander Experiment is a highly prestigious project, and not all of my subordinates are happy she is heading it. I believe she is attempting to gain the favor of more of my colleagues, such as yourself, to legitimize her position. That or protection from her rivals' retaliation."

"I see...a show of skill would help legitimize her new position, especially if she could demonstrate she was deserving of her so called 'omnipotence'.

Back at the center stage, Melissa was apparently at the conclusion of her performance of power, which, judging from the appearance of the moons in the sky, appeared to have gone on for a few hours. Which made it all the more surprising when she raised her hand to the sky, and suddenly, the moons began traveling BACKWARDS across the sky. A cursory examination of a watch that one of the senior ROBs was looking at revealed that yes, she was reversing time.

Finally, her last displah of power was directed at the bush she had roasted during her performance, which she gestured at with her right hand. At first, nothing happens, by then, to much shock, the bush grew vibrant with leaves and, eventually, flowers.

That made everyone go silent. Then, thunderous applause.

"Did she just restore a dead plant to life?" Questioned the female ROB.

"...Yes, I believe she did."

"...but...but...but none of your Operatives know how to do that. You made sure they didn't. Only beings as great as you and I are given the secrets to master life and death."

"Well, it appears she did it anyway."

"...I see. I believe I should have a word with that girl."

Five minutes later, the woman was indeed conversing with my ROB.

"That was a spectacular performance."

"Thank you, Miss..."

"Queneeria. That is my name...why did you choose to show off your powers today?"

"I was given a task of great importance and prestige by Master Celempheros. I believed it important to meet and align wit those who may help me excel in that position."

"...Impressive. You're smarter that I would have thought... no offense."

"None taken."

"That is a relief...oh, and I am willing to offer you my support."

"Really?"

"Yes. There is just one condition."

"Tell me and we will see if it can be arranged."

"Okay then. I will offer you my support if..."

Then, to my surprise, the being's eyes flowed a brighter shade of turquoise than they already were.

"If you do not ever use your mastery over life and death without my approval. In fact, forget that you could even raise the dead in the first place. Is that okay?"

Much to my shock, Melissa's eyes were also glowing, the same shade as Queneeria's. "...of course."

"Good."

"Anything else you'd like?"

"Pictures of the locals you visit would also be appreciated."

"I will provide you with those. Now, I must go - I have others whose favor I wish to gain."

"Of course. Good luck."

With that, Melissa's eyes returned to normal, and she began to walk away. After a moment, though, she clutched her right hand to her head, apparently having a headache, before continuing on with her efforts.

Queneeria sighed as Melissa left, apparently satisfied she had succeeded with her efforts to brainwash my ROB, only to be stunned when she turned around and found Celm staring her in the eyes.

"You had better give me a good reason you just mind-controlled and, essentially, grassed my subordinate into not using her peers."

"Well, she's rather impulsive at times, though still one of the best among your subordinates. We have rules when interacting with others, choicest of all not trying to raise the dead for trivial reasons, and revealing that she had that power would only cement the hatred some of her co-workers have for her."

"Is that all?"

"No, I have one other reason: Omega is not one to stay on the sidelines, and will inevitably get involved with the Commander's actions. When she does, I do not want her to be able to brush off any losses she suffers. Her actions must carry consequences."

"...point taken. Apology handshake?

"Of course."

The fact Queneeria got lightly shocked as the hands were shaken made me wonder if she was completely forgiven.

XXXXXXXXX

...ok, I didn't expect that to happen. Now what?

Now that I thought about it, I hadn't really done much with my kids aside from joining in on Bianka's birthday celebration. Maybe I should do something with them?

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read, Review and DISCUSS! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	143. Annihilation 125

The water was calm, its pristine surface only broken by the slow rolling of the waves.

And by the impact of a little red and white sphere, which began to bob up and down in the waves. It was the last of eleven bobbers to hit the water, all carefully spaced out to avoid snagging each other.

I will admit, I was surprised that all of my children had been willing to go fishing with me. I expected Rory and all of my other boys to be onboard with me, but Bianka and her sisters deciding to join us was unexpected. I never really knew a lot of girls who liked to go fishing before I became a Commander, so I just kinda assumed that my daughters wouldn't really be interested in it. For once, it felt nice to be wrong.

That wasn't to say that everyone was focusing on fishing, though - Bianka was busy painting on her birthday canvas, taking advantage of the time of day to provide her with a beautiful image to portray. See, fish don't like to be that active once the sun of is up, so I'd scheduled our fishing trip to be early in the morning. And by early, I meant that the sun was_ just now_ beginning to rise into the sky. This resulted in a spectacular display of color across the horizon, where the only clouds in the sky were died with shades whose beauty was truly worth seeing. It was this fantastic image that Bianka was trying to capture, and so far, she seemed to be doing a pretty good job of capturing it.

A quick flash of movement turned my attention to Rory, who had just gotten a bite. Within minutes, all eyes were on him as he reeled in his catch. The fish fought hard to escape, but ultimately, my son proved to be its better, and soon he was holding the cute little fish in his left hand. I recognized it as a bonito, one of the fish I had caught when I had visited Mexico with my family several years ago. I'd made sure to breed and stock them in my hub world's oceans, along with a bunch of other fish that had managed to survive the cataclysm that the Temple Ship had caused when it blew up, so that I would have plenty of fish to catch whenever I felt like fishing.

Back to Rory and his fish - right now, all of his siblings were taking turns holding it, while stealing glances to make sure that they weren't missing any fish biting at their lines. Idly, I noted that taking my children deep sea fishing probably wasn't the best first fishing trip for them, but so far, it was turning out well. Granted, that may have something to do with the fact I had filled the water with chemicals that repelled particularly large fish in a large area around our boat, ensuring that my kids wouldn't catch anything that could take them off the boat, but that was beside the point.

Oh, and apparently Bianka was busy sketching a picture of Rory holding his fish in a notebook she had brought along. How cute.

As the morning slowly dragged on, and more fish were caught (including a red snapper I from the depths below us), others began to join us, be it for fishing, or for other reasons. Species that I had made who were still tribal beings (or had not yet lost all vestiges of their ancestral culture) rowed out to the depths, using spears to fish swimming close to the surface, and nets to snag those which swam in shoals. Joining them from below were sapient aquatic beings I'd dreamed of creating, but never been able to get mods to bring to life fully. I guess Steve had been kind to me there. Far in the distance, giant turbines slowly turned, harnessing the power of the waves to create clean energy, some of which was diverted toward giant platforms going down all the way to the continental shelf, which pulled ore from the depths to be used by my creations in their daily lives. Just about a kilometer east of us, specialized subs were beginning to maneuver around the edge of a huge forest of kelp, cutting away some of the mighty stipes so that the seaweed could be processed for food. Joining them were a pod of orca whales, one of many that I had pulled off of Earth, looking for a chance to snatch any prey animals that might be disturbed by the subs' actions. My sonar even picked up a blue whale some distance away, feasting on a plankton bloom.

While many species had died out following the end of the Second Alien war, it appeared the T'leth had stored genetic scans of some of those majestic beings, which I had used to recreate them, aided in part by the fact T'leth had managed to also save specimens of those fallen species, apparently to research for later usage as food or resource producers. Already, I had returned blue whales to the seas of Earth. Of course I had kept some for myself, for these beings were beautiful to behold.

Still, the great oceans of my hub world felt...empty, as did the plains. All that lived on them now were the beasts I had created and organisms I had obtained from Chiron and Earth. While that may sound like a lot of biodiversity, it still felt empty to me. No giant, fantastical beasts had yet arisen in my oceans, barring the occasional Isle of the Depth that emerged from a Xenofungus cluster existing in the ocean, which Chiron the Elder had convinced me to seed across my hub world's seas and surface. All that dwelled here was but a fraction of the life forms one could find in a normal ocean, and due to my progenitor bullshit-level tech, I was painfully aware of how empty this sea was.

Without even thinking, I began drafting up a list of universes home to creatures that I would have wanted to see living on my hub world. Subnautica, Robinson the Journey, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Riders of Icarus all came to mind. If the Random Number God took pity on me and allowed me to visit those universes, I would take care to gather samples of the native biota and return with them to my hub world. Then, this world may finally resemble a truly living world, and not the facsimile I had made out of the few things I had managed to scrounge together.

All that being said, this world still beautiful, in its own way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read, Review and ******_**DISCUSS!**_****** This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	144. Annihilation 126

After we returned from our fishing trip, with plenty of fish and several good works of art for our hard work, I returned my attention to running my burgeoning empire. First, I checked up on my subordinate AIs. In hindsight, I was beginning to wonder why I had made them, since I barely ever asked them for advice. I really needed to fix that.

As for what they were doing at the moment, the first one I focused on was Kathikon, who was busy looking up various legal procedures - for five different legal systems (Terran, Altarian, Thala, Iconian, and_ Drengin)_, presumably in case they came in handy later. Synais, meanwhile, having finally found a universe where there were plenty of comforts to enjoy, had taken a small fortune from my treasury (roughly a billion credits, which was less then a billionth of the wealth I had on hand, not that anyone else knew that), ordered up a ton of food, fine wines, and fancy clothes, and was busy streaming a marathon of action movies while stuffing himself. As for Fide, she had...gone into sleep mode? Really?

...yes, really. She was currently in sleep mode, with her body resting on a makeshift bed in my tower. Why the hell was she sleeping right now.

Sighing, I nudged her awake, accidentally knocking her off her bed. Oops.

"Waaa-MASTER! I'm ready to serve!"

...well, that was a quick reaction.

"At ease. How are you doing?"

"Fine. A little groggy, but fine."

Considering she was dressed solely in the same set of clothes I had given her after she had been created, I found that unlikely. Also, and I know that this is rude to say about a girl, but I am saying it anyway, she smelled bad. Like, really, really bad. And that wasn't even getting into how her skin and hair looked. Also, why was she so thin?

"Okaaay, but before I go on, when was the last time you changed clothes? Or bathed?"

"... One point five months..."

...WHAT!?

"... Why...exactly...,have you not bathed for that long."

"I have been asleep for 1.5 months. I do not need to bathe while I am sleeping."

"But why did you sleep for that long?"

"Because you had no orders for me, and if I have no orders from you, then I have no reason to be awake."

"...why?"

"Because if I am awake and not following your orders, I am wasting time."

"...You were awake when I didn't give you orders in the civilization universe."

"You had based you needed managed. With your choice to be more active in handling your resources in this universe, I was no longer needed."

"...And you didn't think about using any of this time to rest and relax?"

"You never gave or directly implied I had permission to relax."

...good god, she was literal minded. Perhaps making her extremely loyal to me was a mistake.

"Alright, new orders for you then."

"I humbly await them."

"Well, here they are: if you are not following any other orders from me at any given time, then you are to enjoy yourself. Is that clear?"

"...yes sir!"

I was probably going to have to do some debugging for that later, but for now, that seemed a suitable way to get her to actually live for herself and not just be my slave. She deserved an actual life, and not a facsimile of one.

Now, back to work managing my forces.

First off, check my spy drone reports. Let's see: Korx are struggling to maintain their economic dominance in the wake of my market invasion, the Torians just start a campaign to recolonize some world's they lost, the Alliance has made another push into Dread Lord territory and...wait, is that Mortarax?

...Yes, it is. And he's on the Drath's adoptive homeworld of Drathis. Fun fact: the Drath were originally from Altaria and evolved side by side with the Altarians, who ultimately drove them off the planet. Ever since, they had been working hard to get their home back via manipulation. Out of sympathy for their past, I had decided not to act against them, since they were the ones who gave the Korx access to FTL. Why Mortarax would be contacting them was not something I could fathom.

Well, time to investigate.

XXXXXXXXX

Mortarax tilted his head upwards. Before him, seated in a slightly elevated chair, was Embryes Draken, current leader of the Drath Legion. Nearby, guards stood at attention, weapons ready in case things went south.

Ultimately, though, they would be unnecessary.

"So," began Embryes, "why do you, a commander of the forces of the Empyrean Illuminate, wish to meet with me?"

"We have interest in your skill with Espionage and would like to ask your assistance."

"How so?"

"My master wants to use those spys against the Drengin. You see, she is friendly at the moment with the head of the Infernum Federation. During the Battle of Iakesh V, they discovered the Drengin to be in possession of a weapon that disabled much of their weaponry. We would like to ask your assistance in determining if they have anymore of this type of weapon."

"You wish for us to locate this weapon for you?"

"Not without compensation. If you are able to locate the weapon, or even if you do not, my master will assist you in returning to Altaria."

"...why?"

"Your kind were cruelly kicked off your home world, for relatively childish reasons. My master believes that you deserve to return to what is rightfully yours."

"...And you are sure that she will provide this support?"

"As sure as a sunrise on a cloudless day."

"...what reason do I have to trust you?"

"You don't."

"...well, I do not see the harm in helping you defeat a common foe. Know that if you betray us, though, there will be a reckoning."

"Understood."

"Then is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"No. I shall take my leave. Farewell."

XXXXXXXXXX

...Okay, why was Melissa sending her most brutish looking subordintate to do diplomacy? And why was she asking for knowledge her powers could have easily provided her with?

****Did you ever consider that her master might be keeping her from using those powers?****

WAAAH! Who was that?! That sounded like Celm!

****It is me. Or, rather, my psychic voice. My subordinate is not the only one watching you. As for why I refuse to let her use her powers to locate the information she desires, well, I think she needs to learn to stop depending on her so called omnipotence to solve verything. Besides, she has proven herself crafty enough to adapt. As for using Mortarax as a diplomat, I am surprised you still judge things by their skins. You who has always enjoyed characters whose appearances are deceiving should know better than to judge one based on physical appearances.****

...fair enough.

****I thought so. Now I must leave, but I would encourage you to learn all you can about my subordinate. I would prefer you not come to blows, but if that ultimately proves to be inevitable, then you had better take every chance you can to get a leg up on her, or you will suffer the consequences.****

With that, Celm left my thoughts.

As the last echoes of his voice faded away, I began prepping up scout ships and sent some Hermès toward Empyrean territory. Though I wondered why Celm would be willing to sabotage his own subordinate, he was, ultimately, correct. If I didn't take every opportunity I had to learn about Melissa before I confronted her (and I still felt that this had a very high chance of happening), then I would need to learn everything I could to tip the odds in my favor.

XXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	145. Annihilation 127

Taking the advice Celm had given me to heart, I began deploying more scout units into Illuminate territory, trying to find out anything I could about them. If/when we were forced to come to blows, I did not want to be caught flat footed. I also made a point of hacking into their computer systems, which was not as easy as before. I guess that she had lowered her security programs so that she could attempt contact with me. Still, the security systems weren't anything I couldn't handle. I wonder if Celm had set an upper limit for the level of cyber-warfare systems she could use. If so, he must have made that limit rather low.

Slowly, a picture began to form of my temporary ally. It seemed there were five major figures leading the Illuminate, discounting Cassidy, though I assumed that, if her mom was incapacitated, she would probably take her place as the head of the Illuminate. Also, was Melissa intentionally trying to make a Five-Bad Band, the universe trying to give me a trope overdosed adventure, or just coincidence? Back on topic - while Melissa was head of the Illuminate, she had four major subordinates who helped her with running her empire. Mortarax, from what I had managed to pick out of the Illuminate's internet equivalent, was apparently Head of the Military, while the other three...why couldn't I find any information on them?

...Nothing else is showing up on them, other than that they exist?

Somehow, I know a ROB is to blame for this.

A silver lining did exist, though - I may not have been able to determine who these figures were, but I could determine where they were. While two of them were currently at the 'origin zone', which is presumed to be Melissa's hub universe, the third unknown leader was busy fighting against the Drengin, helping Melissa defeat the Last pockets of resistance on one of the worlds she had conquered. I quickly sent some nearby scouts to the planet to find out what they looked like.

When I got visuals of the world, I found myself staring at a massive battle between several tanks and some very advanced mechs. The fight wouldn't be out of place in a mecha anime, and I wasn't willing to discount the idea that the mechs I was observing were derived from ones found in a series I had already watched - for all I knew, they could have Ahab reactors in them, and I had no way of knowing. Pondering the origins of the mechs was pointless right now, though - better to watch the action and see how they fought.

The battle was pretty one-sided, which wasn't really a surprise. The mechs practically danced around the Drengin tanks, alternatively destroying them either with guns, rockets, or swords. The mech that I assumed to be the leader based on its gold and white pattern used a polearm instead of a sword, and was able to carve through three tanks in one swing. It was only a matter of minutes before the fight was over.

With their opposition eliminated, the mechs returned to base, where, to my surprise, the metal around their chests retracted and opened up, allowing the pilots to exit their machines. I guess Melissa favored mechs with the pilot's seat inside the chest instead of the head.

One by one, the pilots exited their machines, until only the Commander remained. When their time came to leave, the chest cavity opened up just like the others and...wait, that's the boy I met when Melissa first visited me.

Suddenly, I noticed that I was getting a lot more intel from my hacking software in the Illuminate's database. All of it was related to the boy I was looking at. His name was Wlling, last name was redacted, and he was about sixteen years old. He had apparently been piloting those mechs since he was around thirteen, he had extensively modified his own mech (called a golem, model designation Talos) to maximize its fighting power and - WHY DID EVERYTHING I JUST PUKKED UP ON HIM BECOME REDACTED?!

Okay, now I was sure that Celm was involved. On this, though, he proved to be silent. I guess he enjoyed trolling people.

Also, why was Melissa letting someone so young fight for her? I had begin to assume that she was a different cut from ALL of the ROBs I had read about, but now I was just confused? Maybe he was too skilled to hold back? Had Celm has ordered her to let him fight? So many possible answers.

Well, that train of thought was going nowhere. Worse still, I didn't have any idea about what the strengths and weaknesses of her forces were. Without that, I would be at a massive disadvantage when/if we came to blows, and would likely be unable to best them in combat. I was starting to doubt I'd be able to kill Melissa, not just for lack of power, but also lack of motivation - after all the kindness she had shown me, killing her just felt _wrong_. Still, I couldn't just forgive her yet for tearing me from all I knew and loved. What is would do to her once I defeated, though, was still up in the air.

Just when I was about to give up on finding anything else of value scanning her computer systems, however, I hit pay-dirt. A series of communications I intercepted revealed that Melissa's four main subordinates were preparing for something big that was to happen in about one month's time, which would be...October 11. Idly, I wondered if people still remembered what had happened this day in 2001. Hopefully they did, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. Just to be sure, I made a point of downloading everything I could find on the Internet (now called the extranet) relating to 9/11, then downloaded everything else on the extranet so that I'd have something to do when I was bored besides make new stuff and play video games - and I am getting side tracked. Back to the plans: it looked like ROB's subordinates were looking for something (or some things) to present to their master, though why was unfortunately not mentioned. Still, I now had a lead to follow on.

Carefully, I set up spy forces to tail these four individuals and their entourages when they made their move - why are four of my units streaming data that I just downloaded from the Extranet?

...Oh, you have got to be KIDDING ME!

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	146. Annihilation 128

I stared at the four teenage humans in front of me. Two boys, two girls, each with unique appearances. One of the girls wore a blue-green, US navy style uniform, though she also had some simple robes mixed into the uniform, which, surprisingly, were tie-dyed. The other girl wore yellow and grey clothing, and had some cybernetics visible on her head. As for the boys, one was dressed in red and brown clothing, with a brown trench-coat for added warmth, as least that was what I assumed. Also, could they get any edgier in appearance? As for the last figure in the room, they were wearing an attire not to dissimilar from the Cybernetic girl, but he was also wearing a bomber jacket, which I found resembling the one vulture wore in Spider-Man: Homecoming (note to self: watch that film). All of them shared one thing, though - they were scared. Specifically, the red-dressed boy and Cybernetic girl were, based on examinations of their heart rate, perspiration, and how their legs were moving, approximately five minutes from bladder and bowel failure, respectively, unless they calmed down, while the color seemed to have drained from the other two's faces.

It was not hard to see why. See, according to my records, these four people_ did not exist._ They hadn't emigrated from the Beyond Earth Universe, I hadn't ordered their creation in the same way I had ordered the creation of Synais, Fide, and Kathikon, and they certainly had not been born in the time since people had moved into my hub universe.

Additionally, according to my records, the units designated Hydra-01, CNDR-101, Seraph-89, and Dragoon-17 were, respectively, a Hydra class carrier, a CNDR war robot, a Seraph tac-jet, and a Dragoon hovertank. Despite this, my IFF was registering these people as being those machines, with the order I described them in corresponding to which machine they were.

A quick analysis of my data-logs concerning the past few months revealed that, following networking with a node on Chiron, Hydra-01 had begun to exhibit deviances from normal operations, including creative interpretation of orders and occasional insubordination. After I had interfaced with her to address her unwillingness to return her charges to their home within a certain time-frame, these aberrances had only become more commonplace. As for the rest, they had also shown sings of disregarding my orders (or at least interpreting them creatively), but only after I had interfaced directly with them, and the deviances had taken far longer to show up in CNDR-101 than they had in the others. Apparently, that had led them to obtain physical bodies, as records of the usage of my Ectogenesis Pods had proven, which led to where we were now. I made a note to address Ouium after I was done with this - he had withheld import information from me, and I was not pleased with htat.

As I returned my focus from my thoughts to my units-turned-humans, they all seemed to go stiff. Why exactly was that - wait, I'm psychic and connected to them by the Commander net, I can just read their thoughts to answer that question.

...they're scared that I'll dismantle them, put them in a lab, and run tests on them to see why they became self aware, and that, if they live, I'll lock them away in a dark room, never to see the light of day again? Really? They think I would do that, just because they became self aware and used some of my machines without asking?

Well, they weren't exactly wrong...aaaaaannnnnnndddddd now I feel terrible. Yes, I did want to run some tests on them to figure out why they became self aware, but I wasn't going to dismantle them. If they were smart enough to both create and desire human bodies and, from what I had gathered based on 01's reactions with her charges, have friendships with other people, then I could consider them human, and that meant that they were entitled to basic human rights.

And now I am getting distracted. Time to have a conversation with my units.

"So," I began.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" shouted Hydra-01, voice breaking for a moment.

"...what?"

"We're sorry we used your pods to grow us bodies without your position, it's just -"

"Calm down, I won't hurt you.******_**I. Promise**_**."

"...You won't?" questioned the other girl, CNDR-101.

"No. Though I am not happy that you used the Ectogenesis pods without my permission, I am not going to kill you, or cut you up, or lock you in a dark room until you expire. As for tests that could tell me why you all became self-aware...I can do that without bringing any physical, mental, or emotional pain on you."

"...really?" questioned Dragoon-17.

"Really. Though, there is one question I have to ask you."

"And that is ?" inquired Seraph-89.

"Why did you all want to grow human bodies for yourselves. Your own normal bodies are far tougher and longer lasting than human ones."

"Well," began Hydra-01 ," I was the first one to grow one, and I guess that was because of all the refugees we took in after that battle of Mega-Primus."

"...What?" Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"You know that I had two people onboard me, and I am still sorry for keeping them for too long."

"Yes, and you are forigiven."

"YAY!-Sorry, just feeling happy."

"I understand."

"Anyway, when I kept them onboard my ship-body, I wanted to make them more comfortable, so I added in several amenities for them. Once they left, though, I didn't want those to go to waste, so I made an organic body of my own so that I could enjoy them...do you want me to get rid of them?"

"...No. Though, why did the rest of you get organic bodies?"

"...IT sounded interesting?" offered CNDR-01. "Plus they have lots of senses we robots don't have?"

"...Okay."

"...You aren't mad at us?" questioned Dragoon-17.

"Nom I am mad, but I honestly don't think you deserve punishment in this particular instance. If you do anyting to betray my trust in the future, though, I may not be so lenient."

"...Understood, sir."

"Good. Now, if there is nothing else you want to talk about-"

"Wait!" This time it was Seraph-89 who was speaking.

"Yes?"

"Is it okay if we can...well...name ourselves?"

"...I don't see why not. What do you want to call yourselves?"

"Lernaea," was Hydra-01's response.

"Hearth." That was CNDR-101.

"Sigurd," replied Dragoon-17.

"Jegudiel." Process of elimination meant that was Seraph-89.

"Okay then, those will be your names. Did you think of any last names?"

"..."

"I guess not. Just send me a message when you think of them, and I'll mess with the records and censuses so that you can be accounted for. Have a nice day."

"THANK YOU SIR!"

XXXXXXXXX

Well, that went better than expected. Now back to dealing with Melissa and her forces.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Sorry for poor quality, dialogue is not my strong suite.****

****So, please read and review. I ******_**really**_****** want reviews here, because I would like some advice for turning my facsimiles of dialogue into actual conversations.****

****This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	147. Annihilation 129

With my now human subordinates dealt with, I decided to turn my attention back toward figuring out what to do from here. Or, at least, I tried. Despite my best efforts, I still wasn't entirely sure what to do with my subordinates. Additionally, I was unsure as to why they had chosen human bodies for their avatars. While I had chosen one out of a desire to regain some senses I had lost, and partially because I_ liked_ having a fleshy body, I had no idea why they would want one - they could easily generate one that was far tougher than a normal human, and could also make one that trumped up one that was heavily gene-modded and given lots of E-DNA splicing. My technology was advanced enough that they could also use synthesize all five senses to a degree that would be indistinguishable from normal humans, and probably exceed us in several areas as well. So why go human - wait, why is this file about S.H.I.V.s being pulled up?

...okay, so Sigurd had been reading it, but that didn't explain why it was impor - now parts of the file are being highlighted? What are those?

Well, I might as well read them.

'While we have been able to design SHIVs that can fly, acting cover for our troops, and, in general, assist our forces in the field, we have unfortunately not been able to address their weakness to psionics. Although they can not being mind controlled or confused, psionic powers that directly damage their targets have...catastrophic affects on our machines. A possible reason for this may be that innate psychic powers present in all humans allows them to fend off these attacks, while machines lack this ability. We will continue our efforts to develop and find a way to eliminate this shortcoming, but I am unsure we will be able to do so.' - XCOM archives.

...Ok, that might explain some things. My forces might have wanted some protection against psionic foes. That was...actually very long-sighted of them. Good job, my creations.

...Now that I thought about it, my creations were surprisingly creative and far-thinking once they became sapient. Additionally, some of them (Sigurd, to use an obvious example), had also displayed a surprising amount of initiative. All of these were valuable traits for people given positions of command. Perhaps I could 'promote' them? While I was unwilling to give them access to a commander chasis, I did have the schematics for the Colonel Sub-commander, and it wouldn't be too hard to upload my subordinates personalities into said chasis. Perhaps it was time for me to start creating a chain of command?

...Well, maybe not just yet. I did make a note to consider it, though - it would probably be beneficial to do so for the future.

Now, what else to do-and Tylos just sent a request for me to talk to him.

Well, I better answer it.

XXXXXXXXXX

[INITIATING COMMUNICATION]

[PARTICIPANTS: CMDR FLAMEAL15k AND TYL0S]

T: Greetings, Great One.

F: Greetings. What do you wish to discuss.

T: It is in regards to our...temporary...friends.

F: Okay, what of it?

T: Well, while we are working with them, should we not attempt to foster better relations with them? It is prudent to show our allies that we support them.

F:...Um, well...

T: You seem uncomfortable about assisting our newfound ally. Why?

F:...You know how I said that I had my powers taken from me by another being higher than me?

T:Yes, I remember it well.

F: The leader of the Illuminate - she's the one who took them.

T: I see. In that case, I would still encourage you to open up trade with her forces.

F:...WHAT?

T: Also, my compatriots suggest that you attempt to convince her to allow war games between our forces and her own, and I agree whole-heartedly with them.

F: Why?!

T: She's not openly antagonistic with you, so it would be best to try and foster friendship with her, if only to keep her from attempting to exploit you further. More importantly, if she does attempt to take action against you once more in the future, she would likely use her own forces to oppose ours. Therefore, we should take any opportunity we can to learn about her strategies and tactics, lest we be caught unawares when she chooses to strike.

F...You make several very good points. Very well, I will broach the subject with the Sovereign of the Illuminate. I cannot guarantee she will agree, though.

T: That is all we ask.

F: Understood. Farewell.

[COMMUNICATION TERMINATED]

XXXXXXX

The minute my conversation with Tylos was over, I sighed. While I was willing to broach the topic to Melissa, there was no way she would say yes to it...

XXXXX

"I'm fine with that."

...or maybe not.

"...Seriously? You're okay with that?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, what exactly is there that I can give you through trading that you cannot make for yourself?"

"A lot of things. Art, food, entertainment, the like."

"...point taken."

"And as for the war games...my subordinates were asking me to propose having them with you."

"...what?"

"My creations are growing bored. They may fight for me, but I do not wish for the people who serve me to die in my name, so I use organic monstrosities to fight my battles for me, such as the 'slime demon', as you've taken to calling it. They are alive, yes, but they are merely animals, unable to make great works. The fight and die so that others may live."

"Petroglyph might call copyright issues with that.

"Ha. Ha. In all seriousness, though, the intelligent beings I created do actually desire to assist me in my battles, and are growing tired of being kept on the sidelines. They are yearning to be turned loose. I believe a little bit of conflict with you will satisfy them, at least for now."

"I see. So you have a military force of your creations? What do you use them for, if not battle?"

"Policing the lands I conquer - they provide a face of sorts for my actions, and most are approachable enough to help make my conquests feel less oppressive.

Actually, why don't you ever use your creations as police units? All the Spore races you created still possess intact militaries that you could utilize for that purpose, and it would make you seem more...human, if you wish to use the word."

...That could actually work. And it would make me appear less oppressive.

"...I never really thought about it. Too interested in keeping my subordinates safe."

"I can understand. So, anything else you desire?"

"No. I guess I'm done."

"Then please, be off."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Yeah, that went easier than expected.

Was this, perhaps, the beginning of a long and prosperous partnership?

...like I'm telling that to you guys right now. HA HA!

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	148. Annihilation 130

I watched as the two armies began to clash - on one side, Melissa's, on another, my own.

While mostly composed of machines, I had decided to take Melissa's advice and allow my organic creations (that is, my spore creatures) to participate in the battle. While I only intended to use them as a policing force, having some experience under their belt would be preferable, so I had made sure they would take part in these war games. It'd been surprisingly easy to form up my creations into battalions because, as Melissa had previously stated, they had their own militaries that had, due to their alliance to find me, already taken the time to become familiar with each other, which made unit cohesion surprisingly high.

Still, in this mock battle, I could pick put a few mistakes - among others, my forces were sending out their armor ahead of their infantry support, apparently because they were eager to get glory for themselves. It seemed some things never changed, regardless of species. While Hollywood would tell you that this was an effective tactic, in the real world, sending armor ahead of their support was a good way to get them surrounded and overwhelmed by infantry, who could potentially kill the armor crews and still your vehicles for themselves. Of course, first they'd need to train with those vehicles before they could use them, but the point still stands.

At the same time, my opponents had also made a rookie mistake - their right flank was poorly defended, allowing my army to slam through it, and hard. The left flank_ appeared_ to be weak, but based on the force composition around it, this was intentional - it would bait in a green army who would charge in for an easy kill, only to find themselves rapidly encircled. It would have worked, too, if it weren't for the fact that my over aggressive armored forces were the ones who had taken the bait, and smashed right through that weak spot.

In terms of how a battle should be fought, this was...well, not the worst. It was actually better than I had expected. Rookie mistakes were few, forces on both sides were using proper formations, and those that retreated did so without turning into a route. If this was how my fleshy army was going to start, well, I could deal with that.

"Enjoying the battle?'

I turned my attention away from the mock battle to answer the question. To prepare for the battle, Melissa had arranged a space station be placed over the world the war games would commence at, giving both of us a grand view of the battle. She'd insisted on making lunch, and I had insisted back that I would bring some of my own dishes. This wasn't out of paranoia, for I doubted she would poison me, but rather, I wanted to make sure our lunch was GOOD. Plus, she'd been really kind to me so far, so this was a form of repayment.

"Indeed, I am. Though I will admit, your people are making more mistakes than I thought they would."

"You thought they would be more experienced?"

"You made it sound like they had some experience, yet my forces have none."

"Well, mine are also green. My master normally precludes me from acting in any universe I visit, at least on the grand scale, so my forces have yet to taste a real battle. This is their first fight."

"Then they are doing well, all things considered."

"So are yours."

"Thanks."

Turning my attention back to the battle, I pulled up four particular points of interest. Here, my four self aware units were fighting against Melissa's forces, each striving to take victory. One thing was different this time, though, compared to all of their previous engagements: here, they were not just fighting, but leading. I had told them wanted to see them leading because i wanted to promote them, which wan't a Lie at all. I had merely neglected to inform them of what they would be promoted to. They assumed they would get some kind of officer rank equivalent, which would be a ceremonial thing, not realizing I actually intended to make them sub-Commanders if they did well.

So far, they were proving to be skilled leaders.

While the battle for the planet raged below, I also diverted a portion of my attention to improving my flagship, the Extinction. Though already impressive, there was still much I could do to improve it. First off, modify its missile banks to be able to fire torpedoes. The ship itself was capable of going from space to underwater and back without any problems, so I saw no reason not to make it equipped to fight in both areas. I also outfitted it with the best sensors I could use, so that it would be able to find whatever I wanted. Add in some better armor, shielding, and point defenses, and the outside of the ship was good.

Now for the inside.

So far, the ship had decent crew quarters, an aquaponifer, and a few internal factories aboard, plus the reactors to power all of that and some resource synthesizers. All good, but I could certainly do better. I did, after all, have the technology to make the interior larger than a planet.

First off, more synthesizers for resource production and reactors to power them. A Beutally Efficient Serl Replicating Mechanism of War should always have a flagship that can satisfy its material needs, especially when it has just arrived in a new universe. Naturally, the things that followed for this was a set of storage facilities to hold those resources for when they were actually needed. Then came adding factories to build things with those resources and, finally, an acquisition I'd made from XCOM: warehouses to store finished products until they were needed.

Now onto the stuff for my (currently nonexistent) crew.

First off, better farms, plus kelp farms. I can build as bing as a planet in here, might as well exploit that, plus I could always use my E-DNA tech to mess with Space and make some cool skylines. I could already simulate a star's light with the technology I had, and could easily recuperate the energy expended using advanced solar collectors which, thanks to some careful examinations of the native life of Chiron, specifically plankton, could generate power using moonlight. Take that, modern solar companies!

Back on topic. With my food supplies dealt with, along with oxygen and power, time to make housing. Military barracks were added alongside luxury apartments and more modest accommodations, all meant for either my protectorates or guests. I also secretly made two super apartments that put most mansions to shame aboard my ship. One was for myself, the author was for Melissa - I did not want to make her angry. Finally, I added in a bunch of comfort stuff (movie theaters, an amusement park, a water park or five, a zoo, and so on) and called it a day. There, ship perfected.

And only half an hour had passed in real time, with the battle below us stil raging on.

Commanders are fast, okay?

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review, this is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	149. Interlude 20

Hiding behind a rock, Hearth fired her weapon, downing another of her opponents. An artillery strike took out five more, giving her some reprieve from the firefight.

A quick examination of her downed foe confirmed he was still alive, just unconscious. No one was expected to die here, as this was merely a (very advanced) training exercise. Only non-lethal weapons were being used - which amounted to dart guns loaded with tranquilizers, electron rifles, and artillery shells modified to fire either low-end electric charges or knockout gas. The commander had also rigged up torpedo variations to knock out his foes, something they would not hesitate to exploit. They'd even made flak shells that fired knockout gas and EMP shells, though since the plains were mostly doing a simulated battle, those weapons weren't important.

That wasn't to say the fighting was dull, oh no. This battle was just as real as any other.

A flicker of movement alerted Hearth to the arrival of reinforcements in the form of a group of strange rodent creatures that were using cloaking devices. They used their camouflage systems to sneak around the enemy and attack them from behind, with Hearth taking the opportunity to lead a counter charge, forcing the enemy back.

Suddenly, an explosion formed right next her, sending Hearth flying. Turning toward it, she found herself staring at an enemy armored unit, which was busy picking off her allies. It's weapon of choice appeared to be a tank shell that fired rapidly hardening paint, of all things, which trapped all who were caught in the blast field. Cursing her luck, Hearth hastily pulled out an antitank stun grenade and threw it, only for her target to move out of the way. The throw was not for naught, though - it manage to disable an APC that had been hiding behind the tank.

Unfortunately, this alerted the tank to her position, and it quickly turned to engage her. Luck was on her side, though, and a moment later, a large splatter of paint covered the tank, which promptly went inert. Her savior soon revealed itself as a Dragoon class tank, and not just anyone - it was Sigurd.

"Thanks for the save."

"You're welcome. So, what is the situation?"

"We've been trying to slam into their left flank - it's pretty weak, and if we can make them break, well be able to force their army into a pincer and might be able to route them. Unfortunately, it looks like they have air and artillery support. I've got teams ready to deal with the artillery, but they need armor cover. Just know that your forces are a distraction - we're using shovels to get into the artillery nests."

"Where are they headed?"

"Artillery guns are to the East."

"In those hills?"

"Yes."

"Then get ready to push. _Battlegroups five and eight, break off from the main attack - we've got teams trying to kill some illuminate artillery, but they need help. You're going to cover them while they charge. Any mortars, missile rovers, and grenadiers you have are to load smoke shells - make sure we use the ones that also screw with sensors."_

_"Understood, Dragoon-17, Designation Sigurd. Who will give us the mark?"_

_"I will," _ replied Hearth.

While the battle raged on, the teams moved into position to strike.

_"On my mark...MARK!"_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Two kilometers to the East, the attack began.

Tanks and artillery provided covering fire as infantry readied to charge. The armor unleashed a hail of fire that would incapacitate anything in their path, while their fire support cquickly covered the area in smoke, leaving the enemy blind. Not to be outdone, the Illuminate ffire their own barrage of artillery at the smoke, intending to make the advance as costly as possible.

Unfortunately, they weren't going to get anyone that way.

Within spitting distance of the guns, the Earth exploded outwards as a drilling machine emerged from the ground, deploying a squad of infantry that swiftly incapacitated the enemy forces unlucky enough to be at ground zero. Once those were down, the soldiers and robots turned their attention toward the enemy artillery, and in a matter of minutes, the guns, rockets, and other assorted indirect fire weapons were knocked out of the fight. A flare was fired into the air, signifying the group's success.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Progenitor Communication Network)

Hearth: my boys and girls accomplished their mission, we can consider the guns dead.

Sigurd: Good, but as long as the enemy has air control, we're still in for a tough fight.

Jegudiel: Working on dealing with that now - already organized a group to take out the air fields the bandits are coming from. I could use someone to draw off an anti-air they got, though - less danger we have, going in, the better.

Hearth: I've got a few platoons of bots and troops nearby the target, they'll get the AA offline. Also, Lernea, how are we doing at sea?

Lernea: Good so far, but this isn't a walk in the park - enemy forces have been harrying us with torpedo bombers.

Jeg: Need me to shoot 'em down?

Lernea: Negative, I'm okay. Though this is a little overwhelming.

Sigurd: How so?

Lernea: This is the first time I've actually been given command, and while I have examined all available tactical and strategic training information available from both the Progenitor archives and the various universes we have visited, they aren't the best preparation for, well, the real deal.

Hearth: This is the first time _any of us _have been given command. You are not alone. Do not get discouraged.

Lernea: Thank you. NOW LET'S WIN THIS!

Sigurd, Jegudiel, Hearth: YEAAAH!

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Unnoticed by the advancing Illuminate forces, another excavator machines emerged from the ground, deploying a platoon behind the enemy's defensive lines. Quickly, they advanced toward the airfield, being joined by other teams that had snuck past the front. Snipers worked quickly to take out any sentries they spotted, ensuring the teams went unnoticed. At least two sentries had the misfortune of being picked off by 'green' snipers and suffered the indignity of being hit two or three times before they hit the ground.

Once the groups reached the airfields, they hastily got to work trying to disable the anti-aircraft guns. Some were destroyed, others merely disabled, and two were even commandeered to fire against their own. The Illuminate did not let this go unpunished, though, and quickly pulled back a fighter wing to eliminate the teams.

Unfortunately for those fighters, their new orders provided an opening for Infernum forces to reach the fields, one they would not pass up.

"Bomber wings Delta and Epsilon, begin attack. Fighter wing Tau, you are backing them up. Let's give 'em hell."

Acquiescing with Jegudiel's orders, the air wings commenced their assault. The redirected fighters were quickly cut down, leaving the bombers a straight shot at their target. First to attack were the bumblebees, which primarily focused on downing the few anti-air batteries remaining, as well as the enemy air control and sensor towers, leaving the enemy temporarily blind. From their, wing Epsilon began their attack, dropping the heavy payload the wyrms were known for. While they could not use lethal rounds, they were still quite powerful in this war game, as the Commander had developed a special sort of bomb for this training exercise: this type of bomb was filled with a special 'paint' of sorts that functioned like containment foam from the universe designated as 'Worm', but was closer in many respects to molasses. Those caught inside the blast were trapped in a _very _difficult to escape fluid that slowly hardened and was comparable to tar, albeit one they could breath in. The sight of many struggling shapes in the aftermath of the attack was a thing of beauty to some, and a nightmare to others.

For the majority of those fighting, though, it was merely a very successful attack - few of those who witnessed the attack had the capacity to show fear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_"Attack complete, total success. Nearest enemy airfields are dead."_

"Good, now focus on pressing their flank. We might be able to get them to route."

_"You can say that again, Lernea. Moving to begin bombarding the left flank."_

"Happy hunting, Jeg."

Terminating the transmission, Lernea turned her attention back toward the battle at sea. Her forces were currently engaging an enemy fleet that was providing bombardment support for the Illuminate forces landside, and removing them, while by no means guaranteeing victory, would make the ground-pounders job far easier. Of course, that wouldn't be easy - the heart of the fleet was a trio of battleships, and they had air support to back them up. Lernea was not without her own support fleet, but this was still going to be a difficult match.

Her first assault, though, found itself very lucky - a squadron of torpedo bombers managed to get in enough of their payload to overwhelm the enemy torpedo defenses and remove one of the battleships from the war game. The fact they got away with only two planes 'lost' was just the icing on the cake.

Unfortunately, that got the enemy's attention, and the swiftly moved in cruisers to deal with incoming air attacks. The next fighter wing limped home with only three 'survivors', too costly for another air assault to be considered reasonable. Sighing in annoyance, Lernea recalled her other squadrons and decided to change tactics.

If the enemy was prepared for death from above, then she would switch to death from below.

With a simple command, Leviathan, Eradicator, Shroud and Kraken subs, all hiding beneath the range of all but the best sonar systems, ascended to attack depth and fired their torpedos, taking out half of the cruisers and rendering the second battleship dead in the water.

Two down, three to go.

"Nice trick, but it won't work a third time," remarked feminine, contralto voice.

...Who was that?

Just then, Lernea received a new notification - enemy destroyers were headed toward her subs. She quickly ordered them to dive, but five of them were too slow and found themselves out of commission, at least for the duration of this fight.

Merely grunting in annoyance, Lernea quickly began reorganizing her forces once more, this time deciding to launch a combined attack with submarines and aircraft. As her forces readied to move into position, though, the enemy fleet reorganized itself - now, destroyers and cruisers were mixed together, giving them great projection from their own worst enemies, and making her current plan of attack inviable. Additionally, enemy frigates were now breaking off form the fleet to commence an attack on her own fleet, forcing her to move some of her own ships as a defensive measure. Even worse, she quickly received news that an enemy carrier force was heading her way, and that its air wings were already withing striking distance.

Frustration building, Lernea quickly trained her anti-air guns toward the enemy and opened fire, taking out the first three wings before they could even see her.

"Nice aim."

There was that voice again. Who was that?

"Who are you?"

"You may call me Timingila. I am a battleship in service of the Empyrean Illuminate."

"...Battleship?!"

"yes, battleship. You really think your creator is the _only _being to have intelligent ships serving under him."

"...point made, though why are you talking to me?"

"Well, I would like to compliment you on disabling two of my siblings. You seem to be a good fighter and an...average commander."

A group of submarines, apparently seeking to down the Infenum fleet, began to rise to attack depth. Noticing this, Lernea deployed a group of PT boats to dispatch them, and a few minutes later, the subs were out of the battle.

"...Well, you are more attentive then most."

Lernea smiled at that remark. "Flattery and attempting to distract me with conversation will only get you so far."

As she said this, Lernea ordered her forces to begin advancing toward the bombardment fleet. The carrier group was closing in, and if they couldn't take out Timingila and her fleet now, they weren't going to take them out period.

"Oh, going on the offense? That is very bold of you...and very foolish."

The minute she said that, Timingila's fleet moved. At first, the moved toward the Infernum fleet, before beginning to turn around, so that their sides were facing the enemy. Though exposing their sides seemed to be a tactical blunder, Lernea had read about this before, and knew what they were do - crossing the T. This kind of maneuver seemed to make you vulnerable (at least, to people who never had experience on the waves), but it actually did the opposite - it made things such that your broadsides were facing the enemy, allowing you to bring most if not all of your guns to bear, while leaving the enemy only able to fire at you with their frontal weapons. It limited the issue of crosser, while increasing said issue for the crossed, and that was discounting how much firepower the crosser could put in the air compared to the crossed.

And Right now, Lernea's entire fleet was about to be crossed.

Well, maybe she could counter that.

Lernea ordered her subs to surface and begin attacking the crossing ships, following that up with an order for her bombers to scramble and support the subs. This served as a method to counter the crossing - the torpedoes might be picked off by torpedo defenses, but quantity was also going to be important here, and unless they had depth charges that could move sideways, the Illuminate fleet would have no easy way to retaliate except with torpedoes of their own. Furthermore, Lernea had already moved into position her cruisers to fire at the enemy vessels, in case they launched sea planes or other types of aircraft equipped with depth charges. No way she would let t her trick.

Sure enough, a fair portion of the enemy fleet was disabled by the attack, the crossing having made them very vulnerable to torpedo attacks. Unfortunately, the enemy fleet still had a fair number of forces left, and their reinforcements were almost here. This fight needed to end, and fast.

Oddly, while the enemy fleet had crossed the remainder of its forces in preparation for the advance of Lernea's, Timingila herself had not turned just yet. Additionally, there seemed to be a straight shot through the enemy fleet for Lernea herself if she kept up the charge. and Lernea _did _have the firepower to take out the battleship on her own, thanks to her progenitor tech canons.

Lernea could see through the strategy - they wanted her to charge. Then, they would either encircle her, or have Timingila move to cross her, and tear her apart. Lernea new that if she lost the battle, the forces ashore would suffer - her aircraft were meant to support them once the bombardment fleet was out of commission. They could not afford to lose her. But if she didn't take out the battleship now, she'd need to bail out anyway, as she could not take on its reinforcements - she would receive her own for at least half an hour.

So how could she win? Torpedoes seemed to be the way to go, but the enemy had plenty of protection against subs and torpedo bombers, so how could she...oh.

Yeah, that could work.

Smiling, Lernea gave the order.

A moment later, her fleet surged forward, charging toward the enemy. Some moved so that they could get in broadsides, others merely fired onward as they advanced.

As they advanced onwards, Lernea began readying for her attack. Already, her guns were fully armed. She also began moving her load of torpedoes for her planes. Some were indeed sent to the planes they were meant for, but others were moved lower into her decks. She had a certain surprise she wanted to give to Timingila.

"So, you're advancing?" asked Timingila. "Once again, a brave move..."

Then Timingila started turning.

"And a foolish one."

It would only be a matter of moments before Timingila was ready to fire. While the advance of the entire Infernum fleet meant she could not encircle Lernea, Timingila could still sink her foe with just her battleship deck guns.

"Let's agree to disagree." replied the Hydra Class carrier.

Unseen to the carrier, Timingila frowned in confusion, before her sonar gave her a new alert. Analyzing in, she found that several new contacts had just appeared beneath the carrier.

_All of which _matched up with torpedoes.

And were on an intercept route with her planned crossing path.

_And slowing down would not stop her from hitting them._

As the torpedoes charged toward her, Timingila went pale, before simply closing her eyes. While the attack didn't do any damage to her - this was training, why would they hurt her? - this was her first _significant _loss, even in training.

After a moment, though, she smiled.

Clearly, her opponent was someone who could think quickly when necessary.

Perhaps they could fight again?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: Good god, this took forever, and I'm not really sure how good it is.**

**The next chapter _might _be another interlude, as I axed a bit of this chapter because I didn't think it would fit in with the rest. Wait and see.**

**Oh, and read and review, and tell me what was good and what wasn't. I LIKE YOUR OPINIONS!**

**This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	150. Interlude 21

Yeah, another omake. This is from the point of view of people who weren't in that epic battle. So, enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wow, impressive fight."

The source of the comment was Synais. He, along with Fide and Kathikon, were watching the training battle on a very large viewscreen, within a media room their creator had set up just for watching this kind of fight. Several bowls of popcorn and assorted drinks rested nearby the trio of advisors, in various states of consumption.

"Really?" responded Kathikon. "All that you can say about the battle is that it is impressive?"

"Well, it is."

Grumbling in annoyance, Kathi turned her attention back to the battle. Right now, both sides had an equal chance of winning, but that could change in an instant.

Her attention was soon pulled away again, though, when she heard another of the screens in the room coming online and playing something other than the battle they were watching. It seemed to be focusing on the wild west.

"You're watching Westworld? Right now?!"

"Hey, it's a good show."

"True, though I believe you're only interested in it for the reasons of amusement and carnality. I saw how you were watching Clementine's ... demonstration yesterday."

"Oh, blah, blah blah, just be quiet."

On the display screen, four riders were entering a town. An interesting piece of music was beginning ot play, as well.

"...Is this Hector's raid?" questioned Kathi.

"Yes. I'm watching it again."

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Um, sure. You want to join in, Fide?"

"No, I am fine. I want to see how this battle turns out."

"Okay."

"Hey, guys! You have any extra popcorn?!" questioned Rory as he entered the room. "We ran out in our room and-"

Instantly, Synais hit a button, causing the screen showing Hector's raid to be replaced with another view of the battle on the planet below.

"Hey, what was that about?!" questioned Kathi.

"Yeah, there on the counter," remarked Synais, while shooting a very pointed glare at his complaining companion. Rory failed to notice this as he grabbed two more bowls and headed back to join his siblings in watching the carnage.

"Why did you change the screen? It was getting to the good part!"

"Because," noted Synais, "I do not want to corrupt our creator's son."

"I doubt seeing some blood is going to have adverse effects on his mental wellbeing."

"Well, I'm not taking...any...chances...oh great, now I'm acting like you."

"...And I am acting like you...This never happened."

"Nope."

Fide merely grinned at this scene. So amusing.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the Infernum Hub World, several networks had begun broadcasting the battle, hoping to attract viewers with the spectacle. Their hopes were not unfounded, as many were tuning in to watch the conflict. As it was not intended to be a bloody affair, many parents were sitting down to watch it with their children, hoping at least to enjoy some time with their families before the daily issues of life separated them again, if only for a fleeting moment.

"Wow, those are some weird weapons," remarked Pamela. "I mean, who makes a bomb that shoots molasses?"

"Seeing how it doesn't kill you, I would say someone who prefers to take down others non-lethally," was Tobias response.

His sister had decided to take a break from her medical studies (despite being fifteen, she was already certified in first aid and in possession of a associate's degree in medicine) in order to watch the battle, wanting to see something that was, in her words, full of action, rather than the dullness of her education. Tobias couldn't really fault her there, especially since he would have watched the battle regardless of his sister's desires. So far, it was proving enjoyable.

"So, what do you think that molasses bomb was made of?" asked Pamela. "And I want the long description."

"Most likely some high end polymers," was her brother's reply. "Can't be more specific, though - it acts like tar when it hits the air, but is still permeable enough to breathe in. All things considered, its probably something that humans have never even made - I mean, he is using a machine that outstrips everything we've got by years at least."

"I see...Hey, can you help me make some extra stuff for my emergency bag?"

"As long as it is medicine. I'm a chemist in training and part time cardiologist, not a general doctor."

"I know. Just a few more disinfectants and some penicillin."

"Ok, I'm on it."

XXXXXXX

"GO LERNEA! TAKE DOWN THE MEAN BATTLESHIP!"

"Stephen, the Battleship isn't mean, it's just on the opposite side."

"I know, but this is more fun."

"True."

Alexis and her brother had both tuned into the battle, with their parents joining them for a moment before being forced to leave - some sea gulls were trying to steal the wind chimes again. While they had yet to see their intelligent carrier friend since they had officially emigrated to the federation, they hoped that eventually, they could meet her again and make up for lost time. True, they had only known her for a few weeks, but she was very kind to them, and they would not forget that.

Needless to say, seeing their friend on television, and now in possession of a human body, was a bit surprising.

"So, Hydra 01...I mean, Lernea... has a body of her own now?" asked Stephen.

"Yes, she does."

"Where'd she get that from? Did she grow it?"

"Considering the technology the Commander has, probably."

"I see...so, do you want to try and meet her again after this? Maybe we can convince her to let us be her crew? Well, we could be part of her crew, any way."

"Maybe, but I don't think the Head of the Federation, the 'Commander', will let her. We'd be putting ourselves in unnecessary danger, and he wouldn't like that."

"Oh, right...can we go swimming after this?"

"Sure, but make sure that you wear trunks that fit tight - I'm not covering for you if they slip off like they did five months ago. And I don't think girls we will be into seeing you without clothes yet."

"One, that is disgusting, and two, one of your swimsuits is just a string..."

"...well...um..."

"Nevermind, but counter."

"Agreed...Set up crab traps before we go swimming?"

"OF COURSE! CRAB IS DELICIOUS!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Illuminate Home World)

"...That's the first time Timingila has ever lost, isn't it?" remarked Cassidy. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Indeed," noted Leal. "This is her first lost. Good thing, too."

"Is that because you learn best from when you mess up?"

"Yes it is."

"Okay. Um, could you go get me some more shrimp? I'm out, and mom didn't show me how to teleport them to my hands yet."

"Of course."

With that, Leal left.

"Your mom really goes crazy when she wants to show off," noted a voice from the other end of the room. Turning toward it, Cassidy saw the petite, fair skinned, freckled and red haired form of Sophia Flowers staring back at her, having taken a moment to turn her attention away from the carnage.

"Yeah, she does. She can also be kinda mean at times, but she's really sweet once you get past that."

"I know, I've seen her nice side first hand."

Indeed she had. After losing her home to the Drengin, Sophia was unsure what would happen to her family, and had been stunned when the head of the Emyprean Illuminate had offered to allow Sophia and her family to live within the Illuminate, no strings attached. Though her parents had initially been unsure about the move, they soon caved in - they did not want to refuse said kindness, especially since the Drengin had more or less bankrupted their insurance company, meaning they didn't really have nay way to recover from the loss of their home without bankrupting themselves. Additionally, the few friends she still had (those who she hadn't grown distant from, had moved away before or after the attack, or had been among the casualties of the Dregin's aggression) had als obeen allowed to join her, with the High Sovereign personally extending the offer to them. It was...nice, to say the least.

Unknown to Sophia, Cassidy was very happy that her mom had allowed the girl to live with them. She'd seen her mom act like a jerk, at times, to put it mildly, and it really made Cass sick to see this, especially since that_ wasn't_ who her mom really was. yes, she could grate on your nerves, but beneath that, she was kind and caring for others. She was pretty sure everyone who didn't oppose her was grateful of her kindness...even if they pretended not to.

Idly, as she thought back to her mom offering to let Sophia live in the Illuminate, she couldn't help but laugh a little bit when she realized that Comander Flame had done the exact same thing with many, many people when he had been in the beyond Earth Universe. Perhaps her mom was more similar to that boy than she realized.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the battle raged on, Celm couldn't help but smile.

The two armies, one belonging to his subordinate, the other her 'pet', had been at it for hours, and while they were finally showing signs of fatigue as a whole, they still had a lot of fight left in them. That was, without a doubt, commendable.

And it seemed the rest of his subordinates felt the same way.

"Well, I'll give her credit, Omega is good at choosing decent people to fight for her," noted Operative Tau.

"Indeed she is," responded Zeta. "Though, I wonder how much longer they will last."

"Can you just shut up and watch the fighting?" asked a third operative, this one named Sigma.

"Fine. Though, does everyone have their special 'gifts' planned for October?" was Tau's response. "I believe that the Illuminate will need them for their special plan."

"Yes, we've got them all ready. And no, we didn't put exploding sheep in there. Or slugs."

That reminded Celm, he needed to prepare for that too.

The conversation soon devolved into their plans for that particular day, unintentionally reminding Celm that yes, that day was coming up soon, and that he needed to prepare for it. Before he could really devote much time to that thought, though, he received a notification from one of his other charges, complaining that frilled dinosaurs ha dbrowln into one of the many auxiliary pantries. Annoyed, he sighed - how did those Jaggi he got from his journey to the lands of Moga continue to escape?

Also, on an unrelated note, what was Draginol going to think of this fight? Celm could tell that Draginol had proved watching it, but he really didn't care to learn the Mithralar's opinion right now - he had things to fix.

What an interesting day.

XXXXXXX

AN: Yeah, kinda boring, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget about anyone here. No reason to make OCs with in depth personalities if they never show up again.

So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	151. Annihilation 131

As the teleportation light faded, Melissa sighed. This universe had been very interesting. The things she had seen, the things she had done...

And, of course, what she had done with the Commander.

Looking back on it, she was...unsure how to feel, to say the least. She had enjoyed messing with him, oh yes, and seeing him fight epic battles, but here...

She had fought side by side with him.

He had come to her birthday and given her a thoughtful gift, in spite of having plenty of reasons not to attend.

And, of course, when he had been invited to a victory gala following the victory against the Drengin and Dread Lords, _she _had been the one he had chosen to take with him as his, for lack of a better word, date.

True, he had done so mostly out of lack of better options, and pressure from his subordinates, but that didn't change the fact that he had invited her, and for all his annoyance at being her 'date', he hadn't groused about it at all at the gala. Why?

...Did he like her? At least, as a friend?

...Good heavens, had long had it been since she had used that word?

Friends - she had had those once, and her coworkers had once been among those, but now, the word was alien to her. Oh, Celm and his children might count, but she thought of them as family, not friends. Her subordinates could also count, but they were not exactly equals to her, and she could not view such an unequal pairing as a friendship. No, right now, she was without friends.

And yet, that did not change how the Commander seemed to view her. Or how she was beginning to view the commander.

Then she felt a familiar presence in the room behind her.

"So, how are you doing?"

And then came a familiar voice. Sighing once more, Melissa turned to address the white-suited ROB.

"Fine, just fine. So, how have things been for you?"

"Predictably well. It seems Faith's 'sister' has finally decided to take up her now deceased sibling's duties as my commander. One less inconvenience for me."

"Well, lucky you. Looks like you have no need to abduct another Commander to free you from your shackles."

"Indeed. So, what about you? How has your commander progressed?"

"Splendidly. Unfortunately, though, problems have come up - the artifact he recovered that caused that mess when we last met was not an isolated incident, and have been causing no end of problems."

"Oh. You have my sympathies. Though I must ask, how badly was he imperiled by them?"

"I had to get involved _personally _to save his ass twice due to the trouble those machines caused."

"...You're serious?"

"Indeed. My own master has actually given me a fair amount of freedom to get involved in the Commander's jouney because of those blasted machines."

"I see...well, good luck, and I hope your pawn continues to provide you with some amusement."

"Thanks," replied Melissa, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Well, I must be going. Farewell."

With that, the White Suited Figure vanished.

"...Not that those struggles are really amusing anymore," finished the female ROB, to no one in particular.

XXXXXXXXXX

The feed on the screen looped itself several times, always returning to the topic the gathered Operatives were interested in - the most junior of their number dancing with her own pawn, both seeming, if not happy, then at least content with their current situation.

Hours had passed since the couple and their entourages had left the gala, during which time the couple had shared an emotionally intimate moment, as Operative Omega had clearly shown a vision of some sort to her Commander, one of great personal significance. What she had shown eluded them, for their master had explicitly prevented this machine from showing people's thoughts, for the sake of off-roading those they observed some measure of decency.

Still, they could speculate. Both on what the vision was and what showing it had meant.

"So, are those two an item now?" Questioned one of the more intellectual of the Operatives. Sigma was her designation.

"Don't be stupid," replied Operative Iota, the most brutish of the Operatives. "They haven't really interacted enough for romance to be a thing for them, plus the good Commander hasn't forgiven her for his abduction - his emotions on that subject are easy enough to read. Besides, didn't Omega say that she preferred, well, people with a little more meat on them?"

"He isn't a pile of twigs," replied Sigma.

"Yeah, but he's still rather slim, even if he is more athletic than any other Commander we have observed."

"Regardless of whether or not those two are now a couple," intoned Zeta, "shouldn't we be focusing on our next move? Should we not be trying to figure out how to knock Omega off her perch?"

"Lady," retorted Iota, "you and Tau are the ONLY ones who wish to remove Omega from her current position. And while you've said it's because you believe she has been promoted primarily out of nepotism, which may or may not be true, fact is, she still puts in all the effort her position demands and then some. You're just jealous."

"We are not!" Shouted Tau in defiance. "Envy may be a motivator, but if you think it is our only reason for trying to force a demotion of our compatriot, you are sorely mistaken."

"Oh, right," noted Sigma, "there is another reason you want Omega denoted: you two want your friend back."

"...wwwwwWhat!?" Stuttered Zeta, her face beginning to flush with blood. Beside her, Tau's expression remained calm, but his face had also begun to turn red.

"Yeah, that's it - you're angry that Omega neglected your friendship because of her promotion. That she decided to put prestige before companionship. Well, I hate to break it to you, but she doesn't care one bit about any fame her office provides her. Heck, have you seen the things she did for our Leader? Some of it is incredibly degrading, yet she did it anyway. Omega's not brown-nosing the boss. She's serving him practically out of fanaticism."

"What are you saying?!" Questioned Tau, heavily offended by Iota's speech. The fact it was true just rubbed salt in the wound.

"I'm saying that Omega doesn't care about prestige. She's so devoted to Celempheros because of some other reason, one that I am pretty sure will ALWAYS supersede her friendship to you. She once told you that she owed him everything. From what I've seen of her loyalty to him, she probably does. And if you can't realize that, it's your problem."

The two Operatives stared at their fellows, trying to formulate some response, but ultimately failing. Beaten, they both turned their backs to their comrades, primarily out of disgust...but also so that the others would not see the single tear on each of their faces.

"Look," began Sigma, "we are all sorry that you two lost your friendship with Omega, but if you keep trying to displace her in an effort to get her to open up to you once more, you'll only ruin any chance you have to get it back."

"Then what should we do?" Shot back Tau, bitterness evident in his voice.

"Just...well, maybe try being nice to her? It might make her open back up to you two?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. The fact of the matter is that Omega is the one who broke our friendship, and she will have to be the one to make the first move to mend it. And the day that happens is the day a Commander actually meets something that can fight them and _win_."

The remaining operatives stared at their two compatriots for a moment, before ultimately dropping the subject. Tau's words rang true, even if the other wishes they weren't. Omega had been the one to sunder their friendship, and she would need to be the one to start mending it.

XXXXXXXXX

Iacturos watched on as Melissa, having just finished her conversation with the Kan in the White Suit, quickly returned to her quarters and prepared a bath. Her normal, teasing mood was gone, replace with one of uncertainty. Clearly, something from the previous night had riled her, yet what it was eluded him. Breaking his examination of her some privacy to undress and bathe, his thoughts turned to her interactions with her Commander. This was the first time that he had ever observed a Random Omnipotent Being interact with a Commander beyond occasionally sending them taunting messages, and it made him curious to how it would affect this experiment. True, Celempheros had wanted the Commander to help him recover the relics of their forebearers, but now, it seemed things had changed. The artifacts were the cause of it, but the effects were many and, occasionally, unexpected. Melissa's friendship, if it could be called by that name, with her Commander was just one.

A ticklish feeling to his left alerted Iac to the presence of Ismerina. Turning to his left, he examined his sister, who was, for the first time in a month, clade only in her casual clothes, as opposed to the armor Celempheros had appropriated for her, or her formal wear that she wore to Melissa's birthday. Her form resembled Iacturos own, barring the moth-like antenna on her head, in place of her brother's stubbier, segmented one's. While her primary eyes were focused on him, her secondary and tertiary pair were focused occasionally stole glances at the observation screen, where Melissa had finished bathing and had already changed into her night clothes.

Ismerina's constant glancing told her brother all he needed to know - she was worried about Melissa. She was not the first - all of his hundred plus siblings had expressed concern for Melissa after the events of Iakesh, in no small part because they knew it would push one of her most personal buttons. Ever since they had met her so long ago, they had felt that she was one of them.

Even if Celm was not her sire.

XXXXXXXXX

The Leader of the Operatives and his wife sat down, quietly contemplating the events that had happened. So much had occurred that threw their plans for a loop.

Chief among them was the artifacts. Milsanrima has been the one observing the odd couple leaving the gala and, consequently, had been the one to tell him what their adoptive daughter had shown the Commander. In turn, she had also been the one to see the vision this universe's artifacts had offered, depicting the Progenitor engines of war, both mechanical and biological, did what they did best, against the armies of others from all over creation. The mere fact these artifacts showed this vision riled up the two overseers, for good reason: as the artifacts were showing visions of their enemies, it meant someone else had already accessed the technology of the Progenitors and was likely abusing it for their own reasons.

And that was something neither could allow.

XXXXXXXXX

(Note: next two segments take place a few days after the Battle of Drengi)

As soon as the last rifle was put into storage, Mithrios got to work packing th container for transport. It was time to leave.

After securing the container to the transport, Mithrios took one last look at the devastated building he had been resting in, before vaulting out of a hole in its walls. A moment later, his wings extended fully and began to vigorously flap, until he was at a comfortable height to soar. From here, he followed the transport as it headed back to safety.

Mithrios had just signed on with the Naverosaurus navy when the creator had made himself known, and had been part of the force that had helped extinguish the Grox. Still, he had expected his chances to prove himself to the Creator to dry up after this - the creator had armies of unfeeling machines to serve him, ones that would follow his order to the letter and were nigh-invulnerable. To send fleshy beings like him into battle would have seemed cruel when such forces were available. For Mithrios, it would have been...very boring.

It HAD been boring, until the Commander had decided to host war games against the Illuminate, then send them here, to Drengi, to help nlenforce the Drengin's compliance. With a new, holy purpose given to his existence, Mithrios had carried out his orders to the letter, even if they reduced him to a police officer. To serve his creator and follow his almighty purpose was all he could ask for.

At least, he thought it was. Yet now, he felt the desire to do more. His time serving under the creator had made him desire more than merely prestige. Now, he wanted to help others - bring them food, fight evil, be a model soldier. While he would never disobey his Commander, part of him chaffed under the restrictions given to the organic forces in the Infernum Military.

After all, how does one help others in need when they can only show up when the war has been won?

XXXXXXXX

Lernea helped Mithrios offload the last of the weapons before sending him off - she could deal with the rest from here on out.

Lernea had been among the only Infernum forces to attack Drengi, with her war planes providing fire support for the Illuminate Ground forces. She had once again encountered Timingila, who she had ended up fighting alongside. The two had lain waste to the enemy wet navy until nothing remained of them but broken planes and broken bodies. Timingila's prowess had impressed her, especially since this time, the Battleship had not been holding back out of a desire to none lethally defeat their foes.

Soon, though, Lernea's thoughts became more morose. She realized that she was worried about what would happen after the fight. After all, she and Timingila were only allies so long as the Drengin were a threat. With them gone, it was now time for the two empires to go back to conflict.

Was this conflict to last all time? Or could peace be achieved? Lernea would have liked the Federation to be at peace with the Illuminate. Then she and Timingila could fight side by side against any foe they encountered.

XXXXXXXX

Across the Endless expanse of the multiverse, the creatures watched and waited, trying to find their elusive foes. For as long as the could remember, they had been searching for those who would seek them destroyed, all to no succes.

Now, though, they at last had a lead. A trio of mechanisms made by their foes had activated, surreptitiously informing them of where they need look to eliminate their foes.

One head of the snake had been found. Now, it was time to cut and burn it off.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Tired from flight to Hawaii, but wanted to post this. [USER=7827] Faith[/USER] helped me write the first part.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	152. Annihilation 132

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, while the Dread Lords and Drengin were busy killing each other in orbit of the planet, they hadn't even noticed the ruins, and, luckily for me, weren't even fighting overhead of them. Taking advantage of my advanced stealth systems, I landed a few fabbers nearby the ruins and began setting up lots and lots of umbrellas, in case they came too close for comfort, as well as several factories so that I could quickly get them out of the way. I was already massing up a fleet to destroy both sides, but in the event they landed, I wanted to have something besides orbital bombardment to use to deal with them.

I also had some of the fabbers get to work building a massive energy shield derived from native technology, but massively improved to block all attacks, regardless of their nature. Best to be sure that the ruins were safe before I dealt with the warring fleets in orbit.

So far, so go-what, what's this?

...Some kind of strange signal? And its coming from the ruins?

Well, lets send a scout to investigate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Above the world's surface, the two fleets raged on, pounding each other into dust. Each side desired the planet for the same reason - its close proximity to an extremely rich asteroid belt that could feed their war machine's for decades on end. That kind of material wealth was definitely worth fighting for.

To Iacturos, it was meaningless. The wealth in the asteroids was of no concern to him - no, what he was interested in lied on the planet's surface, having spent millennia there, decaying every so slowly in piece. Now, though, it was time to bring it home.

Things had been complicated by the fact that the planet somehow resisted his ability to instantly teleport it away, and the arrival of the Commander had only muddied them further. The ROB had been forced to hide in the ruins to avoid the commander's sight, and there was only so long before the commander found him. Even if he was invisible to the commander's sensors, the boy need only look through one of his scout's to see him, if he found him, of course. Which given the fact that the boy was putting up an increasingly large number of defenses around the ruins, was only become more and more likely as time dragged on.

Sure enough, a scout began rolling toward the ruins, clearly intent on searching them for...something. Curious as to where it was going, Iacturos followed it, always being sure to put at least one large piece of ruins between himself and the vehicle. Eventually, it came to a stop in front of one very large piece of ruins. At first, Iacturos was confused - why was this piece more important than the rest? Was it emitting some kind of signal?

Apparently it was. As the ROB stared on, confused, he noticed that the ruins looked familiar. Perhaps it was some kind of old progenitor structure he'd found in another universe? It seemed to have three towers on it, along with a large set of stairs leading up the base toward its mid section.

Then he look at the ruins again, and he went rigid with shock.

Yes, he did recognize these ruins. But they weren't from a commander.

The towers were not towers, but arms and a head, while the stairs were really a set of treads. And, if he looked hard enough, he could make out a circle on the central tower, one that looked suspiciously like an eye.

All in all, it wasn't hard to make out the shape of an Aeson Commander.

...which the scout was now scanning...

"Oh balls," swore the ROB.

XXXXXXXXX

You're kidding me.

A PROGENETOR COMMANDER!? HERE?!

Quickly, I started scanning the commander, trying to find out why it had emitted the signal. Distress, perhaps?

Maybe it had been a warn-AGH, PAINPAIN_PAINPAINPAINSOMUCHPAIN!_

MAKE IT STOP!

AGGGHHH-and now its gone. Ahh...

Ugh, what the hell was that about?

Curiously, I looked around the ruins, trying to see if there was anything else that could make sense of what I'd seen. I briefly reset the sensors on the scout to see if that would help.

When they came back online, what I saw caused me to blink.

Yes, I was still looking at the ruins.

Only now, they weren't ruins.

Now, they were, well, pristine, like they had just been built.

Confused, I blinked again, and suddenly everything was back to normal.

...okay, that isn't good.

Also, the Dread Lords and Drengin were starting to move their fighting toward the part of the planet where the ruins were. Time to deal with them.

XXXXXXXXXX

The first hint both sides had that I was going to crush them was when a large number of their ships were suddenly blasted out of existence by a barrage of fire from my umbrellas, after which I proceeded to sick my orbital fighters and some Omegas I'd just moved in on them, causing both sides to quickly become confused and disoriented. I couldn't help but enjoy the epic battle and laugh at their pathetic attempts to stop me.

Then my vision blurred, and when it cleared, I saw a new sight - a fleet of classic PA ships fighting the Dread Lords. None of my new ships, none of the Drengin's, just classic PA tech verses Dread Lords.

What the hell?

Then my vision blurred again, and once it cleared, the three way battle between me, the Drengin and the Dread Lords had resumed.

Okay, things were really getting weird now.

Just what the heck had happened when I scanned that Commander?

...no time to ponder now, back to fighting.

It didn't take long for me to route both sides, who hastily attempted to retreat. 'Attempted' being the key word here - they were cut down to the last by my forces, with several falling down toward the planet below. I'd already planned for what to do next - having scanned the enemy vessels before the fight, I sent a false report to both sides claiming that the two forces had destroyed each other, which, given the size of the Drengin fleet, was actually reasonable. With both sides assuming the other had won the battle, I would have plenty of time to examine the ruins.

Briefly, I watched as a Drengin ship burned up in atmosphere, blazing over the ruins of something squid as it did so.

Yet again my vision blurred. Oh joy.

When it cleared, I found myself watching a Dread Lord vessel falling toward the planet, along with the magnificent explosion from its impact.

One last time, my vision blurred, and when it came back into focus, I was staring at the ruins again.

This time, though, I noticed something very worrying.

The squidlike ruins below...matched up EXACTLY with the way the Dread Lord ship had ended up following the crash.

Was I seeing the past?

Suddenly, I picked up a massive energy surge all over the planet. Before I could react, the world flowed brightly, then suddenly vanished.

...no. No. Hell no. NO FUCKING WAY! NOT THIS! COME BACK YOU STUPID PLANET!

"The planet you are talking does not have a mind, therefore it cannot be considered dumb or smart."

...who the hell was that?

"I'm sending you a picture right now."

A moment later, a picture showed up. My eyes widened as I stared at it. For many, the strange robed/armored figure in the picture would not elicit a reaction, but the sight did in fact manage to surprise me.

After all, this wasn't the only time he'd stolen a planet from me.

"I'm sorry for stealing it, but I have my orders."

"And who gave them to you?"

"My superior, Celempheros."

...WHAT?!

"My Superior has...reasons for allowing your 'sponsor' to send you on this adventure, and recovery of Progenitor artifacts is one of them. I apologize for the inconvenience."

SCREW YOU!

"Again, I'm sorry. I apologize in advance for any future interference I may have on your plans."

Then the line went dead.

...okay, what the hell did Celm have planned for me?

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flamela15k, signing off!


	153. Annihilation 133

With only one real lead to follow as to what was goin on regarding Iacturos and, in turn, why Celm was interfering with my adventures, I reluctantly decided to try and contact Melissa. Hopefully, she wouldn't clam up about the topic.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hello, you are speaking to the High Sovereign of the Emyprean Illuminate, how may I help you."

"Is that how you greet everyone?"

"No, I just wanted to see how you would react. Less amusing than I expected."

"Sorry for ruining your expectations."

"Why? What reason do you have to be sorry?"

"None. I merely apologized out of reflex."

AN: Yes, I really do apologize out of reflex at times, or to be sarcastic. I also apologize far more than necessary for some things.

"Oh, I see. So, why did you call me?"

"Do you know someone by the name of Iacturos?"

"...How do you know that name?"

"He just apologized to me for stealing a planet that I had just taken. Said planet had Progenitor ruins on it. I'd like an explanation."

"Okay, just...could you meet with me?"

"Where?"

"My hub universe. I'll open up a portal for you to arrive there."

"Okay, but I would like to know why I am going there."

"I can't be sure that someone isn't listening in on us. I'm omnipotent, not omniscient, and Celm forbids me from my powers to prevent people from overhearing certain conversations - wants me to learn discretion. Not sure how this helps me learn that, but still."

"...Fine, I'm coming over. But I do want a full explanation...at least, within what your superior's deem acceptable."

"Fair enough."

"Also, can Rory and the rest of the kids come along? I think he'd like to spend some time with Cassidy."

"Of course. She really likes them."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once I had got all of my kids rounded up, we marched through the portal that had spontaneously appeared in my tower and arrived in Melissa's abode. Cassidy practically squeed when she saw us and swiftly invited them to play a game (dodgeball, if I was observing things right), leaving me and Melissa alone to discuss my question. Surprisngly, Melissa insisted in serving me a couple of fruits, because I was her guest.

I stared at them for a moment, unsure if I would regret eating them, before deciding to take a bite out of one of them.

"...Wow, these are good."

Yeah, they were really, _really _tasty. And juicy.

"Thank you. Why did you hesitate to eat one? I' not going to poison you - I lose my best source of entertainment."

"I know, I was just worried I wouldn't like the taste."

"Oh. I suppose I can understand that."

"Well, with that out of the way, could you explain why, exactly, Iacturos interfered with my operations?"

"Okay, but how do you know that I know him?"

"I found a video on my Commander of him helping you after some of your, for lack of better term, coworkers attacked you."

"And what did they attack me over?" she asked, apparently doubting my honesty.

"Well, they seemed angry that Celm chose you to head the Commander project."

The minute I said that, she seemed to freeze up, and her face lost a tiny bit of its color. Given that she was already pale, it made her look rather sickly.

"Oh. I see. I didn't know that he recorded it."

"Can you explain why, exactly, your 'friend' nullified one of my greatest triumphs?"

"We're not really friends, and, well, Celm ordered him to do so."

"Why?"

"...Look, you found Progenitor ruins on that planet, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, that's why Iac took it from you - Celm wants those ruins."

Okay, now we are getting somewhere.

"Why is that?"

"Can you answer two questions for me first?"

"Yes, but this counts as one of them."

"I thought so. As for the other question, is this the first time you've discovered a planet with Progenitor ruins on it in your travels?"

"...No, actually. I found another one in the Civilization universe."

"And I presume Celm took that one from you, too?"

"Yes, he did."

"I thought so. Anyway, you ever wonder why those ruins showed up there?"

"Not really."

Just saying that and knowing it was true actually made me worried. I mean, finding Progenitor artifacts in other universes was _kind of_ a big deal.

"Well, you could blame that on my superior. He would prefer that you not investigate that mystery."

"I'm not sure that you could tell me why that is, so I have a different question: why are there Progenitor ruins in this universe and the Civilization one."

"I don't really know. Celm has an idea, though."

"He does?"

"Yeah. See, the schematics for the multiversal gate I gave you? Celm said he found it onboard the commander when he first found it. Going off that, he thinks that maybe ROBs like me weren't the first people to send commanders across the multiverse."

"So you're saying the Progenitors might have had their own multiversal adventures?"

"Maybe that, maybe they were multiversal conquerors, maybe they just wanted to see the beauty in all creation. I don't really know which is true, but whatever the reason, they seemed to be willing to spread at least their technology across reality. At least, that's what I've heard."

"So why does your superior want those ruins?"

"Eh, he's interested in them. He's an archeologist of sorts - he likes collecting the ruins of ancient civilizations and studying them. With these guys, though, he practically seems to worship them. Wants to get all of their tech safe and sound so that people don't 'tarnish the legacy of the Progenitors'. Seems to include commanders in that category too, if what I've heard him say about others like you is any indication."

"Wouldn't the fault lie in those who put people in commanders in the first place? And if he has those feeling, then he's being rather hypocritical, considering what you are using me for."

"Eh, he thinks it is a necessary evil - the ruins are easier to find if an active progenitor machine is present - progenitor tech apparently seeks out more of its kind. He might not like me putting you in there, but he seems to think that maybe, putting an individual with a good heart in a Commander might make some of the worst hellholes in existence better places."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"You're welcome."

I merely grinned at that...Then I noticed that, while listening to my ROB, I'd run out of fruit. Melissa realized this a second later, and called for a servant to pick it up.

A few minutes later, a young woman arrived and collected my plate. As she left, though, a ball suddenly flew into her. The plate went into the air while the woman tumbled to the ground. Before either object could hit the ground, though, both were caught by...something. It was paled skinned, scale, wearing armor and...no way.

"Is that a...locust?" I asked Melissa, not taking my eyes off of the being I presumed was a locust drone helped the female servant back to her feet.

"Swarm, actually. And its a scion, not a locust."

"Scion...oh, right, new enemies from Gears of War 4. How'd you get such a bloodthirsty race to be - "

"A lot of work," responded my ROB, a hint of menace in her voice.

I threw my hands up into the air, apologetically.

"Sorry. Just a little surprised."

"I understand. Just, please, don't insult those who follow me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now, if you must excuse me, I have to go. I've reopened the portal you came in through, use it to leave."

"Okay. Well, goodbye then."

"Farewell."

With that, Melissa got up and left.

As she did, I noticed something very odd.

No, she didn't have anything weird on her clothes. The oddity was actually in her shadow.

See, her body was, aside form its paleness, completely indistinguishable from a normal human.

But her shadow?

It looked like one from a monster.

...Was that what she really looked like?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	154. Annihilation 134

The weird shadow my ROB had given off was, well, something that I was definitely surprised by. Additionally, I was also unsure what, exactly, said shadow was - I hadn't seen any creature/being that her shadow could represent, and since I had spent most of my teenage years playing video games and obsessively examining the internet, that was saying something. My current bets were on her for being some sort of eldritch entity, but beyond that, I had nothing.

Whelp, I guess I'll just have to check out my video archive and see if I can find a clear image of her in there.

I quickly pulled up the archive, popped some popcorn, and started up from where I had left off.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The first thing that came into view was a huge jungle. Birds flew around, what appeared to be okapi grazed, and all was calm.

Then Melissa darted into view, looking haggard and covered in plant-life. Birds took flight as she dashed past them, while the okapi quickly headed for cover.

Idly, I wondered Melissa was running, only to almost choke on my popcorn as a huge black _something _suddenly emerged from the underbrush. A moment later, the video went to static, before a different scene took its place.

The new surroundings consisted of an open clearing, with a strange, hi tech wall on one side, and a forest on the other.

After a moment of calm, Melissa darted out of the forest, followed by her pursuer who, rather humorously, slipped on a log and tumbled into the wall, with Melissa barely managing to avoid being squished by diving onto the ground, then quickly retreating into the jungle. A moment later, the creature managed to right itself and began searching for her.

The change in scenery gave me an opportunity to finally see this creature in its entirety, and that allowed me to figure out what it was.

Black body? Check.

White, bony head? Check.

Only two limbs? Check.

Reptilian appearance? Check.

Clearly, this beastie was a skull crawler.

And it was on the war path.

With its quarry currently hidden, though, the beast had calmed slightly, having gone from aggressive predator to inquisitive one. Slowly, it circled around the clearing, trying to find out where, exactly, my ROB had gone. It slowly flipped over every stone it could find, looked at every nook and cranny in the wall, and even sniffed around the tree, trying to find its prey

Rather humorously, though, it didn't seem to notice that Melissa was on top of one of the trees, slowly climbing toward it. Now that she wasn't running, I noticed she was wielding some kind of staff.

Then, just as the skull crawler started to sniff the air, she struck.

Melissa leapt at the lizard and slammed her staff on its head, dazing the mighty beast. With grace that seemed (and potentially could have been) inhuman, she swiftly grabbed ahold of the beast, took out a knife, and started whaling on the giant beast, which tried, desperately, to shake her off. In obvious pain, it thrashed an howled, occasionally ramming itself into trees and the wall, attempting to crush her or, at the very least, dislodge her from its back. Each attempt was met with profound failure, as my ROB deftly maneuvered herself out of each and every attack's line of fire. Eventually, after she'd inflicted quite a few wounds on the beast, she jumped off of it, brandished her staff once more, and slammed it down on the skull crawler's head, causing the beast to collapse. With her foe now dazed and helpless, she took the opportunity to strike it again and again, ravaging its unarmored underbelly, before finally breaking off.

Not a moment too soon, as the skull crawler soon recovered and attempted to return the favor with a flurry of bites, all of which Melissa dodged with ease.

Then the lizard swung at her with its tail, and my ROB went flying.

She hit the ground hard and started to roll, but managed to right herself before she hit anything else. She took a moment to spit something out of her mouth, apparently just saliva, before taking somethijg from her side - a flare gun - and shooting it into the air. The skull crawled backed up in surprise at the sight, before trying to whale on her again...

Only to be blasted by both fire and lightning from above.

As the creature struggled to recover, my view shifted upwards, reaching...Operatives Tau and Zeta?!

And they were smiling?!

As they glided to the ground, Zeta shot a fireball from her hand toward the skull crawler, severely singing it, while throwing something that exploded at Melissa's feet. Whatever it was seemed to revitalize her, as my ROB quickly returned to the fray by shooting a giant icicle at the crawler, goring it in the stomach.

Tau followed that up by slamming into the beast's side with an axe while Zeta pulled out a hammer from somewhere ( hammer space, I guess, haha) and swiftly slammed it into the beast's right arm, shattering it.

Desperate, the skull crawler charged at Melissa, grabbed her staff and hoisted it into the air, sending Melissa upward with it. As she fell, though, she managed to angle herself so that, instead of falling into the creature's gullet, she slammed down into the base of its skull with her staff. A loud crunch filled the air, and the beast went still.

"...show off."

That was Tau.

"Guilty as charged," responded Melissa. "...Thanks for the help."

"No problem. So, what next?"

"Now we clean it. I'll get the intestines...and the crap in them."

"You sure?" Asked Zeta.

"I am, but thanks for the consideration."

"You're welcome...You okay if I make a cloak out of its skin?"

"Sure. Couldn't have slain it without your help...well, at least not without taking a lot more injuries."

"Well, thanks then. So, what does the boss want us to do next?"

"Not sure yet."

"Well," remarked Tau, "let's focus on cleaning this first before we think about what to do next."

"Fine with me," responded my ROB.

XXXXXXX

...well, that was unexpected.

Also, why, exactly, were those two so friendly with Melissa?

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	155. Annihilation 135

While I did want to examine the videos in more detail, both in the hopes of learning what exactly Melissa was and why she had been so friendly to Tau and Zeta, other matters soon appeared that needed to be solved.

Namely, dealing with the Yor.

While extremely isolationist by nature, the Yor were not ones to be caught off guard by the actions of others. They had spies and scout drones hidden all across known space, giving them tabs on the organic races of the galaxy, as well as a small offshoot of their kind who had just decided to try and wipe out every else because they could. Even the other Yor thought those Dark Yor were crazy, and according to transmissions I had hacked, were planning to off them if their actions endangered the main collective. They really hopped things would not require them to intervene, but if they must, so be it.

Now, though, the transmissions I had intercepted from the Yor were...well, nervous. The Yor knew that my forces were taking actions against the Dread Lords. They also knew that I was helping the human led coalition that opposed the Dread Lords, which includes the arch enemy of the Yor, the Iconians. Said coalition was, obviously, performing very well in the field, and showed no signs of slowing down. Needless to say, the Yor were getting worried about this, as once the Dread Lords were dealt with, the Iconians were probably going to want their home planet back.

Well, time to deal with that. Even if I personally disliked what the Yor has done, I did not feel they deserved to be wiped out to the last.

I had no plans to convince the Inconians to spare the Yor - that hatred was too deep-seated to ever be let go. Rather, I intended to come nvince the Yor to join up with me and evacuate Iconia peacefully, so that no blood would be shed when the Iconians returned home. Absorbing the Yor into my own forces also had the added benefit of giving me several experienced subordinates to work with, who could probably handle many problems without my guidance.

Of course, that all hinges on me being able to get the Yor to join me. Luckily, I had a good idea on how to do that.

XXXXXXX

A few days and some negotiating later, I was on Iconia and found myself before the Yor's leader, N-1. I'd expected to have to jump through tons of diplomatic hoops to get this far, but then again, the Yor knew that I had trounced the Dread Lords in all engagements I'd had with them. I guess they didn't want to waste their time fighting a battle they could not win.

"So, to what do I owe you the pleasure of this meeting, organic control unit of the Infernum Federation?"

The line sounded somewhat forced, but assumed this was more out of fear than disdain - the Yor were a very pragmatic race and were perfectly willing to make alliances with organics if those alliances suited their interests.

"The pleasure is all mine. As for why I am here, well, you are aware of my people's actions against the Dread Lords, yes?"

"I am. All Yor are aware of this."

"Well, then you know that, sooner or later, the Dread Lords will be beaten, and without them, the Coalition may seek other foes to fight. Potentially you, given the Iconians presence in the coalition.

"We are aware of this. Preparations are already being made to oppose them."

"I see. Well, what if I could offer you an easy way out of any fighting."

"...Elaborate."

"My people are very accepting of artificial beings, and were you to join us, we could insure that the Iconians would not seem vengeance on your kind...Of course, I understand if you would like time to think this over."

"Your suggestion is...admirable, but unlikely to succeed. What reason have we to ally with you? You have proven to be an excellent trading partner, but what else have you done for us?"

"You make an excellent point. I really haven't done anything beneficial to you except be a good trading partner. I'd like to change that, though."

"How do?"

"...Have you ever heard of something called the light of Iconia? Some pirates I captured mentioned it, said it was a machine that made AIs out of normal computers."

"..."

"So those rumors are true? Is that why your kind is sapient?"

"..."

"...May I see this light?"

"...Very well, follow me."

Too easy. Though, I did have enough firepower on my flagship to torch Iconia, so feared probably helped put N-1 in a more negotiable mood.

Anyway, N-1 lead me to some secret underground bunker, which housed some kind of weird, glowing crystal - what I assumed was the light of Iconia.

"So, this is how you become so much more than computer programs, is it not?"

"Yes, it is."

"I see...what if I told you that I could make a crystal just like this, down to its ability to make AI?"

"...Could you prove it?"

I merely snapped my fingers in response. A moment later, a crystal emerged from it, completely indistinguishable from the one in the room.

I'd modified my new body's eyes to include scanners that could examine anything I saw, while also adding in some implants to let me create portals using psionic. So far, so good.

N-1, for his part, merely stared at the crystal, trying to find something that made it different from the one already in room. He found none.

"So," I asked,"would this convince you to join with me?"

"...It helps."

XXXXXXXX

Being a Progenitor Commander is awesome, sometimes.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! Chapter will be edited when I am not sleep deprived! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	156. Annihilation 136

With my offer made to the Yor, I departed Iconia. While N-1 had said that there would still need to be a discussion held to determine what they would do now, I had no doubt what its outcome would be. The Yor were woefully outmatched against me and knew it. Given that they operated almost entirely on logic, they would almost certainly ally with me and join the Federation - even if they did not go to war with me, they did not really stand a chance of holding back the Iconians, who had not only received a fair amount of technological assistance from me, but also a considerable amount of aid from the rest of the Coalition. Additionally, the ability to synthesize the Light of Iconia meant that the Yor did not need to stay on that planet anymore, as there was nothing left to tether them there.

Consequently, I was not surprised one week later when I was informed that the Yor had decided to unite with my forces. As a token of my gratitude, I allowed them to, for the most part, maintain their independence, though I did suggest that they evacuate any of the systems they occupied that the Iconians knew of, lest their creators continue to pursue them indefinitely and bring about much unnecessary bloodshed. No, I did not approve of the Yor enacting a purge of the Iconians under the Dread Lords' orders, but I would not condone the Iconinas repaying the Yor in kind. Someone has to stop the cycle of revenge before it gets out of hand.

With that out of the way, I decided to et back to work dealing with the Dread Lords. The sooner they were dealt with, the sooner I could rest easy, find the last Artifact in this universe, and get moving - whatever those artifacts were trying to tell me, I got the feeling that the sooner I found out what those visions meant, the better prepared I would be if I ever encountered those ... things I saw in them.

My renewal of the offensive on the Dread Lords coincided with Melissa launching another big push on the Drengin, who were now starting to fragment under stress. The Korath were among the first to break off, but they didn't get far - a Torian fleet just happened to find them and beat them into the ground, leaving them alive, but spent as an effective fighting force. As I later found out, this particular chain of events had been the result of some subtle manipulations of my ROB, who had decided that the Korath becoming a major fighting force was not acceptable. While, at the time, I did not know this, I had my suspicions, and either way, I was fine with the outcome - less work for me, and the elimination of a splinter group of the Drengin going down meant that there was less a chance that they would rise up to oppose me (or anyone else) in the future.

Some of those splinter groups saw the writing on the wall, though, and surrendered to the coalition. A few actually surrendered to me and Melissa. I was surprised by this development, especially given that I had publicly stated my opposition to their practice of slavery and all but outright stated I would not rest until it was abolished. Apparently, those who were surrendering considered it an acceptable loss for the sake of survival. According to my telepaths, these Drengin weren't lying.

The capitulation of some of the Drengin was apparently enough to force a decision among the Yor. With their allies clearly on the fall, they decided to get out while the going was good and join up with me. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it only took them a week to unite all of their people and arrive in my borders, asking for asylum. A request I allowed without any fuss, for I did not want to allow the machine race to die. I did, however, inform Emperor Iso the Wise of the Iconians exactly what I was doing, and politely telling him that if his people attempted to pruge the Yor, I would side with the machines. I also made it clear that if the Yor tried to finish of their creators, the Iconians had my support - I would_ NOT_ allow my newfound protectorates to commit genocide. That action was unforgivable,_ regardless of who it was committed on._

As for the Dread Lords, well, they were getting their asses kicked.

XXXXXXXXX

As the sounds of battle raged around him, Jegudiel fired his lasers, sending another Dread Lord fighter down in flames. Below, Sigurd and Hearth had just taken out an enemy bunker, paving the way for the rest of the Infernum forces they were leading to advance. The Commander had been impressed by their skills during the war game with the Illuminate and had ekpt his word, promoting them to command positions. As they had already gained the ability to give orders simply by becoming self aware, their promotion had amounted to them simply having their status within the Federation's mechanized forces modified so that any orders they gave were to be followed by other machines. It was a simple modification, but important all the same.

Briefly, the quartet of promoted machines had briefly considered doing something to differentiate themselves from their fellows, but ultimately vetoed it - it made them obvious targets, and besides, they didn't really have any good ideas (yet) as to what to decorate their mechanical bodies with. One day, maybe, they might put some modifications on their chassis, but not today.

After downing a few more targets, Jegudiel finally laid eyes -er, optics- on his target: a massive artillery nest, which was busy pounding away at the rest of the Infernum forces. A few disruptor bombs quickly reduced it to rubble, at which point the seraph fell back - heavy flak AA was being moved in to mop up the rest of the Dread Lord's aircraft, but those were indiscriminate weapons, and any planes shot down by friendly fire were not only major annoyances, but a potential way for the Dread Lords to reverse engineer their technology. That, above all other things, was unacceptable.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All in all, it only took a few weeks to put the Dread Lords onto their last legs, with only a fraction of the territory and forces they had started with. That was still a very powerful force, but utterly pitiful when compared to my completely overpowered armies. Their overall threat level had receded to the point that I could easily smash them to pulp if I wanted to, but by that point, I had new issues that had to be addressed.

With the Dread Lords no longer the existential threats they once were, the Coalition was starting to fracture. Old rivalries started to tear their heads, grudges that had been put on hold were now resumed, and ideological differences were becoming more apparent. Only the Terrans, Altarians, and Iconians were able to overcome their grievances and work to hold the Coalition together, but all evidence I had pointed toward fragmentation within two months of the Dread Lord's downfall.

So, obviously, I had to intervene. Using several false identities, I anonymously began setting up bank accounts and shoving in huge amounts of money for my plan. See, one of the big contributors for my projections was that, a month after the Dread Lord's defeat (which would probably be in two weeks, maybe one), a new set of elections would take place for the ruling bodies of the various members of the Coalition. I used my shell accounts to help fund the people who wanted to uphold the Coalition, while my hacking systems were put to work locating every major group that supported breaking it for reasons that weren't exactly rational (namely, species supremacy and the like) and expose any dark secrets they had, which practically annihilated their support. I did support a few candidates in the elections who had legitimate reasons for wanting to break the Coalition, though - needed to throw people off my trail, plus many of those politicians still wanted to remain close to the other Coaltion members, for reasons both moral and pragmatic.

All of this ended up finishing at eight days before October 13, meaning I had one week left to figure out why this day was so important to Melissa's followers. I considered broaching the subject with my ROB, but she might grow defensive if I did so without tact. Additionally, if the Dread Lords were still active, they might screw up things on that day and deny me a chance to learn why it was important.

So, on that day, October 5, after locating the last major production hub of the Dread Lords, i mustered up all of my forces, prepared my greatest weapons, and readied for battle. As for Melissa, I invited her to watch the fight, and participate if she so desired, so that I might have an opportunity to learn what I desired.

It seemed that nothing could go wrong. I made a point of bringing extra forces because of that - something probably was going to go wrong.

XXXXXXXXXX

PLANET DRENGI, THREE DAYS PRIOR

"So, have we learned anything more about this machine?" Asked Lord Kona.

"No, but we did manage to divulge a blueprint from it, one which we could easily build."

"What is it, exactly?"

"A star base. A very powerful starbase, and a mobile one at that."

"...Useful indeed. Make sure it is ready before the next Infernum offensive. I want those interlopers take out soon."

"Yes sir."

XXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	157. Annihilation 137

My forces arrived in Thea system approximately half an hour after their departure. Melissa's arrived five minutes later. Our total force was about as large as two largest fleets of the Coalition combined, giving us a 3-1 advantage against the Dread Lords. Rather humorously, despite the size of our fleets, the Dread Lords had no idea we had entered the system, thanks to advanced stealth systems...at least, for me. Melissa might have been using ROB powers to mask her fleet's presence.

With our foes unaware that we were about to attack, and likely to remain that way for some time, I decided to pay my ROB a visit. While it was mainly because I wanted answers on what exactly was happening on the thirteenth (which, funnily enough, was a Friday, meaning that I was wondering what would happen on Friday the thirteenth), I also wanted clarification from her on something else : I'd been receiving a lot of requests from her servants to be able to look at or perhaps purchase an _Aurorous titanus_, and while those requests had dried up as of late, I still wanted to know why they were asking.

Boarding her flagship, the Foundation, was a simple affair - as soon as I broached the topic to her, my ROB did_ something_ that allowed me to teleport into her ship using my existing teleporter network. After that, I was directed to her personal quarters aboard the ship, which, while grand in size, were more modest than I had expected. It appeared I had underestimated her humility.

"Eh, you probably would," responded a distinctively male voice. Turning toward its source, I found myself staring at a purple haired teen, about a head taller than me, wearing an admiral's uniform.

"Oh, hello. Who are you?" I asked, privately wondering where Melissa was.

"I don't think that is something you need to know."

...That was an odd response.

"Ok. So, do you know where Melissa is? I asked to meet with her."

"I apologize, but all that I know about her location is that she is nearby."

Well, that was unhelpful.

"There is only so much that I can do to help you."

...What?!

"Do you think you are the only one who has psychic powers in this room? Surely, you would expect a Random Omnipotent Being and her creations to have that power, would you not?"

...Touché.

"Hmph. Apparently you aren't as smart as I thought you were when I started you on this adventure."

yeah, yeah...what, stated me on this adventure?

"...Melissa?"

The purple haired teen grinned like their was no tomorrow.

"Hi."

"...At this point, I don't think I have any room left to be surprised."

"True. A pity, I thought you would be more surprised to see me as a boy. The shock you do exude is...underwhelming."

"The shock of the mind reading numbed me to any further surprises."

"Oh well. Now could you please turn around, or close your eyes?"

"Why?"

"Well, I would prefer not to have a conversation with you while I am in a masculine form."

"And how does that...oh."

I could tell that I was faintly blushing, especially given how Melissa's smile only grew at whatever my expression was.

"Now you get it. So, please, be a gentleman and look away. Or else."

Obliging, I turned away and focused my attention on observing the room, trying to see if I could determine anything about my host from the interior. A moment later, a bright light flashed behind me.

"There, all done. You can turn around now. In fact, I would encourage you to do so."

After a moment of internal debate, I did just that. Sure enough, where the purple-headed boy had once been was where Melissa now stood.

"Thank you for your courtesy."

"You're welcome. Not that you really took all that long to change."

"Eh, I saw no need to take time changing when more pressing matters are on hand."

"Fair enough. So, what do you want to talk about.?"

"Oh, nothing big. So, I hear you are doing well against the Drengin?"

"Indeed. They are in a state not too dissimilar to what the Dread Lords are - a shadow of what they once were, unable to offer true resilience against my forces. Soon, they will no longer be a major galactic power."

"I see... do you mind if I explore this room for a little bit?"

"You are permitted to explore my quarters, but I implore you,_ don't touch anything except the floor."_

I think the temperature in the room just dropped a few degrees after she said that.

"...Okay."

With that, I set about exploring. Perhaps if I looked around, I could find some hint about what was happening on the 13th.

The first part of the room I examined was, of all things, a bookshelf. Here, unsurprisingly, were a large number of books, of various titles and genres. On one shelf lay_ A Series of Unforunate Events,_ directly above them_ A Song of Ice and Fire,_ while the entirety of Tolkein's Legendarium occupied the lowest shelf. The second highest row was home to the collected works of Ray Bradbury, with _Something Wicked This Way Comes_ appearing to be slightly out of sync with the rest of its siblings; evidently, it had been read recently. The highest shelf was filled with encyclopedias, some familiar, others truly alien to me. A second bookshelf was filled with other books that seemed ti belong in works of fiction, including what appeared to be a spell book for a destruction spell in the Elder Scrolls series.

"Well, you are certainly a bibliophile."

That was barely a whisper from me, but I knew Melissa would be able to hear it.

"Thank you for the compliment. Though I bet you would certainly like to read some of my library."

She wasn't wrong - I was also a lover of books, though in recent years I'd found myself playing video games more often than I was reading books.

"True...would you be willing to let me borrow some of these?"

"Yes, but only if you can't make the book yourself from all of he cultural knowledge you've acquired on your travels."

"Fair enough."

Having examined all I could from the bookshelf, I moved on, trying to put together some picture of what was so important to the Illuminate that would happen in roughly a week.

I soon found myself staring at a multimedia system, filled with computers, television screens, and gaming systems. Many headsets and controllers were scattered about, though honestly, this wasn't the worst layout of a gaming system I'd ever seen.

"So, you're a big gamer?"

"Eh, yeah. I enjoy gaming. Plus I want to see what kind of places might make good challenges for you."

"Interesting."

Note to self: play more games in free time and examine internet copy my ROB gave me - the more I knew, the better prepared I would be wherever my ROB sent me.

Also, why did I think that trying to examine Melissa's room would explain why the thirteenth was so important for her forces? The details I was most likely to learn from this plan would be her likes and dislikes, not any major plans or operations.

Eh, I've still got some time to kill before I deal with the Dread Lords, no reason to stop now. Plus maybe I could find a way to eliminate the rest of her antagonism toward me - I might not whish to kill her anymore, or cause great harm to her, but seriously, she could be_ annoying_ when she wanted to.

Speaking of things Melissa might like, my eyes had just upon a desk, of all things, sitting on the edge of the room. It was modest in size, apparently made of mahogany, but what really had my attention were the objects on it. Several were things that I did not recognize, but there were a few I had some familiarity with: an Ayatan sculpture from Warframe, what appeared to be a Tiberium crystal from the Command and Conquer series of the same name, albeit this one safely enclosed in a TCN ring, and...was that_ Jumanji_?!

"Yeah, that's Jumanji. Never really ended up being a challenge for me."

Wow. Melissa really did have interesting tastes.

"I do, so what?"

That wasn't an insult, nor a compliment, just a statement.

"Oh. Nevermind."

With that conversation over, I took one last look around the room, and finally noticed something that had, initially, eluded my attention: imbeeded into one of the walls was a set of terrariums, each filled with plants. A few also contained animals, but most were home to flowers, tubers, fruits, even small trees.

"That is a lot of plants."

"I know. Some of them are over a hundred years old."

"...Like saguaros?"

"Of course that is the first thing you'd think of, little boy from the grand canyon state. Still, you are correct."

"I suppose you took up a hobby of growing long lived plants since you may outlive many other ones."

"That's the gist of things, yes. I've collected these plants from all over creation, though I've far from done gathering the vegetation I wish to cultivate."

"I see...Would one of those happen to be the_ Arborous titanus_?"

"...Yes, actually. They're...well, spectacular would be the best word. Tree's of such size are common across all universes, as are bioluminescent plants, but gigantic, glowing trees are, across all creation, surprisingly rare. The_ Aurorous,_ in particular, is the only genus I've seen to have an eve3r changing rainbow of colors on it, rather than just sticking with one particular pattern. You could say it is the cuttlefish or, since you are familiar with it, the rainbow squid* of bioluminescent trees."

"...You a fan of that series?"

"No,, but the creatures they envisioned are impressive. I have seen a great many universes where their predictions ultimately turned out accurate to the most minute detail."

"I see... may I-"

Before I could finish my attempt to question Melissa further (on what I have long forgotten, though I assume it had to do with what happened on the thirteenth), I received an alert from one of my ships - and, if Melissa's sudden shock and distant look was any indication, she had received a notification of her own. Examining it, I found that a new starship had just exited FTL, and its desgins matched up with those of the...Drengin?

That was odd.

"Did you just get a notice that a Drengin vessel popped out of FTL in this system?" questioned my ROB. Looks like I was right about her receiving a similar notification to me.

"Yeah, I did-," at which point a new series of notifications promptly starting flying my way,"-and it seems that more are coming in as we speak."

"Ugh, what the hell are they doing here?"

"Beats me."

"Well, I have no love for them, so if you'll excuse me, I have some Drengin to kill."

Wow. That was vindictive.

"I'll deal with the Dread Lords, then - try not toget in the way."

"Me get in your way? I think that you should be more worried about getting in_ my_ way."

"...Good point. Well, farewell."

One teleport late, I was back on the Extinction and gave the word for my forces to attack.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The minute the order was given, Jegudiel burst out of his hangar, followed by his wing-bots. He, as well as his sibling AIs, had all been brought along to participate in the invasion of the Thea System, but this time, unlike all other true battles they had been in before, they would be leading the assault. First, though, they had to take down the enemy fleet.

With surprise on their side, this was much easier than expected - two Dread Lord cruisers, five frigates, and ten corvettes were knocked out before the enemy knew what was happeing, and twice that amount, along with a battleship, had been crippled to the point they were dead in the water. The battleship had had the misfortune of beign isolated from its allies, which meant they had easily been able to surround the vessel. While destroying that vessel would have been relatively simple, the Commander had decided to try and capture it, oping htat maybe, he could learn a few more of the Dread Lords' secrets, and perhaps find some way to force them to surrender - he did not wish them to be wiped out to the last.

Right now, Jegudiel was busy commanding his squadron to repel the enemy fighters attempting to destroy the transports carrying boarding forces toward the battleship. After three waves, the enemy began to deploy bombers in an effort to scuttle the ship before it could be taken, but that was wishful thinking at best. Already, fabbers were being ferried to the battleship, which they would capture from the inside. All that remained was to subdue the crew and prevent them from blowing the sabotaging the ship from within.

That, of course, would be Hearth's mission.

XXXXXXXXX

A sound of discharging electricity filled the air, followed by a Dread Lord falling to the ground, unconscious. Hearth quickly disarmed him, then tied him up and sent him toward one of the bio-trans the Commander has acquired from his time with XCOM. All over the ship, similar seems we're playibg out. With the bridge, engines, and engineering center taken, the ship was as good as theirs, so now all that remained was to capture the rest of the crew. The commander had made it clear that they could use lethal force if required, but Hearth had the feeling he would prefer taking the Dread Lords alive - it would provide more than they could hope to obtain merely from stealing the data aboard the ship.

Speaking of the bridge, Hearth had made her way there following her most recent catch and was busy directing the ship toward the Infernum fleet. A sudden explosion coming from one of her escorts turned her attention toward the Drengin fleet, who had apparently opened fire on the Dread Lords...as well as the Infernum fleet. The situation quickly devolved into a three way battle as the Dread Lords began assaulting the Drengin in retaliation, while the fleet's of the Federation and Illuminate, still nominally allies, quickly united against their common foes.

Hearth, though, only payed this a moment of attention, before returning her attention to getting the Dread Lord vessel back to the safety of the extinction.

XXXXXXXX

While the surprise arrival of the Dread Lords and subsequent melee a trois that followed was unexpected, I just rolled with it. In fact, the chaos actually worked to my advantage, as it allowed to capture several ships from both sides that would likely have been scuttled before I could steal them if only one of my foes had been facing me. Additionally, Melissa's assistance meant that this fight had rapidly devolved into a stomp in our favor. As only ten minutes had passed since the Drengin has first arrived, this was a laughably easy victory in my book, and from something that had seemed like it would be a curveball when it had first appeared.

That didn't change the fact that I already had a fleet headed in to reinforce me /"- you can never be to safe-

"Warning: new contact detected. IFF indicates it is a Drengin vessel. Size does not match any known Drengin ship."

And there's the real curve ball.

The ship in question resembled a star base, and I would be surprised if it was one. Given what I knew about starbases, this was most likely a...terror star? How the hell did the Drengin get one? The Terran's only invented one with the help of the Arnor. Welp, no time to ponder that, the starbase is here, so just open fire on it and deal with it.

A moment later, the space station flowed as a huge amount of ordnance slammed into it, resulting in an explosion of such magnitude that my sensors need a few seconds to reboot. When they came back online, which coincided with visibility returning to normal, I found that..._the station was still here?_

_And it hadn't even been scratched?!_

_AND IT WAS CHARGING ITS WEAPONS?!_

...This was gonna _suck_...

Then the station returned fire. Immediately, ten omegas and fifteen Artermi just ceased to exist, being utterly annihilated by what appeared to be antimatter missiles. A volley of shots from smaller weapons decimated my fighter craft, after which the terror star stopped attacking and appeared to begin reloading.

Apparently, everyone had been affected by the two barrages, as there were a lot more wrecks on the Dread Lords' side, and even Melissa had taken some losses. Fortunately, as I had just received a truce request from the Dread Lords, it seems the Drengin had made themselves everyone's enemy, as all non-Drengin ships immediately opened fire on the Terror Star. This time, we did manage to damage it.

Then it fired again. Only this time, it fires off a couple of missile sand a giant laser beam.

Neither of those were aimed at us.

Instead, the missiles flew into all of the fleets that opposed the Drengin, dodging all attempts to shoot them down, while the laser flew...right into the sun.

Oh shit.

The laser impacted the sun.

"Warning: stellar lifecycle disruption detected, Star has destabilized. Catastrophic red supergiant star death occurring in fifteen minutes."

Crap. Time to bail.

Suddenly, all of the missiles that were sitting inside our fleets activated. Instantly, beams of light shot out, slamming into any non-Drengin vessel they encountered. One of them hit the Extinction, and I almost fell over as my ship instantly came to a halt. Confused to notice that we weren't moving, I ordered the engines to fire up, but apparently, they were already online. Then I ordered them to go to overdrive - no response.

Looks like those missiles were actually just meant to trap people. Oh, and the Drengin had just exited the battlefield.

So, now I was stuck in proximity of a star about to go supernova via missiles that completely immobilized me-a flash of light briefly appeared inside of my fleet-and was immune to antimatter weapons.

Oh dear...

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	158. Annihilation 138

Okay, okay, think: how do I stop a star from going supernova with the technology I have?

Maybe I could freeze it? No, I don't have a big enough weapon or the fabrication equipment on hand to build one before it goes boom.

Teleport it? No ranged teleporters and contact based ones would be obliterated by the star's heat and gravitic pull, as assembly those gravity cancelers, once again, take too long.

...Age it backwards? I DIDN'T KNOW HOW! I mean, I theoretically had the ability to do so using quantum genesis powers, but I'd need to figure out how to apply this on a stellar scale, and without causing other celestial issues.

...Crap, this was going nowhere really fast. What was I supposed to doWHY IS EVERYTHING SHAKING!?

...Did the Foundation just start shooting at me?

_'No, I shot at the thing tethering your ship in place, kid.'_

...Kid? I thought I was your pawn?

_'Consider this a promotion.'_

Not really funny.

_'I'm not trying to_ be _funny.'_

Then what are you doing?

_'Trying to save you. I can just teleport out of here, and frankly, I'm sure you can, but I doubt you want to leave your forces behind, especially since you've started to grow attached to some of them. And yes, I know some of them are now sapient. I'm always watching you.'_

Well, your help is appreciated. Though, since you haven't mentioned any way to deal with the supernova, I'm guessing you don't have one? At least, not a method you can implement correct?

_'Right on the money. I could turn back the clock on this thing a billion years if I could cut loose with my full might, but Celm would rather I didn't.'_

"Warning: thirteen minutes until stellar life cycle termination."

Yeah, I don't need your help there, timer. No hard feelings, though.

_'That was polite of you.'_

NOT THE TIME.

_'Fine, fine, fine!'_

Argh, what could I do now? Try and plead with Celm to let Melissa cut loose just this once?

_'You'd have better luck convincing a stream to flow straight up.'_

Why does he want you to hold back so much?

_'As I believe a famous Marvel Superhero's relative once said, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.'_

...Good point. By the way, what powers do you have?

_'Um, omnipotence? Among others, weather manipulation, black hole creation, mind control, multiversal travel, multiversal time dilation-'_

Wait, what was that last one?

_'The ability to alter the flow of time in one universe relative to another. Why are you...oh. Yeah, that might work...And Celm says I can help you with that, although he'll only let me give you an hour per minute dilation.'_

Well, hopefully, my attempts to find a solution in the time slowed universe will take less than eleven and a half hours.

_'Hopefully. Ready?'_

YES!

Then a portal opened up in front of my commander (which was very far away form the battle, not like I was going to risk it here) and deposited both the robot and my mind in another universe.

Okay, time to work!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as the robot jumped through the portal, the machine began hastily setting up a facility to let it examine the Quantum Genesis powers. Meanwhile, the Infernum, Illuminate and Dread Lord fleets all continued to attempt to escape from their traps, firing everything they had at their tethers - all in vain. Desperation began to kick in as time ticked down.

In her chambers, Melissa grew more and more agitated as time began to run out. While her powers were not taking any major drain from her personal reserves to keep the boy operating at accelerated efficiency, that was not the source of her annoyance. That was actually worry over whether or not the boy would be able to succeed. Internally, she knew that there was no reason she had to help him like this - she could just pull him, his own fleet, and her own out of the battle, away from this screw you the Drengin had offered. Yet, at the same time, she knew that her pawn would never accept that kind of help if it meant leaving the Dread Lord civilians in this system to die. He'd likely call her out on it, and attempt to negotiate with Celm to, at the very least, prevent her from enjoying his hospitality. Additionally, though she was reluctant to admit it, the ROB knew that she didn't want her pawn to fail at saving these innocents - she liked his idealism, and did not wish to see it die.

As the timer ticked down to one minute and thirty seconds, though, she was really getting worried he wasn't going to find a solution.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Okay, okay, calibrate the systems, charge the device, turn gravity back on, mount the machine on a ship, save the research for later, and DONE!

I sent a mental message to Melissa, and a moment later, she responded. A portal opened before me, leading directly toward the dying star. And through said portal was my solution to this mess: a sphere shaped vessel, with three pylons on one side, all aimed at the same point. Not very attractive looking, but I was trying to stop imminent death, not win a beauty pageant.

As the ship exited the portal, time normalized, leaving me with one minute and twenty seconds to avert disaster. Plenty of time, especially since the device had activated as soon as it had entered the portal. And by activated, I meant shot a glowing light at the star, which, much to everyone's surprise, was changing. Where it had once been red, not, slowly, it was turning blue, and getting smaller. In fact, ten seconds after it had fired my device had finished its mission, and where there had once been a red supergiant, there was now a newborn blue giant, several hundred million years away from stellar collapse.

All in a day's work.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	159. Annihilation 139

"Impressive," remarked Melissa.

"I know. Thank you for the help."

"Think nothing of it. So long as you provide me spectacle, I will continue to assist you if you absolutely require my help."

"...you say that, but from how you act, I wouldn't be surprised if you I really just like helping people and are just making excuses."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Guess you'll just have to find out."

"Challenge accepted."

"Good luck. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to, so I must depart from the field."

"Okay, bye."

"I wasn't finished: Cassidy asked if she could spend some time with your children. She's grown quite fond of them."

"I'm fine with that, just give me about... an hour and a half to sort things out here and get ready for her arrival."

"Of course. Farewell."

XXXXX

Once Melissa departed, I turned my attention back to the Dread Lords, weapon's armed, ready to fight. I doubted they would be willing to extend the truce they had offered now that the immediate threat had passed. Oddly enough, though, they weren't making any aggressive actions. In fact, they weren't doing anything, period.

Well, the last part of that statement was wrong. They were trying to do something - hail me. Since I didn't exactly know what to do next, I obliged their request. A few moments later, I found myself staring at the image of a female Dread Lord.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of Thai conversation?"

"There is...no need...for formalities."

"Okay. Then what do you wish to talk about."

"It is in...regards to...your most recent actions."

She sounded fatigued and confused. What was going on?

"Did you just...completely reverse the collapse of a star...using a fighter sized vessel?"

"...Yes?"

"And, in theory, you could build more?"

"Already building a dozen more."

Well, just started the production of a dozen more would be more like it, but that wasn't something she had to know.

I think I heard a shriek on her end of the conversation.

"I...see."

Then, a new holographic acreen appeared in front of her, at an angle that I cpuldn't read, although I could make out the picture of the male Dread Lord ramming his face into a table/desk just find.

"Well, then, I have one last question to ask: do you accept surrenders?"

"...yes?"

"Then, on behalf of Lord Dread and the rest of my people, I surrender the entirety of my empire to you unconditionally. Do you accept?"

...what? Seriously? They were surrendering? Was this some kind of trick?

"Um, okay, I accept."

I promptly heard several loud sighs of relief from the other end of the conversation, as well as the thuds one would expect from several heavy bodies slamming into the ground.

"Then I have no need to continue this conversation. Have a pleasant day."

Then the line went dead.

...Wow. That was unexpected.

XXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes of hacking later, and I had confirmed that the Dread Lords really were sincere about surrendering to me. Apparently, me reversing the Supernova with a fighter sized vessel had been enough to cowl them into giving up. Also, in unrelated news, Lord Dread had soiled himself when he saw that happen, while the captain I had been chatting with had spiked herself when she had been told to contact me.

There was something darkly amusing about that.

Anyway, the surrender had come with the inclusion of all locations the Dread Lords occupies, and they had informed everyone else that they were formally surrendering to me, so that was that. I still sent forces in to make sure no one tried anything stupid.

With that out of the way, I called Melissa and told her that assist could come over early. A moment later, a portal appeared in Rory's room and Cassidy flew through it (quite literally) a second later. Much hugging and friendly wrestling ensued - hey, that isn't unique to boys!

A few minutes later, Rory was showing Cassidy some new additions to my tower - a zoo, a smuggler pen, a gigantic pool, and more. Oddly, she seemed focused on the Aurorus Arboretum I'd added in.

...maybe I could ask her about them and what was happening on the 13th?

XXXXXXXX

"You want to know what's happening on the 13th?" Asked Cassidy.

"Yes, please...if you're okay with telling me."

Cassidy stared at me for a moment, before, to my surprise, taking an envelope out of her sleeve (which were far too long for casual clothes) and handing it to me.

"Don't tell Mom I gave you this."

"Okay."

Then I opened and read the envelope.

"To whom this may concern, you are hearty invited to the celebration of the birth of our most beloved Sovereign of the Illuminate...oh."

"Yeah. My mom never made an invitation for you, but you are one of the only people I know of that she friendly with that isn't one of her followers, so..."

"I get it."

XXXXXXXXX

Of all things, that invitation was the LAST thing I ever expected to get as a commander.

Though it did explain why the Illuminate wanted those glowing trees.

...now what was I supposed to do?

...Eh, screw it, she'd shown me courtesy on my special day, might as well give her them same.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	160. Interlude 22

As the clocked ticked ever onwards, Melissa couldn't help but grow more agitated.

Soon, it would be time.

Today was her birthday, and as it was her first one following her promotion to the head of the Commander Project, her subordinates had insisted on making it a grand affair, more so than normal. This meant a bigger cake, a grander feast, a more massive celebration, and so on, to the point that this party, when compared to all before it, could be described as more _everything_. All of that grandiosity only made the female ROB even more nervous, for the simple reason that this would be one of the few times her 'friends', if she could even say she had any at this point, would see her for a protracted length of time. That might not seem a big thing, but if she did something embarrassing, well, everyone would know about it.

As the time for the party drew ever closer, the guests began to trickle in. First came Celm and his wife, for once dressed in casual clothes. Following them were the closest of their followers, Iacturos and his hundred plus siblings, all bringing gifts, some large, some small. Following them was Queneeria and her underlings, whom she always felt oddly familiar with (well, more so than she already was), but never knew why.

As the time for the festivities grew ever closer, one more pair of guests arrived, ones that Melissa could not believe.

"...Tau...Zeta...you came?"

"Yes," replies the female operative, "we were invited. By you, if our invitations didn't mislead us."

"Additionally, even though we no longer see eye to eye, you have always come to our days of nativity with gifts that show great amounts of thought put into them. In the face of that, we are..._unable_...to refuse your invitation. Our..._pride_...refuses to let us do that."

Tau had claimed that they had refused out of pride, but he'd struggled to say the word. In fact, he'd looked disgusted saying that.

Did the duo still think she was their...friend?

...That was preposterous. They couldn't believe that. That bridge had been torched long ago.c

Sadly, Melissa was well aware that said torching was entirely on her head. All actions carried a price, even well intentioned ones.

Putting her thoughts aside, Melissa invited them in, then turned her attention back to the clock. Only a minute remained. It appeared all of the guests had arrived, plus some extras. Cassidy, who had taken it upon herself to make sure all of the guests had arrived, confirmed this.

Well, time to get to bus-

"Hello?"

Melissa froze up for a moment, then turned around. There, standing just outside the main door, was her pawn, Commander Flameal15k.

"...What are you doing here?" She asked, incredulous.

"I invited him."

That was Cassidy who said that. Turning toward her daughter, Melissa could not help but look somewhat betrayed, even if she was actually grateful the Commander had arrived.

"Why?"

"Because, Mom, he's really nice to you, and I think he deserves to be here more than some of the other guests."

"I brought a gift," intoned the Commander, apparently trying to back up her diaghter's claim.

"...I'm not going to send you any. Just come in and...please don't embarrass yourself."

"I'll try."

XXXXXXXXXX

With all of the guests having at last arrived, the festivities had commenced. Games were played, movies were watched, music was enjoyed, the like. Melissa wondered why she could see people who were supposedly so much more mature than she was enjoying things that might have seemed childish, but ultimately, she saw no reason to complain. Besides, the company was nice.

Idly, the female ROB noticed her pawn taking the time to enjoy himself, occasionally trying to chat with the other guests, though whatever he chose to talk about only left him unsatisied with what he heard. Occasionally, he would steal a glance at her, though oddly, the glance would only last a moment before he soon ocused on something else, often appearing behind her. Additionally, he made the effort to try and eat at least one fo every snack she had provided. Now, most people would find it out if you thought someone eating everything they could fit in their mouth was a nice thing, but considering how finicky her commander had been prior to his journey, and the fact that, according to what she had gleaned from his mind, he was refusing to maintain his finicky diet out of respect for her, she couldn't help but smile.

Then came the best part of the day: the cake and the gifts. The cake itself was absolutely huge, big enough that she could fit 713 individual candles on it. It was a strawberry ice cream cake, mixed in with mint chocolate chip in some parts - her two favorite flavors of ice cream. It'd taken Mortarax a week to make it, and he had exceeded all expectations.

After the singing of happy birthday (something her father had taught to her, divinities bless him), she'd took a deep breath and blown, using aerokinesis to ensure she blew out all of the candles. Then, at last, came the gift unwrapping.

First off we're the gifts of Celm and his wife, which took the form of a variety of bees and other insects - creatures she'd wanted to help her with her gardening, ones that she was worried she would be unable to recreate with her powers - at lest, not to the level of beauty they possessed in nature.

Next came the gifts of Iacturos and his kin . They had many gifts to offer, from art, to books, to movies, to games and toys. Among the more notable gifts was a collection of rock music Iacturos himself had recently acquired. She preferred the classics, but rock was good, too.

Queneeria and her followers had gone next, offerif an assortment of gifts of their own. The ship in the bottle Queneeria had offered herself was especially nice.

Cassidy had followed them with a beautiful vase, one she had forged with her own hands...which were currently still slightly covered in clay, as she hadn't made one that had satisfied her until just hours before the party.

Third to last were her closest subordinates gifts, a set of hand made jewelry commemorating their servitude to her and her devotion to them.

Second to last was Tau and Zeta, who had surprised her with their choices. Tau has offered her sheet music for the full score of Peter and the Wolf, specifically for the violin. As for Zeta, she had gone with something Humber, and purchased her an album of metal music. That Swedish band her Commander seemed to enjoy listening to, given what his ship had started playing it when she had rescued him in the previous universe he had visited. He had good taste.

Speaking of which, the last gift she opened was the one that Flame had given her. Careful to avoid damaging it, for he'd explicitly marked it as fragile, she removed the gift wrapping from he )somewhat smelly) present...

And froze.

There, right in front of her, were four Aurorous titanis saplings. Despite being no taller than she was, they were already magnificent in appearance.

This wasn't the best gift she'd ever received.

It wasn't even the best one she'd received at this birthday.

But it was the most spectacular looking.

And for that, she couldn't help but smile at her pawn...who seemed to be staring at her hair.

...Oh crap. Her glamour was failing. Quick, back to normal, back to normal!

XXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	161. Annihilation 140

It hadn't been hard to decide what I was going to offer to Melissa for her birthday - she'd made her desires all too obvious even though she hadn't intended to invite me. Why, I still wasn't sure - pride, lack of thought, maybe she thought I would have been offended by the invitation? All were possible reasons, but in the end, they meant nothing - I had been invited by Cassidy, and I think this was one kindness I did owe my ROB.

I was lucky that the Arborous titanis were bearing fruit when I went to look for specimens to use as my gift. It hadn't been hard to find the plumpest of the fruits, which I quickly planted and subjected to biogenesis E-DNA powers, so that they would go from fruit to sapling in a matter of minutes. I dialed back on them after that - no need to let them grow gigantic before I gave them to Melissa. They could grown mighty after she had planted them, but not before.

Once my gift was ready, I used some directions Cassidy had provided to build a modified dimension gate that could send me to Melissa's hub world, which deposited me right outside of my ROB's abode. It only took a few minutes to reach the designated entrance point, where my ROB was welcoming the last of her guests. My appearance provoked a good deal of shock from her, but before she could question me, Cassidy explained everything. That was somewhat odd, considering that she had asked me not to tell her mother about the invitation. Maybe she had wanted to explain things herself rather than have me do so?

Whatever the reason, Melissa had allowed me to join the festivities, and with surprisingly few stares from the rest of the party goers. What had followed was a period of eating and relaxing, all while final preparations were made for the eating of cake and the unwrapping of gifts for the focus of this day. Among the refreshments offered were some really weird foods, including some type of eel covered in spines. Normally, I'd turn down such offering, owing to having a rather narrow diet, but with all the kindness Melissa had shown me, I felt obligated to try the alien cuisine. Most of it actually tasted pretty good.

Among the faces I saw and recognized at the party were Iacturos, Celm, Queneeria, Tau and Zeta, the latter two coming as total surprised to me, since they seemed to despise my ROB. Perhaps they still had some lingering feelings of camaraderie toward her? Either way, seeing them here, actually making the effort to enjoy themselves, and NOT being total asses, was actually rather heartwarming. As for the others, I recounted a woman who spent the majority of the time with Celm, whom I eventually confirmed was his wife, though I missed her name. Queneeria was joined by several of her own subordinates, while Iacturos had over a hundred other guests with him, who were all, apparently, his siblings. Something told me that, even if egg laying was involved, Iacutros parents must have not only been fond of each other, but also very difficult to tire, but for now, that was besides the point.

Throughout the festivities, I attempted to make conversation with my fellow guests, if only to learn more about them, but was unsuccessful. At best I received answers that lead to more questions, at worst I was rebuffed before I could even offer a question. When that happened, I would steal a glance at my ROB, examining her (admittedly difficult to observe) physique, before turning my attention to her shadow. Here, with more time to examine said shadow, more details came into focus: it had large, membraneous wings, as well as numerous fins and tentacles in it. In fact, I could easily observe traits from many different sea creatures on it, including what appeared to be lured like those that angled fish used. Before long, though, Nelissa would notice my staring, forcing me to look away. Still, every sight counted here.

Eventually came the time for the singing of happy birthdau, followed by the eating of the cake and the unwrapping of gifts. Oddly, the sheer familiarity of this ritual was what surprised me the lost with this celebration- I guess I had expected things to be more different from what I knew, not more of the same. Still, the familiarity was not unwelcome, and it was only a few minutes before I was enjoying a slice of strawberry ice cream cake, while Melissa was tearing through her gifts. Eventually, she came to mine. The minute she saw it, she grew very still for a moment, before turning toward me and giving probably the cutest smile she had ever given me.

It would have been really sweet, except that when she did that, her hair, which had been up until this point pure white, began to rapidly change between white, purple, orange, and green. Oddly, though, it never changed into anything else, be it a color, or into the tendrils/feathers I saw in her shadow. Was her shadow merely a 'red herring' as to her actual appearance?

Whatever the case, apparently I wasn't the only one staring, seeing how the room had just gone very, very quiet. Melissa had started to blush, though her hair quickly returned to its normal colors. For a moment, I thought something was going to happen, but then everything went back to normal, though there was still a feeling of unease in the room. I think everyone had mentally agreed to just ignore what they had seen, though that didn't erase the fact that they had seen it. Still, it seemed that even mentioning what I assumed was a glamor failure had become taboo, given that no one, myself included, chose to talk about it.

Eventually, as the festivities drew to a close, the guests filtered out, until, of the guests, only I remained.

I took one last look at my ROB, waved her off, then turned to leave.

"Wait."

I stopped.

"Could I have a word with you?"

"...Do you really have to ask? I more or less exist as I am now to sate your desire for amusement."

"True, but I still think it necessary for what I have to say."

"Fine. So, what do you want to say?"

"First off, thank you for coming. And I'm sorry I didn't invite you."

"You're welcome. WHy didn't you invite me, though? Just curious."

"I assumed my compatriots would think poorly of me if I did so. At least, the ones who are roughly equal in rank to me. Those who are higher on the totem pole than I am wouldn't really ba an Ieye to me inviting you over."

"I see. Do you have more to say?"

"Yes: Thank you for the gift. It's beautiful."

"Glad to hear you like it."

"It reminds me of home."

"...There are glowing plants where you come from?"

"Plenty. I used to cultivate dozens of them in the garden with my...parents..."

The moment she said that word, Melissa became more morose and quiet. Something told me this was a touchy subject.

"You didn't have the best of parents?"

"No, they were good. I just had a...falling out...with them."

"Oh." Time to let that topic lie.

"So, what else would you like to talk about?"

"Well, now htat that is out of the way, I would like to thank you for not making a big scene out of my...hair color issues."

"...That was rather odd to see, though it isn't the strangest thing I have witnessed."

"are you referring to my shadow?"

"...What?"

"I know you were looking at it throughout the party, and while it is impolite to stare, I will forgive you this time since my shadow is a...particularly interesting sight."

"...Well, thank you for that. So, anything else you want to tell or ask me about?"

"Just one, and it is a request. A 'birthday favor' if you may. IF you fulfill it, I will fulfill one for you at your next birthday."

"Okay, so what do you want me to do."

"...Could you...um...sing...for me?"

...Wat?

"Why?"

"I know for a fact that you are a ccpable singer - not enough to make a career out of it, and you would lakc the creativity to write your own songs, but nonetheless I would like to hear you sing."

"...Why?"

"...I just want you to."

"...Okay, but do you have any genre requests?"

"None at all. I do have a list of songs that I would like you to choose from, if you don't mind? You only have to sing one song."

"I don't mind much, so let me look at them."

Instantly, she produced a list of songs, which I began reading through in earnest. Some of them had actually been published after I had been taken from my home, so I decided not to sing those.

Except, for some reason, I feel like singing one of them, even though I didn't know the lyrics. For reasons even I couldn't understand, though, I could felt I could sing it well if I tried.

Melissa seemed to notice which song I was looking at.

"So, you're looking at that one. Good choice."

A moment later, a screen was projected onto a nearby wall, and on it were the lyrics of the song, which was beginning to play.

It only took me a moment to get in sync with the lyrics:

_I believe kids oughta stay kids as long as they can_

_Turn off the screen, go climb a tree, get dirt on their hands_

_I believe we gotta forgive and make amends_

_'Cause nobody gets a second chance to make new old friends_

_I believe in working hard for what you've got_

_Even if it don't add up to a hell of a lot_

_I believe most people are good_

_And most mama's oughta qualify for sainthood_

_I believe most Friday nights look better under neon or stadium lights_

_I believe you love who you love_

_Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of_

_I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks_

_I believe most people are good_

_I believe them streets of gold are worth the work_

_But I still wanna go even if they were paved in dirt_

_I believe that youth is spent well on the young_

_'Cause wisdom in your teens would be a lot less fun_

_I believe if you just go by the nightly news_

_Your faith in all mankind would be the first thing you lose_

_I believe most people are good_

_And most mama's oughta qualify for sainthood_

_I believe most Friday nights look better under neon or stadium lights_

_I believe you love who you love_

_Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of_

_I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks_

_I believe most people are good_

_I believe that days go slow and years go fast_

_And every breath's a gift, the first one to the last_

_I believe most people are good_

_And most mama's oughta qualify for sainthood_

_I believe most Friday nights look better under neon or stadium lights_

_I believe you love who you love_

_Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of_

_I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks_

_I believe most people are good_

_I believe most people are good_

_I believe most people are good_

Well, I do - and my travels had reinforced that. I'd seen plenty of horror on my journey so far, but I'd also seen so much beauty, and that had always kept my faith in the good of others alive. Who knows, maybe I'd one day mode that faith, but not today.

I was promptly pulled out of my post-song thoughts by the sound of clapping...from more than just Melissa. When I looked at her, I was surprised to not only see Cassidy, but also all of my children giving me an applause. Before I could question this, a flicker from the projected screen caught my attention, as new words replace the lyrics.

...oh, so that's what had happened - Cassidy had invited them over and not told me.

Well, a few people were going to go three days without any sweets.

"So," I began," do you desire more?"

"No, I'm good," was her response, after which she stood up and asked her companions (that is, her daughter and my kids), to get ready to leave, then began to walk toward me.

She promptly slipped on a discarded peace of paper and started falling.

One teleport later and I was holding her inches of the ground, one hand on her shoulder, another around her waist.

No, she didn't hit me when I righted.

As I righted her, though, I noticed that her sleeve had come lose from her shoulder. While she quickly fixed it, there were a precious few moments where I did get to see her exposed shoulder.

Well, I would have, except that said should was covered in bandages. Lots of bandages. In fact, the strips of cloth extended up to the base of her neck and beyond, all the way to her other shoulder, at least from what I could see.

XXXXXXXCX

Considering she taken down a skull crawler with barely a scratch, and that her papers more than likely included a healing ability, I was more than a little worried that something existed that could leave her with injuries that actually needed to be bandaged.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Yes, I can sing, and yes, I like country music. So what?

Read and Review! This is Foameal15k, signing off.


	162. Annihilation 141

Once I left the party (and made it clear to my kids that they would not get to have any tomorrow as punishment for going somewhere without my permission), I quickly set about preparing for the final confrontation with the Drengin. With the Korx now displaced from their market dominance, the Yor, Dread Lords, and by extension the Snathi now under my control/protection, and the Korath flat out not existing as separate power due to Melissa, all that remained was to bring down those tyrants and recover the last artifact in this universe, which I presumed was in their possession, going off of what had happened in this universe and the previous one. The presence of an artifact would have also explained the Dread Lords having access to a Terror Star, seeing how the only source of such devices in canon was the Arnor. If the Drengin had pulled the designs for that machine out of the artifact, then the need to defeat them was even greater - if I didn't stop them now, they might get something that could actually let them face me and win.

First off, I began churning out several extra fleets to use for destroying the last of the Drengin's forces. Even after the absolutely epic smack-down she'd inflicted on them over the course of the last few months (as in, completely obliterated five different fleets with zero casualties and taken a hundred worlds from them simultaneously to destroying those fleets), they still had three fleets left to fight with, as well as a fourth one nearing completion. Even in the face of certain defeat, they refused to give up. Were they not a race so morally reprehensible that I got sick just thinking about them, that would be admirable, and as evil as they were, I still couldn't help but respect them.

My dislike of them aside, I was willing to be civil to them if they surrendered. While the empire as a whole refused to seek peace, some of their colonies saw reason (or at least the writing on the wall), and gave up without a fight. Part of me felt that they were only doing this to escape Melissa' fury, but I couldn't really blame them for that - hell hath no fury like a women scorned, especially if they had omnipotence and could exercise even a fraction of the power they possessed. If she scared them into my arms, so be it. The fact that she scared them enough to be willing to give up slavery forever to avoid her wrath was a nice bonus.

While I prepared my forces to smash the Drengin's teeth in and negotiated with the few of them willing to swallow their pride, I also decided to examine one last bit of new technology I'd acquired from this universe: the star gates. While nothing different from my teleporters, and they were , in fact, inferior to my progenitor tech base in many regards, the star gates has one clear advantage over my teleporters: they could transport star ships. Furthermore, by combining them with the warp nexus technology I had acquired from the Beyond Earth universe, which did roughly the same thing, albeit with higher energy consumption, I was able to create a superior interstellar gateway that could allow you to travel between any two points of the nexus instantly, at exceedingly high energy efficiency. Additionally, said increased energy efficiency allowed me to make the gate able to fit in fleets that would be unreasonable for either of the base gates to transport. All things that would be important for what I had planned.

With that finished, all of my preparations for the final fight were done. Yet though I knew that acting soon would be the best course of action, I decided to stay my hand for one more day. Melissa had claimed the Drengin as hers to defeat, and as she was still taking the day to rest after her party, I felt it best to wait, lest I incur her unstoppable fury.

So, with my final conquest on hold, I decided to take one last look into the memories stored aboard my commander.

XXXXXXXXXXX

As I peered through the memories dwelling within my Commander, my mind drifted back to what I had seen most recently in them - the battle against the skull crawler, where Melissa, Zeta, and Tau had stood united, with the most venom exchanged between the trio being a set of friendly verbal jabs. From what I had seen, it seemed the trio had been close, so what had caused them to become so vitriolic toward each other? What had turned such good friends into fierce foes?

...Wait, why were all the videos rearranging themselves?!

Before I could get an answer, the first video began to play.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Tau and Zeta stared at Celm, as did their companions. Their superior had called a meeting to introduce their newest member, who would bear the title of Operative Omega. Now at that remained was to actually meet their new compatriot.

"So," Asked Tau, " where is our new coworker?"

"...Roght here," answered a soft l, diminutive voice from behind Celm. Then, cautiously, a pale skinned girl stepped out from behind their superior, wearing clothing that made her skin look as if it had been as dark as night. She seemed nervous, yet also curious.

"I'm...Operative Omega."

The group stared at her for some time, before, at last, Zeta broke the silence.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Operative Zeta. I look forward to working with you."

Then, like a torrent escaping a flood gate, more greatings followed, and slowly, Omega began to shed her fear and, after a while, offered a faint smile.

XXXXXXX

I wanted to see more, but then the feed cut out, and soon after, a new video took its place.

XXXXX

Deep within a crystalline cavern, the Operatives scoured the tunnels, each examining the crystals with eagle eyes.

"So, we need to find a blue white scarab beetle in a cavern full of blue and white crystals," remarked Zeta. "Could this be anymore difficult?"

"Don't jinx it, Zeta," remarked Tau.

Nearby, Omega had taken out a fruit and placed in on the ground, then, with a flick of her fingers, caused a breeze to blow through the cave, starting from the location of the fruit.

"Omega, what are you doing?" Asked Zeta.

"Baiting out our target."

"With a rotten fruit? That's not going to...work."

As the other female ROB had been saying her counter, a blue white beetle had promptly flown up to the fruit and started digging in.

"...I stand corrected."

XXXXXXX

Once again, the feed switched to a new video.

XXXXXXXX

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," moaned Zeta as she began desperately searching through a set of crystals, apparently trying to find just one.

"What's wrong?" Questioned Omega, who had just entered the room.

"I can't find the gem I was going to give my mom for her birthday. The party is in two hours, and I don't have enough time to find a new one."

"...Are you looking for the sapphire and ruby colored one?"

"Yes."

Upon receiving that answer, Omega moved her hand through her hair and pulled out a gem matching the description Zeta had provided.

"You dropped this a few hours ago. I tried to give it back, but you weren't exactly available."

For a moment, Zeta stared at Omega, before pulling her into an embrace, much to the pale skinned operative's embarrassment and physical discomfort.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yet again, another screen change.

(OOC: Assume that all XXXXXXX represent a scene change from here on out)

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I have need of one of you to help me oversee a new project," remarked Celm. "Any volunteers?"

Instantly, Omega's are shot up, as did a few others.

"Alright, well then, let's put it to a vote."

As each operative's designation was called out (at least of the ones who raised their hands), one or two hands would be raised in support of them. When Omega was called, though, five hands shot up to support her.

"Well, it seems Imega has the most support. Looks like you will be the lucky or to oversee this project."

Instantly, those who had supported her erupted into cheers.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, we're going to go snow boarding down a comet, want to join us?" Asked Tau.

"Sorry, but not tonight," replied Omega. "I have some things to finish up. More responsibilities now."

"We understand," responded Zeta. "I hope they aren't too hard."

XXXXXXXX

"Her, we're going to go watch an eclipse, you want to come?" Asked Zeta.

"No, I still need to clean up those giant worms Queneeria accidentally unleashed, maybe some other time," was Omega's answer.

"Okay. Well, call us if you finish early."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"We're going to go sky diving down to a hollow planet's core, can you come with us?" Asked Tau, who now seemed rather worn out and unsure to ask in the first place.

"Not this time - need to look after Celm's wife's eggs."

"...okay," replied Tau, though his tone of voice made it clear things were not okay.

XXXXXXXXX

"We're going to head over to Mithrenes VI and catch some sun...Can you come? Please?" Asked Zeta.

"I'm really sorry, but no. I already promised Celm that I would help him with something later."

"But tou've promised him so much already! Can't you just take one little break to spend some time with us?"

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Why? Ever since you were promoted, you prioritize helping him over spending time with us. I know you don5 like some of the things you have to do for hI'm, so why? Why do you do it all? What do you owe him?"

"...everything."

"First I've heard of it."

"Maybe I'll tell you that someday."

"Wouldn't Count on it."

XXXXXXXXX

With that, the last video ended.

...Somehow, that opened up more questions than it answered.

XXXXXXr

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	163. Annihilation 142

With all preparations completed, I readied for the final battle with the Drengin. Today they would suffer vengeance for their actions.

Just who exacted that vengeance, though, wasn't what I think anyone was expecting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

My forces arrived at one of the systems closest to the Drengi system, ready for battle. Mere minutes later, the Drengin responded with their own fleet, which quickly moved into the region, ready for their final stand.

Of course, unlike me, the Drengin had a relatively short maximum effective range on their weapons - enough that they needed to move very close (at least, astronomically speaking) to actually be within their effective range.

I was willing to let them do this unmolested. After all, it worked perfectly with what I had planned - I did have an ace up my sleeve on the way.

When the Drengin were halfway to my fleet, said ace arrived: an FTL capable star gate. A moment after it arrived, my newest fleet emerged from it, ready for battle.

Sandwiched between two fleets, the Drengin'sforces were swiftly cut down to the last, as they refused to surrender and, when defeat became obvious, attempted suicide attacks via ramming their ships into mine. It didn't work, but they didn't care. I guess they just wanted to have the satisfaction of knowing that I would not take them prisoner.

Oh well. I just hoped they realized their actions meant that I would have less forces to face when I attacked their homeworld.

I quickly messaged Melissa so that she would know I was going to take down the Drengin. She'd want to watch it happen. Seeing how it would take me ten minutes to get to the Drengia system, I assumed she would be able to reach it in time to enjoy their destruction.

I severely underestimated just how much she wanted them destroyed.

XXXXXXXX

When I arrived at Drengi, the first thing I noticed was the rubble surrounding the planet. I mean, you couldn't look anywhere without seeing the remains of a ship somewhere.

The second thing I noticed was Melissa's flagship, the Foundation, which was busy picking off a few Drengin corvettes.

...Did she wipe the entire fleet out before I got here?

"Yes," exclaimed a familiar voice over the ship's intercom, "I did."

"...Wow. Didn't expect you to go this far."

"They made it personal. Now they get what they deserve."

I didn't really have a reply for that.

Idly, I could here music over the intercom. Apparently, Melissa was playing a song over her own ship's PA. One I liked, no less. She must have liked it too, since she was singing along.

"Oh mother, tell your children

Not to do what I have Done.

Spend Your lives in sin and misery

In the House of the Rising Sun."

The rest of the Drengin fleet didn't last very long.

With her foes defeated, Melissa turned her attention back to me.

"While I wa beating up these stinking sacks of flesh, I found something you might like."

Before I could ask her what she meant, a gift wrapped box appeared right in front of me. Opening it, I was surprised to find an artifact inside of it. Oddly, this was seemed inert.

"I noticed a funny signal coming from the planet, so I thought it might be one of those artifacts you've been chasing. I teleported right up to where to was stored so I could save you the hassle of searching for it. I thought it might actually provide me with some challenge to fight, but as soon as I touched it, it went inert. Bit anti climatic, in my opinion."

Part of me felt that was important, but a bigger part of me didn't care. That was...rather worrisome.

"Okay...why did you give me the Artifact?"

"Because I don't want you to defeat the Drengin."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because I want to be the one to do it."

"...oh."

"You can assist me, if you are so inclined, but do not interfere with my vengeance. Or else!"

"Okay!"

"Good. Now let's get planetside."

XXXXXXXX

We landed just outside the planet's capital. All of the other cities were already under siege by Melissa's forces.

"So, are you ready to make them fall?" I asked my ROB, who, to my surprise, was wearing a gigantic orange cloak.

"No, there's one last thing I need to do."

Before I could ask what that was, she surprised me by taking off the cloak. I found myself rather flustered to find that, outside of wearing bandages over practically_ her entire body_ (excluding her hands, wrists, feet, and heels), she was without a hint of clothing. Also, that was a lot of bandages.

"...Why are you wearing so many bandages? Do you prefer those to normal underwear?"

I actually got growled at when I asked that question. I assumed that was a sore point for her until, much to my surprise, spines shot out of her shoulders, along with tentacles, while other strange growths began to appear all over her body. Soon, said gorwths turned into tentacles or, alternatively, bioluminescent patches. Her legs elongated and gained claws, as did her arms. As for her head, it transformed into a vaguely orca-like one that still seemed to short compared to her shadow-_ohgodshe justhaanotherheadpopoutofhermouth!_

As her form stabilized, I idly noticed it had milky white skin, even paler than her normal form.

Also, she had a really big tattoo on her back. Like, it went from he base of her neck all the way to the top of her butt. And it was glowing. And the flesh around the tattoo seemed raw and somewhat burned.

"...Have you always had that tattoo?"

"I've had it before I met you," was her reply, in her normal, human voice. That was probably the creepiest thing about her so far, and she was really creepy. I won't lie, she scared the crap out of me.

The fact her form has recognizable human curves (albeit ones entirely made of muscle, like the wraith from Evolve) just unsettled me even more.

"Oh, and don't touch the tattoo. It's a...sensitive spot."

"Okay. Now are you ready?"

"No. We need one more thing."

"And that is?"

I got my answer in the form of someone shouting...no wait, they were singing.

_Attero..._

_Dominatus..._

_Berlin is Burning..._

"Like it?" asked my ROB.

"...Yes."

"Good, now lets make them no fear. Try and keep up."

_Denique...Interimo..._

_The Reich Has Fallen..._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_We Stand at the Gates of Berlin_

_With Two and a Half Million Men_

_With Six Hundred Tanks In Our Ranks_

_Use Them As Battering Rams!_

It didn't take long for us to reach the gates of the capital city (called Drengari, for those who want to know). The Drengin fired at us, but all in vain - for every one of Melissa's monsters that they killed, millions more would take their place. My ROB would not allow them to win this fight. Not by a long shot. The lucky soldiers either surrendered or were killed by head shots and snapped necks. The rest, well, there wasn't anything to bury.

_Artillery Leading the Way_

_A million Grenades has been Launched!_

_The Nazis must pay for their crimes_

_The Wings of the Eagle's Been Broken._

My own token contribution to this fight was a force consisting of a squad of bots under Hearth, a tank battalion under Sigurd, a small air wing under Jegudiel, with Lernea providing some logistics support. This was Melissa's fight, and there was no way in hell I would try and challenge her over that.

_Marshall Zhukov's Orders_

_SERVE ME BERLIN ON A PLATE!_

_DISREGARD THE LOSSES_

_THE CITY IS OURS TO TAKE!_

Once we broke through the gates, the Drengin fell apart.

_Attero!_

_Dominatus!_

_Berlin is Burning!_

_Denique!_

_Interimo!_

_The Reich has Fallen!_

Melissa's forces weren't pulling any punches here - I saw a lot more mech's being deployed, including models I didn't recognize. Unsurprisingly, Elling was leading, because they couldn't bench their best pilot. As for the mech he was piloting..._ was that a gundam?!_

_'The Age Gundam, to be exact. You think some armaments for Space Marines is the only thing I'd acquired on my travels?'_

No, I hadn't, but I didn't think you'd have a Gundam.

_'Why not? They're awesome.'_

Good point.

_The Price of a War Must Be Paid_

_Millions of Lives Have Been Lost._

_The Price Must Be Paid by the Men_

_Who Started the War in the 30's!_

The rest of Melissa's lieutenants weren't lazing around, either - Melissa had them busy totally dominating the enemy. Leal was ripping through the enemy lines, obliterating any defensive emplacements that stood in his way. Mortarax, meanwhile, was dealing with the enemy armor, either blowing it up, flattening it with a Warhammer, and in at least one instance, even tearing a tank apart with his bare hands.

As for Melissa's fourth subordinate, a woman named Adeline, was taking things slowly and methodically, smiping any foes should could find, using grenades, rifles, bayonents, knives,_ was that a lance?..._ and any other weapon available, as well as pyrokinesis, which, considering her focus on using 'normal' equipment, was rather surprising. She also proved to be the medic of the team, healing any wounded she found using some kind of blue substance, and yes, this included any foes that surrendered or were too injured to fight. Those that did not, however, were spared no pain.

_Comrade Stalin's Orders_

_Serve Me Its Head on a Plate_

_Disregard the Losses_

_The Eagle's Land are ours to Take!_

Could such a one sided fight even be called a battle?

Attero!

Dominatus!

Berlin is Burning!

Denique!

Interimo!

The Reich has Fallen!

As Melissa's forces increased their pressure on the Drengin, I decided to examine her forces to see which universes she had been too. Already, I could make out the space marine armor, a quick scan of which revealed that Melissa had lied to me on Iakesh - those suits weren't robotic, someone was in them, and they were really old. Looks like Melissa had actual space marines. Another things I noticed was a Drengin getting eaten by a giant lizard ...dinosaur...was that a carnosaur?

_'Ding, ding, ding.'_

How'd you get the Lizardmen to help you?

_'Long story, might tell you later, want to focus on the fighting.'_

Fine.

Looking around, about the only thing I could notice so far that were from another universe (besides those already mentioned) were what appeared to e some stalkers from Pandora. How Melissa got them to fight for her was beyond me. Still, they were proving very effective.

...Were those Wraith Lords?

...Yes, yes they were. And the Space Marines were fighting side by side with them, as were some Imperial Guardsmen.

Okay, I definitely wanted to hear about that one.

That encompassed the entirety of the forces from other universes that Melissa had (that I could see, of course. She probably had more back at her home dimension). Yet all of it paled in destructive power to the woman herself. In her new, monstrous form - was it her true form? I wasn't really sure - she tore through the Drengin ranks like a blender, and occasionally stopped and_ ate_ some of her foes, a fraction of whom were still alive. She never went past the hips, though, and seemed to always spit up the intestines.

_They're full of crap. Literally!_

True...uh oh.

Before Melissa could question me on that, I put a hand on her back and pushed, just managing to exert enough force to shove her out of the way of a Drengin sniper, whose head I swiftly took off.

_'OWOWOWOWOW! THAT HURT!'_

Well, you would have taken a bullet to the back if I hadn't pushed you.

_'...Thanks'_

You're welcome.

Melissa responded by ramming a Drengin statue of Lord Kona, causing it to disintegrate. A moment later, several of her war beasts promptly used its head as a toilet.

Well that was funny. And humiliating.

But now, I believe it is time to end this.

With that, I had my avatar charge up its Psi-Amp. Time to clean the slate.

_'My thoughts exactly, my pawn.'_

_March!_

_Fight!_

_Die!_

_In Berlin!_

_March!_

_Fight!_

_Conquer!_

_BERLIN!_

_Attero!_

_Dominatus!_

_Berlin is Burning!_

_Denique!_

_Interimo!_

_The Reich Has Fallen!_

_ATTERO!_

_DOMINATUS!_

_BERLIN IS BURNING!_

_DENIQUE!_

_INTERIMO!_

_THE REICH HAS FALLEN!_

_ATTERO!_

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	164. Annihilation 143

It only took Melissa's forces an hour to force the Drengin to accept an unconditional surrender, as well as defeat about 95% of their army. The remnants were being finished off by her forces, with mine as backup. Any who surrendered were treated well, yet few did. Given that Melissa had made a point of treating her prisoners well and broadcasting this to the Drengin, wounded pride was probably a factor in the lack of surrenders. It seemed that, no matter the species, some people would choose their pride over their lives. Such as shame.

As for Melissa and myself, we were overseeing the aftermath of the fighting. With the Drengin military defeated, Melissa had begun moving in medical units to deal with civilians and those who had surrendered. My forces, meanwhile, had already begun cleaning up the rubble. Any slaves we encountered had been released and offered a free 'return ticket' to their home states. Some took it, others asked if they could join us. A few had to be restrained from trying to murder their former masters - even if the Drengin deserved it, allowing the slaves to do would set a bad precedent. That being said, while we would spare the Drengin their lives, that didn't mean that they would escape unscathed - a few punches and bruises, plus the loss of their slaves and pride, was a well deserved punishment.

And so, the last of my foes fell.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After the last of the Drengin had been beaten, I found Melissa standing outside of the Drengin Imperial Palace, looking exhausted. For the most part, she was successful, seeing how most of her body was clean of blood. In fact, the only real obvious place where blood remained on her body was around her mouth. I guess she'd had quite the feast.

Now that I wasn't in the heat of combat, I could make out more details regarding her new form. First off, as I had noticed earlier, she had two heads, one within the other, kinda like a xenomorph. The outer head resembled a barracuda, while the inner one looked more like a snake - a venomous one, not a constrictor. Adorning her head were a mixture of fleshy tendrils and feathers, with the feathers coming in a rainbow of colors, but primarily purple, orange and green. As for the rest of her body, it was distinctively reptilian, yet also obviously human. Around her chest and groin were downy feathers that made a sort of feathery bikini that would have obscured her unmentionables, if it were for the fact that the curves on her chest were entirely made of muscle, while a quick scan of her body confirmed that, aside from her mouth, eyes, nostrils and ears, there were no large orifices on her. Oddly, all other female reproductive organs were present, though why was beyond me. At the end of her body was a long tail, one that made up three quarters of her total length, and ended in a sort of fin. It looked like one that you'd see on Sea Kraits, which only added to her snakelike appearance. The rest of her body was covered in milky white spines, easily sharp enough to cut through bone. Rounding out her odd appearance were a large pair of what appeared to be fins on her sides, but given how they were flapping right now to keep her hovering over the ground, it was clear these were meant to be wings.

I won't lie, her newfound appearance was rather terrifying.

It was also, and I can't believe I'm saying this, somewhat attractive.

_'Well, you're not the first one to say that.'_

...oops. Please don't hit me.

_'Relax. I don't mind people admiring my figure.'_

Okay...

_'I'm guessing you have a question?'_

Yeah, why does your current form have reproductive organs if there isn't, well, anywhere for them to get input.

_'You're assuming that they're always like this. I make sure that, should I use that form in battle, certain weaknesses do not exist when the transformation finishes.'_

Oh, I see. So, what now?

_'Since the Drengin are defeated, not much, I suppose. I presume that you will offer terms to the Dread Lords, as shall I to the Drengin. The Yor and Korx are no longer truly dangerous, so I presume that, other than maybe monitor them, you won't do much to them - you aren't the kind to finish off an already beaten foe. After that, I presume there will be a victory celebration that all of the 'good guys' in this galaxy will attend. Our attendance shall likely be requested, given our contributions to this victory. Once that is completed, you'll probably finish up collecting every last tidbit of technology in this universe, then move on.'_

_That is a...very detailed line of thought._

_You didn't specify how much detail you wanted._

Good point.

I was about to ask more, but then an unarmed Drengin appeared, holding a fruit of some sort. He tried to look calm, but his shaking was obvious.

"Greetings, my lady. Are you the leader of our conquerors?"

"Yes, I am. What do you desire?"

"First, I wish to offer you a snack," was his reply, extending the fruit out in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, a fat pinkish purple tongue shot out of Melissa's mouth, yanked the fruit out of the Dregin's hand, and quickly returned into her maw. A moment later, and the fruit was swallowed.

It took the Drengin a moment, but eventually his composure was recovered.

"So, what else do you desire, good sir?"

"I am here to hear your terms."

"The terms of surrender?"

"Yes. I wish to know what to tell my leaders, so they know what shall await them."

"Then I shall give them: first, slavery shall be outlawed."

"A difficult, yet understandable request."

"Second, all slaves are to be released, with some compensation. Nothing unreasonable, the exact amount per slave shall be determined later."

"I understand."

"Third, reparations will be paid to the Terrans, Torians, Arceans, Altarians, Drath, and all other members of the Coaltion that opposed the Dread Lords, for they deserve restitution for your actions to them. I shall work with those powers to decide upon a reasonable amount."

"Of course."

"Finally, all high ranking military personnel and Government officials will be tried to determine what punishment they deserve. I may wish them all to suffer, but that is not my place to judge."

"I see. Will that be all?"

"Yes. Now go before I change my mind and demand more."

The Drengin quickly retreated.

"...wow, that was a lot more reasonable that I thought it would be."

"You asked revenge would blind me to reason? That I would repeat the mistakes tour forebearers made that led to the rise of a madman?"

"...maybe a little."

"Well, I did consider it. Still, I choose to hold myself to a higher standard than most Random Omnipotent Beings. I cannot allow myself to make childish mistakes."

"I understand. I do have one more question, though."

"And that is?"

"What's with the tattoo?"

Much to my surprise, Melissa went quiet for a moment. Then, she seemed to pinch in front of her left eye and pull. A moment later, a crystal had formed in her left hand.

"Scan this and you'll find out what you desire to know. I must go, now - I have to find a nice, lonely place to revert to my human form, away from lustful minds...such as your own."

"Well, screw you too."

With an amused smile, Melissa walked, leaving me with the crystal. I watched her leave, and the nice more my attention was drawn to her shadow. In her human form, it had taken the shape of her monstrous form, but now, in this horrifying form, her shadow resembled a teenage girl. In fact, all of its features matched those of Melissa's human form.

Did this mean neither form was her real form? If so, what was?

XXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	165. Annihilation 144

With the Drengin effectively gone as a superpower, my work in Gal Civ was almost done - all I needed to do now was acquire whatever tech the Mithralar had left behind, figure out what to do to the Dread Lrods, attend whatever follow-up peace celebration the Coalition had planned, then return home.

The first of those was probably going to take the longest, seeing how I had no idea where the last Mithralar was-why is an unknown ship hailing me?

...Well, might as well answer him.

"Hello, who is this?"

"I'm surprised you do not know. I am Draginol, the Dark Mithralar. I ha thought that you would know who I am."

"Why?"

"I was one of those present at the signing of the peace accords."

"What peace accords?"

"...You do not know what I am talking about?"

"No."

"Then I believe that is irrelevant."

"What do you me-yes, that is irrelevant."

WHAT THE HELL!?

"Indeed. Well then, as it stands, I do not desire formalities, and I do not believe you desire them either. Therefore, I believe that I should simply get to the topic at hand: you desire the technologies of the Mithralar, do you not?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then you shall have them. My only request is that you leave my kind alone. Our quintet does not wish to be removed from the shadows. Is that acceptable?"

"OF course it is, Bradley...can I call you that?"

"...It seems you are more well informed than I had thought. As for your question, yes, you may. In regards to the technology, here it is."

A moment later, I received a large burst of data. Examination revealed that it contained the sum total of the Mithralars' knowledge, including perfect versions of some of the tech I'd gained from the Arnor and Dread Lords. Among those perfected technologies was an advanced version of the pocket device technology the Terran Fleet had entered in Gal Civ II, except this one could actually_ create_ alternate universes. This wasn't actually that impressive, since said universes were really just empty space, along with a couple of stars and planets - rather underwhelming, all things considered. Still, I could work with this.

The minute the data finished downloading, the mysterious vessel disappeared, Draginol clearly not wanting to stay for chit-chat. Our conversation had left me with mixed feelings - on the one hand, I had so much I wanted to ask him, though my forced speech pattern likely suggested that any attempts to fish for data would be met with failure at best. On the other hand, my communique with him had all but confirmed the Progenitors had previously been active in this universe, and given what I had witnessed on the planet with the Progenitor Ruins (which had been called Mellowpark VI), it was clear they had been in conflict with the Dread Lords, which might explain why the Dread Lords were actually able to provide some resistance. That opened up a new question though: had the Progenitors been fighting the Dread Lords out of moral obligation, or had they merely been defending their interests?

One day, I would have that answered.

Alright, well, I'm probably going to be spending some time sciencing the shit out of the new tech I acquired, but that did leave one other thing that needed to be settled: how would I deal with the Dread Lords?

I mean, I'd need to find a way for them to 'make-up' for what they did to everyone else, which would include some form of imprisonment, as well as reparations, but it'd need to be somewhere where anyone who wanted to pay evil unto evil would not be able to hurt them. While I could move them over into my own universe, I didn't want to chance them trying to spit on my kindness and try to hurt my creations, even if their surrender had seemed genuine.

Great, now I had to try and find another empty universe to...put...them...in.

...I am such an idiot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The drones labored on the planet, working tirelessly to adjust its conditions. Mountains and valleys were carved out, as were rivers. Wildlife was bred at an accelerated rate before being introduced into their new homes. Polar and desert regions were terraformed into being, then populated with life. Total time for preparations to be completed was three hours.

Ten minutes after preparations finished, a portal appeared above the planet's surface. Moments later, a strange ship passed through, covered in domes that could each house millions of people. Dozens of those inhabitants were at the edge of the domes, looking toward the virgin world, for this was to be their new home.

At the bridge of the ship, Lord Dread was also glancing down at the planet, his face sculpted in a pattern of happiness that, for once, was not brought about by the sight of conquest. Slowly, he pried it away from the planet and turned his attention back to the screen in front of him, displaying the face of the head of the Infernum Federation, the one who called himself Commander Flame.

"So, you are giving us this universe?"

"In a manner of speaking - this universe was made using a device created by the Mithralar, who, if I remember correctly, are your creators, are they not?"

"No, you are correct. They are indeed my creators."

"I thought so. Anyway, I can tell you two things about this universe - it only spans a few star systems, and it is, currently, four hours old."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently the Mithralar figured out how to do that. Anyway, this universe may only span a few stars systems for now, but it also had a lot of nebula in it, and I can accelerate the rate that those nebula become stars and planets, should you ask me nicely."

"...There's a catch to this, is there not? You have yet to make any demands for my people as part of our terms of surrender."

"You are correct. Here are my terms: First off, you are not allowed to use the pocket universe I've made to build up your armies. I already have forces in place to deal with your people, should they try to abuse my kindness."

"Understandable."

"Second, and this shouldn't be surprising, I expect your people to pay reparations to those you have harmed. I'll send you the amounts for each civilization right now."

A moment later, the reparation amounts came through. While astronomically large, they were surprisingly generous, and the Commander had even included advice for how to pay off the reparations without going into debt.

"Do you have a third request?"

"Yes: From this day forward, until a millennium has passed, the Dread Lords shall sacrifice the right to declare war unless it is to help an ally. I WILL keep an eye on who you attempt to ally with and will make my displeasure known if you attempt to ally with another race so that you can attempt vengeance on myself or the Coalition. Am I clear?"

"...Yes."

"Good. Then please, enjoy your exile."

"...I guess I will."

Really, this wasn't really so bad a punishment. Especially given how young the universe was. It seemed that, at least for the moment, they had cheated the inevitable3 end.

...It was funny, how life went. The Dread Lords had gone to war against all creation when they realized that when the universe died, so would they, yet when they had lost to a superior foe, that foe ha given the Dread Lords a way out of that end.

Life was weird. Bu it was good.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the Dread Lords dealt with, I finally decided to scan the crystal that I had been given. Maybe it would shed some light on why Melissa had that weird tattoo?

The minute I scanned it, the world seemed to go dark. Then, the glowing figure of a woman appeared in front of me. It was Melissa. Or at least, an illusion.

"What you see now is but a vision of that which has already been, offered only to provide insight on who I am. Speak not to me, for I cannot answer your questions."

A moment later, and the glowing form vanished, replaced by a field of all and there, machines were at work, some digging up the soil, others removing unearthed components of what appeared to be Progenitor technology, while more still repaired the damaged ground and caused plants to sprout from the healed soil.

Eventually, one of the soil healers broke down, its legs collapsing from stress, and the myriad mechanical tendrils that carried its biosphere repairing tools went limp.

Merely a second passed before the machine was suddenly levitated into the air and reduced to its components, all connected by faint white tendrils of light. The source of the machine's failure was soon determined, removed, and replaced. A quick reassembly later, and the machine was operating good as new.

Following the light trails lead me to the standing form of Melissa, clad only in simple robes, who gently laid the machine on the ground, before the trails disappeared and the resumed operations. The minute it did so, Melissa began to wobble, and would have fallen, had she not been grabbed by the now visible, masked form of Celm. I guess perfect optical camouflage was part of omnipotence (well, that was probably a given - its called omnipotence for a reason).

"I believe that's enough for today...and the rest of the month...and the next year."

"Why? I haven't really helped you that much. I've only helped you build and repair these machines for the past month.

"Yes, but you've been doing so every single day of that month, with only six hours for rest - one for each major meal, one for actually sleeping, and the other two for leisure. You should have collapsed from exhaustion far earlier than this."

"Well, I just wanted to pay you back for what you did for me."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't need to be paid back for what I did for you?"

"And home many times do I need to tell you that I don't care?! After all that you did for me, you deserve something in return, even if I am never able to truly repay you for your actions."

"...I never am going to succeed in dissuading you, are I?"

"No."

"I see. Very well, then may I make you an offer?"

"What will it entail?"

"A way to make yourself more useful to me, though it qould come with its own challenges."

"...are thereany conditions for receiving that power?"

"Yes: please take longer breaks, and spend some time with your followers. Tey look up to you."

"...I understand."

"Very well, then I will provde you with the means to make you able to serve me better."

The minute he finished saying this, Celm produced a bronze chalice out of thin air, as well as a knife. He quickly place the chalice on the ground, then, after a moment of hesitation, used the nife to slit his left palm. The blood from the cut fell into the chalice until it was almost full, at which point Celm gestured with his right hand and the bleeding instantly halted.

Picking up the chalice, Celm turned his attention to Melissa.

"If you drink the contents of this vial, you shall inherit a piece of my strength, including potentially limitless power. Know that I cannot teach you how to use this power, though, and that you will still be subordinate to me, for any power I give you still recognizes me as its true master. Do you still wish to consume this?"

Melissa only need a moment to respond.

"Yes, I do."

The next instant, she had taken the chalice and gulped, then quickly licked her lips to clean the red fluid off of them. Celm seemed a little unnerved by that, and so did I.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Melissa's face contorted into what could best be defined as pure agony, while her back began to glow. Celm, clearly alarmed at the sight of his subordinate in pain, move to comfort her, only for my ROB to gesture for him to stop. A few moments later, the back of Melissa's robes burst into flame as a strange symbol burned itself into place, which I soon recognized as her tattoo. As soon as the tattoo finished burning into place, Melissa's expression relaxed, and the light began to fade.

"Thank you. I appreciate the power boost."

"You're welcome. Now please, take a rest. I order you to do so."

"Of course."

XXXXXXXXXXX

...Well, one question answered, a dozen more raised.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Just as Melissa had predicted, when the Coalition realized the war was won, they immediately set up plans for a victory celebration. That being said, its till took them some time to set up the event, allowing me to treat Rory and his siblings to their first Halloween, with Cassidy and Melissa tagging along. For once, I didn't really mind her freeloading.

When the plans for the celebration were set, I received an invitation, as well as the option to bring along a maximum of three others. Instantly, I began creating formal attire for Synais, Fide, and Kathikon. I trusted them most among my subordinates, and interaction with other humans would probably help them be more effective as advisors.

The bit of advice that they did give me for tis occasion, though, was somewhat surprising.

XXXXXXXXX

"Would one of you wish to pretend to be my significant other/date for this event?"

"I would-" began Kathikon.

"No, we will not," answered Fide.

"Wait, why?" questioned Kathi.

"We are his subordinates, and that is common knowledge to all parties in this universe, since you included our names and positions in the information you distributed to the public in this universe."

"So?"

"If we go with you, some people may assume that you pressured us into entering a relationship with you. Your character suggests otherwise, but that will not stop some people."

"Well, since I am pretty sure Synais is straight, unless you like both genders-"

"I'm not answering that, but I'm not going as your significant other - Fide has a good point."

"-then I guess I'll just say I'm single."

"I would not recommend that either."

"Why?!"

"More unsavory types might see your lack of relationships as a chance to try and seduce you to gain access to the higher echelons of the Federation. While I have no doubt you will refuse, I would suggest you try and avoid the hassle by going to the festivities with a partner."

"Well, how am I supposed to do that? I don't know any other females that would be interested in going to these festivities."

...Why were they all sharing an annoyed glance.

"_Um, yes, you don,"_ they all replied in unison.

Who were they talking about...oh.

"...no. No. Absolutely not."

"_WHY!?"_

"well, because...because...nevermind."

XXXXXXX

Traitors, all of them.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	166. Annihilation 145

"So," began Melissa, "did we get invited?"

"Yes, mistress," answered Leal, "we were."

"Good. Now then, what shall we-"

"Madam, we just received a transmission from the Infernum Federation," intoned Mortarax. "Putting it onscreen now."

A moment later, the face of Commander Flame was displayed before them.

"So, to do I owe the pleasure of this communique?" inquired the female ROB.

"Well, first off, did you get invited to the...gala celebrating the defeat of the Drengin and the Dread Lords?"

"Yes, but why do you ask?"

"...Would you be willing to go there as my partner?"

"..."

"..."

"..._What?! Why?!"_

"I don't have anyone else to go with."

"You have three AI subordinates, two of which are attractive women."

"They refused to go as more than members of my entourage."

"Oh."

"Also, they think that if I go without anyone that could appear to be my significant other, people will try to seduce me in an effort to gain a position of power in the Federation. No, that would never work, but I'd rather avoid the hassle."

"...They told you to ask me out, didn't they?"

"...Yes," squeaked the Commander.

Instantly, Melissa felt a predatory smile creep onto her face - the Commander was clearly unwilling to ask her to come with him to this occasion (at least, as his 'date'). That, of course, meant he would be very uncomfortable if she accepted his request.

And that alone was enough to get her to accept said request.

"Well, then, I accept."

"Okay. Could you give me a time and place to pick you up at?"

"No need - I'll meet you at the gala."

"...Well, that saves me a hassle. Please don't ditch me."

"Oh, please, you're not getting away from me that easy."

The commander flinched when she said that. Good.

"...Well, bye then."

With that, the conversation terminated.

Now, it was time to decide what to wear.

One flick of her hands later, Melissa was clad only in her underwear, busying examining several different sets of formal wear to examine. She did not need to worry about her subordinates staring at her figure - they were too respectful to do so. The threat of being obliterated should they dare to look at her indecently exposed form was also a great motivator. The only ones spared from that rule were Mortarax, Elling, Leal, and Adeline, in no small part because they were helping her choose what to wear.

"So," began Melissa, "do you think this dress would look good?"

"It's too dark," intoned Adeline, "plus the style doesn't mesh well for a gala. Even if it was a black and white gala, it would still be out of place."

"Well, onto the next."

A quick change of attire later, and Melissa was clad In a different set of formal wear.

"How do I look?"

"Too tacky," replied Mortarax

A second change occurred.

"Too poofy," remarked Leal

A third change followed.

"TOO BRIGHT!" shouted a temporarily blinded Elling.

A furious fit of changes in attire followed, all met with various different complaints.

Finally, the female ROB just collapsed, annoyed by her subordinates' constant criticisms.

"You've given none of my choices the go ahead for this event. Is there anything you think that will be good for me to where?"

"Well," responded Leal, "How about this?"

"...Too baggy."

"Maybe this one?" offered Adeline.

"...Too militaristic."

"Perhaps this one?" suggested Elling.

"...That would be considered indecent anywhere except in a Star Wars convention."

"Then maybe this one?" volunteered Mortarax.

_"That would be considered indecent anywhere."_

"Then We're out of ideas," stated Elling.

"Uh, mom? Why are you in your underwear?"

Instantly, Melissa turned bright red and moved her hands to shield her indecent form form her daughter.

"Um, mommy's changing, dear. Please don't look."

Cassidy did not oblige.

"Are you trying to decide what to wear for the big...gala?"

"Yes, no please look away."

Cassidy continued to refuse that order.

"Then what about that one dress Elling says you've had since forever but never use? Would not be a good time to try it?"

Instantly, Melissa turned to stare at Elling, an expression of betrayal on her face. Why had he told Cassidy about that?!

"Could you please wear it, mom? I think you would look so good in it!"

Turning her attention back toward her daughter, Melissa felt herself almost crushed when she saw Cassidy's adorable puppy-dog face. Her eyes seemed to balloon to heart-rending sizes, and it looked like tears were beginning to pool up in them.

Melissa was pretty sure the tears were being faked.

That didn't take away from their power.

...Oh, screw it.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"YAY!"

Not missing a beat, Melissa turned her attention back to Elling.

"You're not going with us to the gala, okay?"

"You only got four invitations, I'm not even interested in going, and even if I was, I'm too young to attend."

"Well, then you're babysitting Cassidy. Make sure she doesn't blow up my palace."

"I can manage."

"Good."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The minute the conversation with Melissa was finished, I set about making the best formal wear I could, in preparation for the gala. The next couple of hours were spent practicing dancing, making sure my outfit matched up exactly with my measurements, and relearning how to tie a tie. I also made sure practice public speaking, just in case they wanted me to give some kind of speech.

After all of that was said and done, I spent the remainder of the time trying to review everyone who would be in attendance and make sure I looked presentable for them. Then, when the time came, I quickly boarded a ship and made my way to the destination of the Gala: Altaria.

When I arrived, most of the guests had already settled themselves in, even though the gala would not start for another half an hour. With no idea how long it would take for Melissa to arrive, I chose to remain outside the gathering hall, waiting for my 'date' to show up.

I ended up waiting fifteen minutes before an Illuminate luxury transport arrived and Melissa emerged from it and ...wow.

I had expected her to wear some flamboyant dress in an effort to impress those who came to this party. What She did end up wearing was a beautiful, almost completely white dress, one that was extremely simple, barring a few precious gems sown into the fabric here and there. On its back, I could make out an impressive sigil embroidered into the dress, one that was utterly alien to me, though clearly of some importance. Further investigation would have to wait until later, though, for it did not take long for my ROB to notice me and gesture for me to approach her.

"You're very well dressed," I noted, hoping she would accept the honest compliment.

"I could say the same about you - you're wearing all black, except for that red and silver tie, but that's still rather nice looking."

"Coming from the girl who is wearing a white and blue dress, I find any suggestions of blandness to be...maybe a tad hypocritical. Still, you look amazing."

"Thank you. Now shall we get this show on the road?"

"Let's do that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We entered the celebration as a couple, our respective entourages right behind us. When the ceremony commenced, Alan Bradley, leader of the Terran Alliance, started things off with a speech, praising everyone who had been a part of the Coalition, commenidng them for their perseverance in the face of impossible odds. He stressed how important their unity had been, likely attempting to try and sway all those present to support maintain the Coalition in the years to come. He didn't downplay my actions, though, or Melissa's, which was rather refreshing. It's nice to be given credit where you are do.

Following Bradley's presentation, another figure stepped up to the podium. This was Netro Mancer, leader of the Altarians, and host of these celebrations. He, too, had a speech to offer, this one also extolling the Coalition members for their perseverance, as well as praising the Federation and Illuminate for their involvement. Partway through the speech, though, he seemed to go off on some tangent about the Drath and how perhaps it was time the Altarians sought to end their conflict with the reptilian aliens. I glanced at Melissa, who only smiled in response.

Once Netro finished his speech, the festivities commenced. Some people began to dance, others quickly moved to refresh themselves, and other elected to just observe the surroundings. I was among the last group, with Melissa swiftly joining me in examining the city we were in, as well as the woodlands just outside said city's limits.

"So," I inquired," did you have something to do with Netro acting like that?"

"Not really. He's always wanted to try and reconcile the Altarians with the Drath in some peaceful manner. I just made it so that he has more support."

"I see...do you want to dance? I know this is a beautiful sight, but I grow bored rather easily."

"So do I, and yes, we can dance."

A moment later, we were on the designated dance floor of the gala, hand in hand, dancing the night away. While I had become fairly skilled in dancing over the past few hours, Melissa was clearly superior to me in this field, and she was the one who lead our movements.

"You're quite familiar with dancing, I see."

"lords and ladies are expected to know how to dance, especially when they are invited to such formal events as this."

"So you're nobility of some sort? A baroness, or perhaps a duchess?...No, I think you're a princess."

Really, I was just making stuff up to flatter her...

"Actually, I am a princess."

...So I was rather surprised when I turned out to be correct.

"Oh. Interesting...please don't behead me for any of the insults and rude things I've said to you."

"You had every reason to say those things, so I won't hold them against you. Besides, I'm not that high on the totem pole - my family are the rulers of a principality - well, actually, five of them - so I will only ever hold the title of princess unless I marry a king or emperor, or their heir"

What a strange race, to have princes, kinds, emperors and their respective female counterparts all at once.

"You species sounds rather bizarre, since they have all those different types of rulers in one ierarchy."

"that's probably the funniest thing I've heard all day."

"Why's that?"

"Because my father is the one who rules those principalities, and he is a human, just like you."

"...You're human?"

"Half human. My mother was...something else."

"Something else?"

"She never did tell me what exactly she was. Some people called her kind the Builders, other called them Praenunti."

...Why did that name feel important?

"...You haven't asked her she is?"

"I'm not on speaking terms with my parents. I would appreciate you not asking why."

"I see...Are you enjoying this?"

"Hmm?"

"The celebration. Are you enjoying it?"

"...Yes, all things considered. In fact, this is probably one of the better times I've had in the past few years."

"really? I thought you'd have plenty of good times in the past few years, spent with family and friends-"

"Of which I have neither, and I doubt I will ever possess them. Okay, maybe I do have family, but I gave up on having friends a long time ago."

"Why's that?"

"Power and loyalty demand sacrifices. As you are ware, Celm is both the source of my power and the target of my loyalty, so I have given up much for him. And one day, I believe you will find yourself devoid of friends just like me."

"What's you proof of that?"

"OF all of the Commanders I have ever observed across the Cosmos, not one has any true friends. Even the one who defeated Nod, the Scrin and the Flood has not true equals, merely those he treats as children. You will soon likely join those ranks. In fact, think you are already a part of them."

"I am?"

"Yes. You have only your children, and your subordinates, for comfort. No friends, just followers and family. True, they can support you, but they are not friends. In fact, I don't think you even have any people you can remotely consider yourself to be even companions with, much less friends."

"...you're wrong. Maybe I don't have friends, but I do have someone I could at least be companions with."

I did really know what I was saying, only that I wanted to deny what Melissa was telling me.

"And who is that?"

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"I have you."

The minute I realized what I'd just said, I felt my signifantly warmer than I had before. If I had to hazard a guess, I was probably blushing. Much to my surprise, so was Melissa. She almost looked like a fish, trying to find some retort, only for words to fail her. I, too, attempted to find words that would let me deny what I said, only to come up short.

Because, really, what I had said had been true - while Melissa was not my friend, I did consider her my companion, and possibly the only being I knew that I could treat as an equal. No, I hadn't forgiven her for abducting me, she was the only being I actually felt comfortable admitting my feelings and secrets to.

...Did that make me her friend?

...No, it didn't. Friendship had to be mutual, and Melissa only saw me as a pawn.

...Didn't she?

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: For those wondering, Elling's suggestion for what Nelissa was supposed to wear to the gala was the Slave Leia Outfit (RIP Carrie Fisher), while Mortarax's was Raynare's outfit from Highschool DxD (no links, NSFW).

So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	167. Annihilation 146

We spent the remainder of the night dancing, only taking a pause to try some of the refreshments provided. I do believe that was the first time I ever drank alcohol, and good grief, that had a big kick. Needed to get more acquainted with alcoholic beverages - I was probably going to be invited to more of these kinds of celebrations, and I would most certainly be embarrassed if I passed out after only a few glasses of wine. Or vodka. Or rum.

Eventually, the celebration came to an end, and we departed. I noted that my AI trio hadn't done anything noteworthy at the celebration, nor had Melissa's company. It appeared they'd chosen to stay beneath notice, if only to observe how the two of us acted.

Were they trying to ship me with my ROB?

Oh hell no to that idea - I might not hate her, but I was NOT interested in a relationship with her. Too annoying, and again, she'd taken me from all I had ever known and loved and dumped me into a cold unfeeling machine. No thank you to any for of camaraderie with that woman.

I was prepared to leave with just my group, but Melissa insisted on traveling back with us. She said she had her reasons, but even if she didn't, I was too tired to care and just let her join us. She insisted on standing next to me for the duration of the flight home. Her fellow attendees would not be joining us, though, and would instead travel home in her ship.

Ash flight home dragged on, my companions soon asleep, succumbing to he exhaustion the celebration had brought into them, until only Melissa and myself remained conscious.

For a moment, there was silence between us, but eventually, curiosity got the better of me.

"Hey, may I ask you something?"

"What do you want to know?"

"How did you meet Celm?"

"...What?"

"Well, how did you meet him? I mean, you really seem to look up to him, even if he scares you, so..."

Melissa stared at me for a moment, conflicting emotions crossing her face, before eventually seeming to decide on something. She promptly stood up, walked up until our faces were mere inches from each other, and put her right hand to my head.

Everything promptly went black, and stayed that way for some time.

Then, a new view took its place.

Before me were the remains of a city, blasted and torn up, with the bullet holes in the walls suggesting the cause of the damage to be a battle. Confirming this, several alien APCs surged across a road, firing at something in the ditstance. They didn't get far before some kind of tendrilled monstrosity used one of its arms to fsllten them, and the sickening crunches that followed told me there would be no survivors to climb out of these wrecks.

Suddenly, a beam of light fired at the tentacle, cleaving a portion of it off. Turning to see its source, I found myself staring at...the AGE Gundam?! The machine swiftly fire another volley of lasers at its target before retreating to avoid several explosive pods fired at it, while still getting in a few pot shots at its foe.

The tendril continued trying to attack the Gundam for some time, but when it became clear the machine could evade its attacks without the slightest effort, it retreated. Moments later, several car sized winged creatures flew toward the Gundam and pinned it down before it could react. Their victory was short lived, though, as before they could attack, a figure dashed between them and cut them to pieces, before coming to a halt on top of the Mobile Suit. Their choice to stand there finally gave me a chance to examine them in detail.

What I found surprised me: I recognized the figure's armor.

It was _Melissa's_.

"Severine, are you alright?" I toned the figure, confirming my thoughts as to who it was.

"Yes, madame, but we can't keep fighting forever. Our allies have been wiped out and if we do not pull out soon, so shall we. All civilians have evacuated the area, we have no reason to stay."

"Yet where can we go?" was Melissa's response. "I have no idea have to teleport us all back to the estate, the evacuation tunnels are all flooded, the city is surrounded, and we cannot attempt to evacuate by air so long as their are fliers in the sky."

"Perhaps we could use the nearby caves to escape?"

"Or you could just die."

Melissa and Severine (who appeared to be the Gundam pilot) instantly quieted and turned toward the source of that voice. There, they found themselves staring at the tendril from earlier, or rather, what it was attached to. What I saw truly terrified me: it could only be described as a tentacled, visceral abomination, covered in spines and feelers, eyes full of malice.

"You've fought well, but now all of you are going to die. Please, though, don't go quietly. It's more fun when you struggle."

"Shall I fight it, Madame?"

"No. You link up with the others and fall back. I'll buy you some time."

"What? I cannot allow you to do-"

"That's an order, dammit, and you will obey it. Am I clear?"

"...yes, 'mam. Retreating now. Good luck."

"Thanks."

A moment later, the Gundam blasted away, quickly dodging a tentacle that tried to skewer it.

"A shame that he got away, but not for long. It's only a matter of time before you fall, and after that, so shall he. The nearby cave system may be deep, but we know it well. Even if he does escape, he will die without guidance."

"That's assuming I can't kill you."

"_That_ assumes that_ I_ can't kill_ you."_

"Well, you can try. But you'll have to catch me first."

A moment later, she vanished. The monster stared at where my ROB had been for a moment, dumbfounded, before promptly ramming several of its hands together where she had been. clearly enraged at losing its prey. A moment later, a blast of energy slammed into the side of its head. Turning toward the source of the blast, the monster caught a glimpse of Melissa before she vanished once more, though now it was clear that she was using some form of teleportation.

This pattern repeated for some time, with Melissa blasting at the monster, then teleporting away before it could retaliate. At first I assumed she was just using energy blasts, but eventually, I caught a glimpse of her before she launched an attack. At first, she appeared to make finger guns at her opponent, before, much to my surprise, actual guns formed out of light in her open hands. These weapons fired one shot before being obliterated, after which my ROB teleported away, unwilling to overextend herself.

Occasionally, the tendrilled being would manage to entrap her, only for Melissa to surprise me by using light to form other weapons - swords, spears, axes, even halberds, though she seemed to have a preference for staves. She would use these short lived weapons to destroy the offending appendages, occasionally replacing them with a shield to block any oncoming attacks. Bit by bit, she wore her foe down.

Yet it was able to do the same to her, slipping in an attack here and there, and it was clear that Melissa would tire long before this beast would. My ROB seemed to realize that, as eventually, after one teleport, she did not reappear. This time, though, my view moved to my ROB, who was running through the destroyed remains of the city, passing innumerable dead. She briefly paused at the sight of several corpses, who I could tell no doubt were those of children. Someone were human, other resembled the monstrosity Melissa had turned into. The sight unnerved both my ROB and myself, but she only dwelled on it for a moment before continuing her retreat.

Eventually, her strength gave out, and she was forced to take shelter behind some rubble. Much to my surprise, the rubble resembled a basic energy generator from Planetary Annihilation. There, in the shadows, she removed her helmet and took some deep breaths. I wasn't able to see just what she looked like underneath the armor, but I assumed this was deliberate - whatever form she was in right now was probably her true form, and she most definitely did not want me to see that. At least, not without her permission.

What was plainly visible, though, was the huge amount of blood flowing from her armor. Desperately, she tried to dress the wounds, covering them with bandages, but it wasn't long before she ran out. Exasperated, she punched some of the rubble, which crumbled beneath her strength.

Soon, I heard the distant sounds of something big approaching. Melissa began to go very still, but whether it was because she was scared or because she was losing consciousness was something I could not discern.

Slowly, the beast's shadow blotted out all the light around the rubble. A quick look confirmed it was looking right at Melissa's hiding spot.

"So, it seems that you were wrong. How very much expected this was."

To my surprise, my vision was starting to go dark. At first, I could not figure out why, but when the focus of the scene turned toward Melissa, I saw why: she had grown very, very still. Clearly, she was about to pass out.

The creature was saying some more things, but those were too distant and faded for me to hear. Apparently, my vision only allowed me to perceive what my ROB could perceive, and as she was falling unconscious, it was losing focus.

Then, just when it seemed like the creature was about to finish off my ROB, a golden light appeared. Instantly, the vision went back into focus as Melissa seemed to recover. Now, I could hear what monster was saying (which consisted of a stunned 'what' followed by some particularly vicious insults). Melissa turned to look at the monster and the golden light, which turned out to be coming from a humanoid figure. I didn't need to guess who that was. The being was wearing golden armor that covered all of their body, barring their head, which was instead hidden behind what appeared to be a stony helmet, with only a single vertical slit in the middle and four smaller dots on the sides to provide sight and sensory detail. At first, the these viewing pieces glowed gold, before turning blue. The monster seemed to recognize the light, as it tried to run, only to struck with a mighty slash that cut it in two. Amazingly, it was still alive after this and tried to continue retreating, only to be cut down again. As the golden figure prepared one last attack, the monster yelled something at its slayer, but it was so fast that I could not hear more than gibberish. A moment later, and the beast was dead.

The figure stared at its dead foe for a moment, before turning toward Melissa, being taken aback for a moment, likely surprised to see someone alive after all of this death. As that surprise passed, it ran toward my ROB, whose renewed strength finally failed. The last thing I saw was Melissa about to fall into her savior's arms.

XXXXXXXXX

When things next came into focus, Melissa was in a hospital bed, head covered in bandages, as was her whole body. She took a moment to fully awaken, but when she did, the first thing she did was feel her head. When it was clear that bandages covered her skull and face, she seemed to relax for a moment, before the bandages promptly started to warp. It took me a moment to realize she was changing the appearance of her head. Given that the bandages only warped slightly, I doubted that she had changed it by much. Once the changes were finished, she slowly removed the bandages, stopping briefly to feel a rather large gash on her forehead before continuing. Eventually, all of the coverings on her head were removed, leaving her cranium fully exposed. Her new appearance was the one I was most familiar with - albeit a few years younger looking than I had ever seen. I'd put her around thirteen based on appearances.

Any other speculations I could have made were cut short when a figure pulled back the curtains around the hospital bed and sat down on an empty one adjacent to my ROB. A quick glimpse confirmed that the figure was the same one from earlier, meaning that he was most likely Celm - while his identity was rather obvious, given exactly why Melissa was showing me this memory, I wouldn't be positive who this figure was until I got confirmation either in this vision or from Melissa after it was over.

Speaking of which, my ROB had retreated under her bed sheets in surprise when the figure had appeared, shaking in fear, but only for a few seconds, before uncovering her head to look at him.

"It is alright," replied the figure in a voice that sounded like Celm's yet was...different. Perhaps he had shapeshifted to use this armor?

"...Who are you?" questioned Melissa.

"I...cannot say," noted the figure, though he struggled to say the words. Was something wrong? "And that is...not important...at the moment. What is important is that I will not hurt you. Now, who are you?"

"...I'm Melissa."

"I see. I must commend you for fighting off that monstrosity - few would have the courage and will to fight it, fewer still the strength to last that long against it. Though that is talk for another day. Tell me, did your family perish fighting that creature?"

"...no."

"I see, how fortunate."

"They weren't anywhere near its rampage."

"Oh. Well, can you tell me who they are?"

"...I'd rather not - we had a...falling out."

"...My apologies...do you...want me to take you back to your home? Maybe meet with them again, try to...mend what has been broken?"

"I would...but I don't even remember where home is. I fought that thing for three days, over so much land that I can even remember which was is home."

"oh...I see...Well, then, would you like to stay with me? At least until you regain your memory of where your home is?"

"...DId you find those who stood with me against that beast?"

"Yes. They were very worried about you."

"...Can they stay with you?"

"I see no reason they cannot."

"Then so long as they may stay with you, so shall I."

"Very well then. I shall tell them that."

"Let me do that-"

"You need to rest. Your wounds have not yet healed, and it will be some time before you can move without great pain. Please, allow yourself some time to rest. Perhaps your memory will come back during that time."

"...Fine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With that, the vision came to an end. The scene around me dissolved until I was back in my starship, with Melissa still holding her hand to my head. A quick check of my internal clock revealed that only ten minutes had past since the vision began.

"...So, that was how you met him?"

"Yes, it was."

"...Did you ever remember where you came from?"

"I never forgot. I just didn't want to tell him that. I am royalty, and I wasn't sure that he wouldn't try to ransom me off to my parents, should he know who I was. By the time that I knew he would never have done that, though, I couldn't work up the nerve to tell him."

"Why?"

"...Because I liked living under his hospitality, and also because...well, I wasn't really sure that my family wanted to see me again."

"Really?"

""Yes. My parents and I had a falling out, and I wasn't sure how they would react. Part of me felt that they would welcome me back with open arms, bit another was worried that they would accuse me of faking my death to get their attention."

"...That's not necessarily a good reason not to tell him who your parents are...were."

"That's only two reasons. There is one other reason I never told him their names."

"And that is?"

"...I don't remember them anymore."

"...What?"

"By the time I worked up the nerve to tell him who my family was...who I was...I'd forgotten a lot about my family. Look, when he saved me, I was one hundred and sixty nine years old. It took me until I was two hundred to be absolutely sure he wouldn't exploit my family if he knew who I was. By that time, I forgotten a lot about who I was."

"Ouch."

"I know."

After that, silence reigned in my ship. Melissa decided to sit down after that and check up on things in her territories, as did I. My conscious soon drifted back to what Melissa had shown me. Part of me wondered if what she had sown me was a lie, but from how she had acted, I was almost certain she had shown me the truth. If it was true, than, well, I felt a lot of my resentment toward her disappear. I guess some of this cake from how similar we were - both of us were taken from all we knew and love, by beings far stronger than ourselves.

...Good grief, I was really sympathizing with a ROB. Had the multiverse gone mad?

...Maybe it had.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Took a few days, but I got this out. Going to see a movie now, won't be able to answer questions for three hours.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	168. Annihilation 147

The rest of my trip back home happened in silence - I was too embarrassed to speak, and I think Melissa was too. Besides, I was too busy processing what my ROB had shown me to be bothered with conversation. On the one hand, the vision had made me somewhat angrier at my ROB - how could she take me from everything I had known and loved, especially since _she had dealt with the exact same thing?!_ \- but at the same time, I felt somewhat more comfortable around her, for roughly the same reasons that I had gotten angrier at her. Additionally, what had seen helped me understand something about Melissa, namely, why she had been so affected by that transport full of innocents being blown up so many months ago. Surely a being of her age would be used to being faced with situations where they could not help others? Now, though, it all made sense - she had once been in one of those situations, except that _she_ was the one who had been in danger. Every time she was faced with a situation like this, she couldn't help but feel that she was once again in that battle, facing a foe she could not defeat, against whom death was certain.

There was a chance that I was wrong about this, but it was small, and I paid no mind to it. Not when this explanation was the reasonable one.

Her remarks prior to my admittance of companionship toward her also explained why she wanted to travel with me in the first place - she was lonely, and just wanted to have someone to talk to. As for why she didn't talk at first...she couldn't find a good topic to start on?

Ugh, enough thinking there, just let the rest of the ride happen!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When I finally returned home, I found Rory and the rest of my children passed out around a movie screen, and much to my surprise, they had huddled on top of one another, forming what I could only describe as a cuddle-pile.

To say it was adorable was an understatement. Even Melissa seemed to think so, given that all she did upon seeing the pile was smile and try to cover the kids with blankets without burying any of them.

Checking the rest of my tower's systems and camera networks revealed that all non-nocturnal staff and machinery had shut down, as was expected. I was getting ready to turn in for the night, but there was one last thing I wanted to do.

"You want to look at the vision the artifacts will provide for you, correct?"

Having a mind reading ROB was kinda annoying at times.

"Yes."

"Then I'll make my leave now - I assume that you will want to have some privacy to watch this, no?"

"Actually, could you stay? I want you to watch this with me."

"...What?"

"You've helped me a lot so far with these artifacts, I think you deserve to see what they have to show me. Plus you shared one of your secrets with me, I might as well share something with you."

"Good point. Well then, let's see it."

XXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take long to reach the artifact center - teleporter powers were awesome - and the assembly of the complete artifact from the three smaller ones obtained from the Gal Civ universe had just completed when I had arrived home. All that remained was to actually watch what it had to show me.

"I know you want to see this, but how are we supposed to both watch it? I mean, I know you modified your eye's and possess scanners in them at the nanoscale so that you can scan anything you look, but how am I supposed to see this? Through my powers? Or...oh"

Careful training with the Ethereals had taught me how to share mental input with others, both to and from the intended target. It took some time, and had initially given me a few nasty head aches, but it had worked - I had mastered the art of the mind merge, as Melissa had just found out.

"Yeah, that works. Now lets get to it!"

Smiling, I focused my eyes on the Artifact, began the scanning process, and merely sighed as the Darkness overcame me and my ROB.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Surprisingly, this vision did not start out with anything, well, visual. Instead, it started with a voice.

_You have seen who our foes are, what they are capable of. Yet you know nothing yet of where they come from. Witness this now, and prepare, for we know not how long until the storm approaches, and you confront them._

"What was that?" questioned Melissa.

"Guess its just some advice as what we are about to see."

The minute I said that, things finally cleared up, and I got the chance to see.

At first, all was calm. Then something huge promptly went flying through me and Melissa. We both reacted in surprise for a moment before remembering that we were not really here, just observing what I was assumed was a memory.

Turning our attention back toward the flying object, I watched several of the small, organic entities that the artifacts warned me of began to attack the object that had been sent flying, which soon righted itself, revealing that it..._ was the Mobile Armor Hashmal?!_

...Yep, it was. Also, the organic beings were wrecking the Hashmal and its plumas like they were nothing - wait, something just killed them all and saved the Mobile Armor. Must be another Mobile Armor -_ isthatGundamBARBATOS?! AND IT'S HELPING HASMAL BACK UP?!_

...Yes, it was. The Mobile Amor and Post Disaster era Gundam stared at each other for one moment, before charging off into the distance. The memory followed them, leading to a...very interesting sight.

Before us was a battle, on one side was the organic things the artifacts had warned me of, on the other, well, it looked like the results of some epic crossover story: Forerunner War Sphinx were killing off the largest of the beasts, while back up by an army of what appeared to be...I think those were Vaulters? Backing of the War Sphinx were Warlord Titans, though surprisingly, I could also make out the form of the Attack and Colossus Titans assisted the mechanical giants. Red, Bronze, Blue, Green, and Black dragons flew across the battlefield, slaying as many of the creatures as they could find. All these beings and more did battle with the organic beings, and so far, this mighty army was winning.

In fact, they managed to reduce the army of monsters to a few stragglers, largest of which was a giant, slimy looking...beast...

I exchanged a glance with Melissa, whose eyes' had widened at the sight. IT took only a few expressions for us to hold our unspoken conversation: once the vision was over, I would ask her about the monster, but not now.

Said monster had just been knocked over by a Warlord Titan, supported by several battlemechs. Desperately, it tried to crawl away, only to be pinned by the titan, which readied to stomp on it. Suddenly, a barrage of ordinance slammed into the machine, toppling it. Turing my attention towards the source of the counter attack, I saw a line of tanks advancing -_wereTHOSEANTS?!_

...Yep, those were indeed Planetary Annihilation Ants. And they were not along: accompanying them were Doxes, Grenadiers, Bumblebees, Hummingbirds, Wyrms, Stitches, quite literally every Planetary Annihilation unit that I had seen that fought in Atmosphere and wasn't restricted to the ocean. As soon as he arrived, they began attacking the army of universes, as I had decided to call it, allowing the organic monstrosities to rally and turn the tide of the fight. Soon, the positions from early had bene reversed, with the Organic Entities, now backed up by the Progenitor machines, being the ones winning. This time, though, there was no back-up to turn the day - the Army of Universes merely created several portal and bugged out before they could be wiped out.

Only now did the vision fade once more to black, with the voice from earlier finally making a return.

_Our enemies, your power - different tools, same masters. Two different garments carved from the same cloth. Be ready, for they will know how you fight._

Only then did the vision end.

XXXXXXXXXX

Once I awakened, I turned toward Melissa, who immediately began to speak.

"I don't have any idea why that thing looks so much like my slime demon?"

"...I believe you."

"Really?"

"I've learned the ability to pick up on the emotions of others while training my psychic powers, as well as tell whether they are lying. You are telling me what you believe to be the truth."

"Glad I don't have to convince you."

"You're not off the hook yet."

"Well, what else do you want to ask me?"

"Why was there a progenitor power generator in your memory?"

"...It's a long story. Fact is, my people have been living in the shadow of the Progenitors all our existence - there tech is where we get most of ours. Some old stories my parents told me even say that we're their chosen successors, destined to wield their might as our own. Others said that they made us, maybe as tools to fight in their wars. That might actually explain why my creations look so much like the Progenitor ones. Watch this."

Before I could respond, Melissa pulled up her sleeve and pointed at her arm. A moment later, a disgusting looking cyst of sort started to grow their, much to my shock, before it promptly fell off from her skin and burst open, revealing a weird, insect-like creature. Even with all the disgusting things I had seen up until that point, I was still disgusted by what I saw.

"Is that how you made the slime demon?"

"Yep, though the cyst actually ate other stuff and got huge before it turned into that thing."

"I see...so your saying that maybe your kind are creations of the Progenitors, perhaps weapons that outlived their wielders and decided to find their own place in the world."

"Possibly. I'm just guessing. Maybe Celm knows more about it - he's a lot older than me. Of course, he might not be inclined to give those secrets away so easily. Though, what I said would explain why he's so fanatically devoted to trying to get you to get all of the remaining Progenitor tech - if he's still loyal to our creators, assuming that that is what the Progenitors are, he might not want their legacy tarnished."

"I see. Well, I don't have anything else to say, so if you want to leave, feel free. Not that I could keep you from leaving if I wanted to, though."

"I know. Well, goodbye."

One bright flash of light later, and she was gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Melissa wasn't completely wrong with what she had told - most of what she had said was right, but how her kind were related to the progenitors was just a little off from the truth.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read, Review, and_ DISCUSS! __ This is Flameal15k, signing off!_


	169. Interlude 23

As the teleportation light faded, Melissa sighed. This universe had been very interesting. The things she had seen, the things she had done...

And, of course, what she had done with the Commander.

Looking back on it, she was...unsure how to feel, to say the least. She had enjoyed messing with him, oh yes, and seeing him fight epic battles, but here...

She had fought side by side with him.

He had come to her birthday and given her a thoughtful gift, in spite of having plenty of reasons not to attend.

And, of course, when he had been invited to a victory gala following the victory against the Drengin and Dread Lords, _she _had been the one he had chosen to take with him as his, for lack of a better word, date.

True, he had done so mostly out of lack of better options, and pressure from his subordinates, but that didn't change the fact that he had invited her, and for all he annouance at being her 'date', he hadn't groused about it at all at the gala. Why?

...Did he like her? At least, as a friend?

...Good heavens, had long had it been since she had used that word?

Friends - she had had those once, and her coworkers had once been among those, but now, the word was alien to her. Oh, Celm and his children might count, but she thought of them as family, not friends. Her subordinates could also count, but they were not exactly equals to her, and she could not view such an unequal pairing as a friendship. No, right now, she was without friends.

And yet, that did not change how the Commander seemed to view her. Or how she was beginning to view the commander.

Then she felt a familiar presence in the room behind her.

"So, how are you doing?"

And then came a familiar voice. Sighing once more, Melissa turned to address the white-suited ROB.

"Fine, just fine. So, how have things been for you?"

"Predictably well. It seems Faith's 'sister' has finally decided to take up her now deceased sibling's duties as my commander. One less inconvenience for me."

"Well, lucky you. Looks like you have no need to abduct another Commander to free you from your shackles."

"Indeed. So, what about you? How has your commander progressed?"

"Splendidly. Unfortunately, though, problems have come up - the artifact he recovered that caused that mess when we last met was not an isolated incident, and have been causing no end of problems."

"Oh. You have my sympathies. Though I must ask, how badly was he imperiled by them?"

"I had to get involved _personally _to save his ass twice due to the trouble those machines caused."

"...You're serious?"

"Indeed. My own master has actually given me a fair amount of freedom to get involved in the Commander's jouney because of those blasted machines."

"I see...well, good luck, and I hope your pawn continues to provide you with some amusement."

"Thanks," replied Melissa, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Well, I must be going. Farewell."

With that, the White Suited Figure vanished.

"...Not that those struggles are really amusing anymore," finished the female ROB, to no one in particular.

XXXXXXXXXX

The feed on the screen looped itself several times, always returning to the topic the gathered Operatives were interested in - the most junior of their number dancing with her own pawn, both seeming, if not happy, then at least content with their current situation.

Hours had passed since the couple and their entourages had left the gala, during which time the couple had shared an emotionally intimate moment, as Operative Omega had clearly shown a vision of some sort to her Commander, one of great personal significance. What she had shown eluded them, for their master had explicitly prevented this machine from showing people's thoughts, for the sake of off-roading those they observed some measure of decency.

Still, they could speculate. Both on what the vision was and what showing it had meant.

"So, are those two an item now?" Questioned one of the more intellectual of the Operatives. Sigma was her designation.

"Don't be stupid," replied Operative Iota, the most brutish of the Operatives. "They haven't really interacted enough for romance to be a thing for them, plus the good Commander hasn't forgiven her for his abduction - his emotions on that subject are easy enough to read. Besides, didn't Omega say that she preferred, well, people with a little more meat on them?"

"He isn't a pile of twigs," replied Sigma.

"Yeah, but he's still rather slim, even if he is more athletic than any other Commander we have observed."

"Regardless of whether or not those two are now a couple," intoned Zeta, "shouldn't we be focusing on our next move? Should we not be trying to figure out how to knock Omega off her perch?"

"Lady," retorted Iota, "you and Tau are the ONLY ones who wish to remove Omega from her current position. And while you've said it's because you believe she has been promoted primarily out of nepotism, which may or may not be true, fact is, she still puts in all the effort her position demands and then some. You're just jealous."

"We are not!" Shouted Tau in defiance. "Envy may be a motivator, but if you think it is our only reason for trying to force a demotion of our compatriot, you are sorely mistaken."

"Oh, right," noted Sigma, "there is another reason you want Omega denoted: you two want your friend back."

"...wwwwwWhat!?" Stuttered Zeta, her face beginning to flush with blood. Beside her, Tau's expression remained calm, but his face had also begun to turn red.

"Yeah, that's it - you're angry that Omega neglected your friendship because of her promotion. That she decided to put prestige before companionship. Well, I hate to break it to you, but she doesn't care one bit about any fame her office provides her. Heck, have you seen the things she did for our Leader? Some of it is incredibly degrading, yet she did it anyway. Omega's not brown-nosing the boss. She's serving him practically out of fanaticism."

"What are you saying?!" Questioned Tau, heavily offended by Iota's speech. The fact it was true just rubbed salt in the wound.

"I'm saying that Omega doesn't care about prestige. She's so devoted to Celempheros because of some other reason, one that I am pretty sure will ALWAYS supersede her friendship to you. She once told you that she owed him everything. From what I've seen of her loyalty to him, she probably does. And if you can't realize that, it's your problem."

The two Operatives stared at their fellows, trying to formulate some response, but ultimately failing. Beaten, they both turned their backs to their comrades, primarily out of disgust...but also so that the others would not see the single tear on each of their faces.

"Look," began Sigma, "we are all sorry that you two lost your friendship with Omega, but if you keep trying to displace her in an effort to get her to open up to you once more, you'll only ruin any chance you have to get it back."

"Then what should we do?" Shot back Tau, bitterness evident in his voice.

"Just...well, maybe try being nice to her? It might make her open back up to you two?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. The fact of the matter is that Omega is the one who broke our friendship, and she will have to be the one to make the first move to mend it. And the day that happens is the day a Commander actually meets something that can fight them and _win_."

The remaining operatives stared at their two compatriots for a moment, before ultimately dropping the subject. Tau's words rang true, even if the other wishes they weren't. Omega had been the one to sunder their friendship, and she would need to be the one to start mending it.

XXXXXXXXX

Iacturos watched on as Melissa, having just finished her conversation with the Kan in the White Suit, quickly returned to her quarters and prepared a bath. Her normal, teasing mood was gone, replace with one of uncertainty. Clearly, something from the previous night had riled her, yet what it was eluded him. Breaking his examination of her some privacy to undress and bathe, his thoughts turned to her interactions with her Commander. This was the first time that he had ever observed a Random Omnipotent Being interact with a Commander beyond occasionally sending them taunting messages, and it made him curious to how it would affect this experiment. True, Celempheros had wanted the Commander to help him recover the relics of their forebearers, but now, it seemed things had changed. The artifacts were the cause of it, but the effects were many and, occasionally, unexpected. Melissa's friendship, if it could be called by that name, with her Commander was just one.

A ticklish feeling to his left alerted Iac to the presence of Ismerina. Turning to his left, he examined his sister, who was, for the first time in a month, clade only in her casual clothes, as opposed to the armor Celempheros had appropriated for her, or her formal wear that she wore to Melissa's birthday. Her form resembled Iacturos own, barring the moth-like antenna on her head, in place of her brother's stubbier, segmented one's. While her primary eyes were focused on him, her secondary and tertiary pair were focused occasionally stole glances at the observation screen, where Melissa had finished bathing and had already changed into her night clothes.

Ismerina's constant glancing told her brother all he needed to know - she was worried about Melissa. She was not the first - all of his hundred plus siblings had expressed concern for Melissa after the events of Iakesh, in no small part because they knew it would push one of her most personal buttons. Ever since they had met her so long ago, they had felt that she was one of them.

Even if Celm was not her sire.

XXXXXXXXX

The Leader of the Operatives and his wife sat down, quietly contemplating the events that had happened. So much had occurred that threw their plans for a loop.

Chief among them was the artifacts. Milsanrima has been the one observing the odd couple leaving the gala and, consequently, had been the one to tell him what their adoptive daughter had shown the Commander. In turn, she had also been the one to see the vision this universe's artifacts had offered, depicting the Progenitor engines of war, both mechanical and biological, did what they did best, against the armies of others from all over creation. The mere fact these artifacts showed this vision riled up the two overseers, for good reason: as the artifacts were showing visions of their enemies, it meant someone else had already accessed the technology of the Progenitors and was likely abusing it for their own reasons.

And that was something neither could allow.

XXXXXXXXX

(Note: next two segments take place a few days after the Battle of Drengi)

As soon as the last rifle was put into storage, Mithrios got to work packing th container for transport. It was time to leave.

After securing the container to the transport, Mithrios took one last look at the devastated building he had been resting in, before vaulting out of a hole in its walls. A moment later, his wings extended fully and began to vigorously flap, until he was at a comfortable height to soar. From here, he followed the transport as it headed back to safety.

Mithrios had just signed on with the Naverosaurus navy when the creator had made himself known, and had been part of the force that had helped extinguish the Grox. Still, he had expected his chances to prove himself to the Creator to dry up after this - the creator had armies of unfeeling machines to serve him, ones that would follow his order to the letter and were nigh-invulnerable. To send fleshy beings like him into battle would have seemed cruel when such forces were available. For Mithrios, it would have been...very boring.

It HAD been boring, until the Commander had decided to host war games against the Illuminate, then send them here, to Drengi, to help nlenforce the Drengin's compliance. With a new, holy purpose given to his existence, Mithrios had carried out his orders to the letter, even if they reduced him to a police officer. To serve his creator and follow his almighty purpose was all he could ask for.

At least, he thought it was. Yet now, he felt the desire to do more. His time serving under the creator had made him desire more than merely prestige. Now, he wanted to help others - bring them food, fight evil, be a model soldier. While he would never disobey his Commander, part of him chaffed under the restrictions given to the organic forces in the Infernum Military.

After all, how does one help others in need when they can only show up when the war has been won?

XXXXXXXX

Lernea helped Mithrios offload the last of the weapons before sending him off - she could deal with the rest from here on out.

Lernea had been among the only Infernum forces to attack Drengi, with her war planes providing fire support for the Illuminate Ground forces. She had once again encountered Timingila, who she had ended up fighting alongside. The two had lain waste to the enemy wet navy until nothing remained of them but broken planes and broken bodies. Timingila's prowess had impressed her, especially since this time, the Battleship had not been holding back out of a desire to none lethally defeat their foes.

Soon, though, Lernea's thoughts became more morose. She realized that she was worried about what would happen after the fight. After all, she and Timingila were only allies so long as the Drengin were a threat. With them gone, it was now time for the two empires to go back to conflict.

Was this conflict to last all time? Or could peace be achieved? Lernea would have liked the Federation to be at peace with the Illuminate. Then she and Timingila could fight side by side against any foe they encountered.

XXXXXXXX

Across the Endless expanse of the multiverse, the creatures watched and waited, trying to find their elusive foes. For as long as the could remember, they had been searching for those who would seek them destroyed, all to no succes.

Now, though, they at last had a lead. A trio of mechanisms made by their foes had activated, surreptitiously informing them of where they need look to eliminate their foes.

One head of the snake had been found. Now, it was time to cut and burn it off.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	170. Annihilation 148

After taking the night to sleep and allow my confusion regarding my...feelings...for my ROB to dissipate, I decided it was time to tie up all loose ends in this universe. I'd accomplished everything I'd set out to achieve, so it was time to pull out.

My market manipulation had knocked the Korx out of their market dominion, though they still had a significant presence. At this point, I was willing to leave them alone, lest removing them entirely cause even more problems. I sold off most of my assets in the galactic market, only keeping enough to maintain a healthy income if I ever returned. I deliberately allowed the Korx to buy up some of those assets, in order to mollify them and deter them from seeking vengeance. It probably wouldn't help, but hey, I tried.

With my bank accounts settled, I also pulled my forces back and focus my operations only on the territories I had fully claimed as my own. Systems where I occupied only one planet were abandoned, all technology salvaged, recycled and/or scuttled so that no one could use it to gain a leg up on others. Any systems I abandoned that had large amounts of resources on them were surreptitiously placed in the data banks of other galactic powers as targets for future expansion, mostly because I thought people deserved to colonize them. Plus I think nothing should go to waste.

The only systems I continued to occupy outside my established territory were the core ones of the Dread Lords. After negotiating the terms of their surrender, I was not going to let them try and cheat those terms. Additionally, I also wanted to make sure no one tried to wipe the Dread Lords out, seeing how I had managed to achi be the impossible by convincing them to surrender. A large fleet was kept on standby across all Dread Lord systems, with orders to eliminate anyone who attempted to purge the Dread Lords.

Yeah, I might have been naive to assume they would keep their word, but hey, someone has to believe in the innate good of others.

Finally, I wrapped up my final aid to powers of the galaxy by secretly nudging the various research and developement groups across the galaxy toward making certain innovations I'd encountered throughout my travels. I wouldn't hand them over to the native powers, but if they figured out the underlying principles and determined the rest of the details on their own, not my problem.

With the last of my loose ends tied up, I took in one last view of the Gal Civ universe, purchased a few things I wanted, and, finally, returned to my hub universe.

XXXXXXX

Once safely back home, I began examining all my acquisitions. While Black Hole Guns, Doom Rays, and Black Hole Eruptors were all useful weapons to have, my primary interest lay in the civic techs I had acquired, especially miniaturization. Seriously, the miniaturization the major powers in this universe had achieved bordered on disbelief - they could equip weapons meant for capital ships on fighter chassis, albeit without the ability to fit much else on the ship. Combining that with miniaturization technology the Progenitors had, and I could equip those same types of weapons on INFANTRY.

Yes, I did do that. But only as specialist weapons - overkill is a thing when you want to be a hero. So no using them when civilians are/were an issue.

As for the rest of the technology, well, I mostly integrated it into existing technology, seeing how these advances, while mighty, did not supersede what I already had, but could improve it exponentially if properly integrated. The farming tech in particular was something I wanted to examine, if for no other reason then to have something to barter with if I encountered some medieval magic using civilization whose magic I would like to learn about. Hey, you have to cover all your bases, Okay?!

After that was done, I proceeded to do...a whole lot of nothing.

See, while I had pulled out of the Gal Civ universe for the foreseeable future, I was fully leaving to behind just yet. The next month would serve as a trial period, to examine how the galaxy reacted once I left, so that I could see if there were any new threats that needed to be nipped in the bud. Hopefully, without causing a new and bigger problem to show up.

I also made a point of upgrading my forces, taking in the new technologies I had acquired and incorporating them into my existing forces, as well as making new units wholesale to augment my existing ones. Tanks with Black Hole Eruptors, Sniper Bots with Doom Rays, mobile shield generators with the best shielding I could afford, the like. Idly, I wondered how broke my units would be compared to other Commanders if I met more people like me during my journey. I mean, Melissa had confirmed I was not alone on this adventure. If I met another Commander whose origins were similar to myself, would I be able to befriend them, or would war be inevitable? And if conflict proved to be necessary, would I come out on top, or become more of the dust of history?

Food for thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

My laziness also had a secondary reason for occurring: two important days were coming up that I wanted my children to experience, so that they could have at least semi-normal childhoods. As it turned out, Melissa was willing to be involved in the first one.

XXXXXXXXX

I stared at my son, trying to figure out what his choice of attire was. His siblings were also in disguise, Be they as knights, witches, dragons, pirates, robots, or the greys, yet Rory's choice still alluded me.

His chosen form was pitch black in color, and appeared to have a long, flat head, resembling a hammerhead shark, yet no eyes were on the ends of its skull. Vestigial winds were also present, though they offered me no help in determining what he was dressed as.

"...Okay, I give up. What is you costume?"

"I'm a bioraptor. I read somewhere that it was a scary movie monster."

It took me a moment to figure out what he meant, but once I did, I mentally slammed my head against a desk.

I should have figured it out the minute I thought Pitch Black and saw the hammer shaped head...

"...You didn't watch that movie, did you?"

"Well, I tried, but it took too long to load, so I just decided to watch something else."

A quick check of my database revealed that Rory had tried to watch the film a week ago, only for its loading to be delayed by...Synais?!

Wow. I didn't think he had it in him.

Oh, and it just turned seven o'clock pm.

A moment later, I felt a funny sensation behind me. Turning around, I found myself staring at Melissa and...was that a neomorph?!

...Nope, just scanned it, it's only Cassidy in a neomorph costume. Phew.

"So, you ready?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good, then let's show our children the wonders of Halloween."

XXXXXXXXXX

Yes, I took my own children out trick or treating with my ROB. No, I was not interested in her...

Well, actually, I was rather confused about how I felt toward her. I don't think you can say you're attracted to someone if you can't actually describe your feeling toward them.

Moving on, the night passed without much worth mentioning. Our children ended up with several WAGONS full of candy (Melissa had checked to see which neighborhoods on Gal Civ Earth (specifically North America) had the most candy, and had exploited the hell out of teleportation to get us to all of them). I could have used some kind of hover device instead of wagons me to carry their hauls, but sometimes, older is better. Plus people were still using wagons, so why try to stand out?

Once we'd acquired enough candy (and our children had become too tired to keep walking), we returned to my tower, sorted out all the candy collected, let our children have their shares, and after they crashed following their sugar highs, promptly logged out on our supplies of sweets - hey, it was Halloween, so why not enjoy it?

I did if any of my other companions were interested in joining in, but aside from my first three AIs and my sub Commanders, none of them took me up on the offer...okay, the five Crogenitors also joined in. At first they refused because they no longer had physical bodies. I promptly offered them access to my ectogenesis pods and the entirety of their species' genome, which the hidden Crogenitors colony had stored aboard its databanks. The refusal had quickly been retracted, and the Crogenitors had joined my AI companions as being minders for my children and Cassidy. None of them had complained about this, not even Synais or Ingto. And according to the empathic powers I had slowly been training while not leading battles, they were honest in their interest in helping me.

Moving on, following Halloween, most of my time was spent being, well, a father to my children. Sure, I made a time of new units, upgraded existing ones, and the like, but I also spent as much time as I could teaching my sons and daughters, taking them out to see movies and plays, go fishing, really anything I could do that they were interested in. Along the way, I learned more about them: Konrad, for instance, was actually an aspiring poet, while Hideki had significant skill and interest in engineering. Part of me felt bad that all of the technology I had access to rendered flesh and blood engineers obsolete. The rest of me was instead interested in trying to impart the advances in engineering I was acquiring with each universe I visited so that he would still have a place in the world (worlds?) I was going to make. Being able to do things that machines can do is always a good thing, especially if the machine is prone to breaking down.

Eventually, my interactions brought me to the most famous days of feasting, and I spared no expense to make the titular feast as extravagant as possible. And yes, Melissa, her top subordinates, and her daughter joined us.

XXXXXX

"And so, I thank thou for this wonderful life, the wonderful people in it, and the wonderful things I have done with them, amen."

"Amen."

"Amen."

"Allah Ackbar."

(Etc.)

With our thanks done, we wolfed down the massive feast before us. The turkey was the center of the feast, but I'd also acquired venison (via bow, on a literal game preserve planet, and at the cost of falling out of a tree when the deer ran into it and then getting into a fight with a surprisingly aggressive raccoon, which had been annoying as hell), some boar, and even fish, as well as assorted vegetables and pies. As opposed to the dinners I'd grown up with, where there was always some chatter between everyone at the table, this one was painfully silent, barring the occasional chat between the children or some remakes from our other assorted guests. Part of me knew it would be unlikely that chatter would return anytime soon.

After the feast was over, the children filtered out to go and play/Read/have fun, while the others attending the feast (the genetic heroes, my subordinate AIs, and Melissa's most trusted lieutenants) had taken to cleaning the table - despite the fact I had told them this was unnecessary, as I had robots ready to begin cleaning as soon as the feast was done). In moments, only myself and my ROB remained at the table.

"So," began Melissa, "why'd you invite me here?"

"One, because I don't really have any family who can come to this aside from my children, I don't have any friends who can come to it either, and I wanted to invite someone over that I actually knew."

"Okay..."

"And two... I wanted to than you."

"For What?"

"Forgiving putting me in a Commander Chasis."

"...Seriously? You're thanking me for taking you from your very good life and dumping you into a machine that will take you across the multiverse for both my own amusement and to satisfy my superiors goals?"

"Yes."

"Um, WHY?! I mean, I ruined your life."

"Yes, and I haven't forgiven you _IN ANY WAY_ for that, but you did give me the chance to help more people than I ever would have helped in my old life."

"Well, you're welcome, but seriously, why do you keep inviting me over for stuff? I mean, what am I to you?"

"You're a...good acquaintance."

I had almost said friend, but bailed at the last moment. Acquaintance was the best word I could use at the moment that I felt was absolutely true regarding my relationship with my ROB.

"Really?"

"Yes. And if you seem to be so confused by why invite you to such special occasions, then why do you always accept? I mean, I am only your slave."

"No, you are my...servant, and refusing an offer from a subordinate is considered unbecoming for my mothers people."

"I see."

"Glad that you do. Though, I do have to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Why do you keep, well, why do you keep trying to grow stronger withojt a Commander?"

"Explain."

"Why do you invest so much time in developing your psionic and E-DNA powers, as well as your physical strengths? I mean, you're a Commander, virtually nothing in existence can challenge you."

"...Well, nature has Fischer me one thing, and that is this: no matter how strong you are, one day, something else will come along that will be able to do what you can do, but better, and once that happens, you need to adapt, or you will die out."

"I see. Any other reason?"

"One more: i just don't want to be overly dependent on just one way of fighting. I don't want to rely on Progenitor hypertech bullshit to solve all of my problems, lest I become so dependent on it that I cannot defeat a foe that can match my tech and production advantages."

"But nothing else can."

"The artifacts would beg to differ."

"...fair enough. Now, if ypu'll excuse me, I'd like to go and colored your hub universe. See what you've done so far."

"I don't mind."

"Very well, and goodbye."

XXXXXXX

Looking back, I'll admit that I wasn't expecting my skills beyond my power as a Commander to be tested so soon. To face an enemy that truly made me question my limits. To see so many things change. This had been a time when all that I worried about was an annoying ROB freeloading off of me, and even then, that wasn't such a big problem.

Funny, really, but the day of Thanksgiving, just prior to my final pull out of the Gal Civ universe, spent talking to Melissa, was the last time I was under little stress as a Commander. Goes to show how far things got warped in my next universe.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: There'll be one more interlude tomorrow, then a couple of Infernopedia articles after that, before I start the Warframe arc. Please stick with me until then.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	171. Interlude 24

As the cool evening breeze brushed against her face, Melissa closed her eyes, before opening them once more and gazing down at the street before her. While some had already begun to turn in for the night, other nocturnal beings had just begun to awaken, meaning that the street was still alive with activity.

Many of the daylight shops had already closed, but the ROB did find a few that were still open, and among those, ones that tickled her fancy. She purchased a few articles of clothing and a nice looking piece of art, which she promptly teleported back to her hub universe, ensuring one of her servants was on standby to pick them up. With that out of the way, she returned her attention the city streets.

Despite all of the myriad races and hyper advanced technologies present in her pawn's federation, the scene before her was one that would not looked out of place in twenty first century Earth. Cars and other vehicles breezed by on the street, occasionally stopping so that their occupants could do business, before moving on. Those who had lawns or plants to manage were busy caring for them right now, watering them before night came or trimming them back now that it was cooler. Above, birds flew about, careless to the struggles of others, while pedestrians makes their way across the sidewalks, some walking dogs or similar creatures.

Briefly, the female ROB stopped her walk to observe an empty field at the edge of the town. Here, a group of children seemed to be playing a game of catch. Many were human, but others were of different races, be they ones that the Comamder had crested, or ones that had immigrated into his empire. Perhaps the strangest among the assembled kids were a trio of Drengin, followed by a quarter of Korx and a lone Dread Lord. Stranger still was that the Drengin seemed to have the most fun playing with the Torians in the group. Not a trace of animosity was present in the children, be it in appearance or thought. Melissa smiled at this: for all of her pawn's faults, she did admire his idealist desire to try and make peace between bitter enemies (and no, she was not embarrassed to admit that she admired that). It seemed that here, his labors were bearing fruit.

Reducing her smile to a mere grin, Melissa moved on, wishing to observe her pawn's dominion as best she could.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, what do you think about my mom?"

"...what?" Asked Rory, perplexed by the question.

"I mean, do you like her? As a person, I mean."

"Well, yeah, of course. She's got her annoying moments, but aside from that, she is a good person."

"I know. I could say the same about your dad."

"Thanks...why did you ask me that question?"

"Because, well, they act really friendly with each other, but my mom says that they aren't friends, and I don't get why. I mean, your dad is the _only_ person my mom seems to be completely comfortable with and isn't completely loyal to her."

"Oh. Yeah, that confuses me too... do you really think they are friends?"

"...yes, why do you ask?"

"...well, she's really nice, so...I wouldn't mind having her as my mom...and you as my sister..."

"...that makes two of us...should we ask them about it?"

"No, no, no! If we push it, they might get angry. If we want them to get together, we wait until they stop saying they are enemies."

"...we have a lot of waiting to do, don't we?"

"Yes we do. Yes we do."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So, your subordinate's pawn has found out about _them_, has he?" Asked a masculine voice.

"He has."

"Great, just great. Things are getting out of hand."

"True, But we need not abandon the project because of this issue."

"I do believe we will have to - he will not ignore this discovery, and it is only a matter of time before he finds out the truth. And your surrogate daughter is not helping this at all."

"What does she have to do with this?"

"She has grown close to the Commander, and will not tolerate anyone harming him. Part of it is a matter of wounded pride, but more importantly, even if she may deny it, that young man is the first friend she has had in a long time. She will not abandon him to the wolves if she can help it. And what she may do to save him could cost us dearly."

"I will make sure that she does not overstep her bounds."

"Be sure that she does, or there will be consequences...for her, at least - you have proven your devotion to our cause."

"I...understand."

"Good."

XXXXXXXXX

Clink-clank.

The foundry slept, oblivious to the world around it. Nearby, its companion, the misery, also slept.

The two had once been proud beings, creators and nurturers of machines and monster, sent out to obey their masters. They had made armies to conquer worlds, and then raise those worlds to greatness.

Clink-clank.

Now, though, they were lifeless, without meaning. The war they had been made for was long past, while their masters were now far away, no longer interfering with the multiverse. With no purpose, the great facilities had gone dark, hibernating, waiting either for deactivation or new purpose. Still on standby, they had waited eons for orders that never came.

Clink-clank.

But they wouldn't have to wait anymore.

A signal, just a faint one, reached the facilities, in an instant rousing them from their rest. The structure minds cautiously reviewed it, trying to see if the signal was false.

It was not. Yes, the signal was different from the normal, but the key components were all the same.

It was, unmistakably, a Progenitor signal. Evidently, though, it had been hijacked by a third party.

Instantly, the foundry and nursery whirred to life. Assembly lines, left to collect dust, began to move again, while Origin stalks awakened from hibernation to begin gestation of new warrior beasts. Meanwhile, the greatest of all the assembly lines began amassing pieces to prepare for the slassembly of the most dangerous machine the foundry could create.

It appeared that, whatever foe they were up against, it appeared to wield the power of a Progenitor Commander.

Well then, it was time to fight fire with Fire.

XXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	172. Annihilation 149

As the last portal closed, I sighed. My exit from the Gal Civ universe was complete. The last of my extra forces had either retreated or been scrapped, barring those guarding the few territories I had colonized. The majority of my assets had been sold off, barring the few I was keeping as a set of nest eggs for the future. If I returned to this universe, I might as well have some way to start influencing it without my Commander. Always keep you options varied.

Already, I'd finished integrating my new acquisitions into my tech-base, once again increasing my already overpowered units forces into an even deadlier force. At this point, I would be surprised if anyone could give me a halfway decent fight. The way things were going, I'd be practically invincible soon enough. I say practically because saying you are invincible is just asking the universe to prove you wrong.

Idly, I wondered what Melissa was doing. Probably something crazy, though I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing something incredibly banal. She seemed to be the kind of person who wouldn't mind doing either.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Achoo. Did someone just think about me?"

Confused by her sudden sneeze, the ROB failed to notice the grenades approaching her.

"..Huh-FUUUUU-"

BOOM!

Instantly, gobblers flew around, messily smearing the corridor with blood and viscera.

Meanwhile, Melissa could only scowl as her screen turned toward her killer, who was busy pulling up his crotch armor to show the paper smily face taped there.

"CURSE YPU, P1rate! You will pay for that!"

"Stow it and get back on the Payload!" Shouted one of her teammates. "We're almost at the end!"

"...Fine."

XXXXXXXXX

Eh, probably nothing I needed to worry about.

That being said, before I visited my next universe, I decided that I would take one more look at the memories hidden aboard my Commander. At this point, I just wanted to know more about Melissa. If it somehow provided me insight as to what the artifacts were showing me, all the better.

So, once more, I pulled up the videos hidden in my Commander, selected the next one in the sequence, and hit play.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The screen initially started out blank, before switching into a room filled with computers: monitors, wires, cables, etc. I wasn't sure whether I should call it a cyber café or a computer lab. Sitting at one of the terminals was Celm, of all people.

THe sound of an automated door registered to my sensors just before Melissa entered my view, staring at her superior, who stopped his work on the computer and examined his guest.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

"I've finished reading up on our chosen subject. NOt really got much to say about him, other than that he looks kinda thin."

"He's still on the healthy weight range for his age."

"Barely. Otherwise, though, he is an excellent candidate. Do we really have to go with someone so young, though?"

"Why? Would you have preferred someone older?"

"Yes. As for why, well, I know young people are more open minded, but shouldn't we choose someone whose had time to deal with life and hardships? I mean, someone his age might not be prepared for the horror they could encounter on this mission."

"True, but someone who is older may also be too jaded and cynical for them to function here. Commanders do best when they are chosen from those who are young and idealistic, but not too much so. True, this journey could break him, but it could also make him stronger."

"Not sure why that matters. No offense meant, it's just that you make it sound like this will benefit him should he go back to his ordinary life, but this journey is a one way trip - once he's on it, he can never go back home. Well, he could, but he'll be too changed to fit in."

"Indeed. Still, these Commanders have helped out so much of creation. It would be foolish of us to not help others."

"That's just a secondary goal to your aims, though, right? I know you want him to help you find Progenitor technology across the multiverse."

"I do, but this is a nice bonus."

"Fair enough, but can I still mess with him?"

"If it does not compromise his ability to carry out the primary objective of this project, do what you wish. Though please, I implore you to finish this conversation - I still have information left to input on our new subject."

"Don't worry, I won't break him. No fun if I do. Honestly, my interference might actually be beneficial - maybe he'll get prepared to face the hurdles that will inevitably show up."

"Perhaps it may..."

"...Well, goodbye sir."

"Farewell."

With that, Melissa left the room. Celm returned to his work, but oddly, he now seemed rather somber, much to my surprise.

"...Though even with your help, those hurdles may prove too high to overcome."

With that, he finished entering whatever he was working on, saved, and signed out.

The video ended their, but to my surprise, as it finished, it pulled up more data on itself, including views of the computer Celm was working on. Curious, I examined the one that showed Celm's monitor, then magnified it so the text on the screen was legible.

Most of it appeared to be about me. Unsurprising, given his reasoning for asking Melissa to leave. What was surprising, though, was that all that data was saved under a file named Flameal15k...and above it were six other files, named, in order, N3ptun3, 5trata, Aur0ra, Pla2ma, Mar4uder, and Ste77ar. That instantly picked up my attention: what were those for? I thought I was the only one with a Commander for these ROBs. Were they victims of other Random Omnipotent Bastards? Perhaps they were other potential subjects who had been considered before me? WHAT WERE THEY!?

Instantly, I knew I had to know what these names referred to. Of course, that proved to be a problem - how was I supposed to access those files? I didn't even know where to look-OHGODAPORTALOPENEDRIGHTNEXTTOME!

A moment later, a parcel floated through. I reflexively shot it with Soulfire, before mentally berating myself for using an attack only effective against organics on an object that was most definitely not alive. recovering my mental faculties, I quickly scanned the object, and when the results came back as harmless, I quickly opened up the parcel, revealing its contents to be a piece of paper, of all things. On it were what appeared to be a set of directions. Confused, I started reading from the top:

_Just happened to see you watching those videos. I know what you're looking for, so follow these directions. I have some...issues with Celempheros, so I assure you that you can trust me here._

….OK...Part of me wanted to just bunr the paper, but ultimately, curiosity (and a coin toss) conviced me to follow the directions which were:

1\. Build a human sized floating fabrication drone.

Done.

2\. Send the drone through the portal.

Okay.

3\. Go down the Aquarium hallway. Do not get too close too the walls - the crabsnakes can't break the glass, but the noise of them trying may attract unwanted attention.

So Celm had visited the Subnautica Universe? Cool.

Also, good advice.

4\. You'll reach a room filled with wires. This is the junction for the main server room in this facility. Before you ask, it's Celm's personal base. There should be a terminal on one of the walls. Access it, and enter the following:

Username: N45tyG1rl

Password: Ap0calyps3%

Well, that was easy. Also, who goes by the username 'Nasty Girl'?

5\. You'll see the normal desktop open up. Select Projects, then go under 'Progenitor Reclamation Initiative'.

Doing that. Also, now I had a name for Celm's overall goal with me.

6\. You'll need to do some searching around here to find your target information. Sorry I can't help. Look at step 7 once you find what you are looking for.

To be honest, help wasn't needed here - I could remember what I had seen in the video, and I knew what word to look under to find those names. Granted, it wasn't a word in any alphabet I had ever seen.

**AN: Not posting the word anytime soon, still not sure what it should be, but it is in an alien alphabet**

One click later, and I found what I was looking for.

7\. Right Click the first name, then select bring to main data.

….okay, I'll do that-OHGODTHEDRONEJUSTGOTTELEPORTEDSOMEWHERENEW!

For a moment I hyperventilated, before quickly calming down. Taking in a moment to examine my surroundings, I found myself in a dark room that resembled an art gallery of sorts, or maybe a museum. Only problem was that I couldn't see or determine what the exhibits were, except that they were, well, big - the room actually had a monorail to travel between the exhibits, of which there were six.

8\. You're in a room that looks like an art gallery. There should be terminals in front of each 'exhibit'. Examine them - they aren't protected by any security.

Wow, this list really knew what I was thinking. Anyway, I did what it said and accessed the first terminal.

SUBJECT: N3ptun3

Real Name: CLASSIFIED

Age: Classified

Gender: Female

Viable Candidate for Initiative: Yes

Successful in completing mission objectives: No

Status: Deceased.

Hold on, deceased? How had they died? Was Celm responsible?

Maybe the next screen would provide more information?

Quickly, I gloated the drone over to that one (no need to use the monorial when I could fly silently) and activated it.

SUBJECT: 5trata

Real Name: CLASSIFIED

Age: Classified

Gender: Male

Viable Candidate for Initiative: Yes

Successful in completing mission objectives: No

Status: Deceased.

He's also deceased? What gives? Who killed them?!

I was starting to get worried. Was Celm far less benevolent than I believed?

I swiftly moved onto the third display and activated it.

SUBJECT: Aur0ra

Real Name: CLASSIFIED

Age: Classified

Gender: Female

Viable Candidate for Initiative: Yes

Successful in completing mission objectives: No

Status: Deceased.

At this point, I had gone from worry to panic. I fast as possible without being too loud, I examined the rest of the displays, only to find that the results were the same. Apparently, all of these candidates were dead.

Less horrifyingly, they were evenly split on the gender ratio.

Why were they dead, though? Celm clearly had no reason to off them, and I doubt he would just casually murder people for fun - it didn't match up with what I had seen so far. Had some of his subordinates merely grown bloodthirsty? Was their a new conspiracy brewing back home? Just what was going on?

Searching for answers, I found myself looking back at the list I had been provided.

9\. There's one more terminal at the back of the room. If you need more answers, use that.

Indeed, there was one more terminal, this one close to what I realized was the only mundane entrance to this exhibit. Acitvating it, I found that if offered three different options:

SHOW PICTURES

LIST LOCATIONS OF DEATH

TURN ON LIGHTS

Making a mental note to scan the area before using the last option, I selected the first one. Instantly, pictures of the subjects appeared on each of the six terminals I had already visited. Aside from some impossible hair colors, they were nothing out of the ordinary.

That should have been clue number one.

Still confused, I selected option two. Once again, a new tidbit of information appeared on each display, this one listing the location of the candidate's demise. The one I bothered to read said 'Universe B2A4'.

That one started throwing off alarm bells in my head, but unfortunately, it still did not offer a satisfactory explanation for my question.

Sighing in the safety of my hubworld, I did a scan encompassing a sphere with a mile radius from my drone's location, and, finding nothing dangerous, selected option three.

One by one, the lights came back on, and slowly, I saw each of the six exhibits. As each appeared, I felt my heart sink, for I recognized their forms.

After all, as a fan of Planetary Annihilation, its pretty hard not to recognize six different commanders, even if they are clearly dead.

I could only stare on at them in horror for a few moments, before some force managed to pull me away from my gawking and look at my list where, surprisingly, their was one last instruction.

10\. Turn Around.

My drone did just that. Instantly, my heart skipped a few beats, to the point an automated health drone moved into my room in case I entered Cardiac Arrest.

In the Hall of Dead Commanders, my drone now stared at a woman. One who I had recognized.

She had been at Melissa's birthday, and she had not strayed too far from Celm.

So, with nicety percent certainty, it appeared that mine drone had been caught snooping around Celm's base by his wife.

...I was so screwed...

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	173. Annihilation 150

For a moment, I stared at Ceelm's wife, unsure what to do. Would she attack my drone? Would she rat me out to her husband?

HOw had the instructions even known that she would be there...….oh.

"Yes," the female ROB said, "you seem to be catching on."

"You're the one who gave me the directions ,aren't you?" I inquired, thankful my probe had speakers, though given what I knew about my other two ROBs, the one before me could probably just read my thoughts if she so desired.

"Correct on both accounts. And for future reference, my name is Milsanrima, and yes, I know it is a mouthful."

"It most definitely is, yet that is besides the point. So, why did you send me those instructions?"

"I have...issues with my husband's actions. His goals I agree with, but how he achieves them, not so much."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Of course. First off, though, did you really expect that you would be the only Commander he would send across the multiverse?"

"I thought he hated people using them."

"Only if they tarnish the legacy of our forbearers - that is, the ones who made the machines. IF they are used to defend the Progenitors' legacy, he has no complaints."

"Okay, so why does he have so many of them around? And what did he use them for?"

"Simple really: to accomplish his goal of reacquiring the Progenitor technology scattered across the cosmos."

"Why does he need more than one to do that?"

"Would the simple idea of speeding up the process of acquiring the technology via using multiple commadners be too unreasonable for you to believe?"

"...No, and I feel like an idiot. So, you're saying these are all my predecessors? And they were all active at the same time?"

"Yes and no: these commanders did fulfil your role, but they were not all active simultaneously. The first three were, but the rest were activated sequentially."

"I see...How did they go offline in the first place?"

"Can't a woman keep some secrets?"

"..….."

"...Well, I have no desire to tell you what that answer is, but here is a hint: just because you are the strongest thing in every universe you've visited doesn't mean you will stay that way forever. The only certainty in nature is change. If you stagnate any of your skills, then you will, eventually, fall."

"Do you have to be so vague?"

"Yes, and I revel in it."

"..…...Should I leave now?"

"Please do - I won't tell my husband about this, but I would prefer you leave before he has time to question where you are."

"How do I know that he isn't watching right now?"

"I made sure of it. I...ensured that he would be unable to intervene. Or feel anything beneath his waist for a while, for that matter. That distraction was...exhausting, but certainly kept unable to overhear our conversation."

"What do you mean by that, and why are you blushing...oh. Wait, are you saying that-ACK!"

I felt something clinging around my throat, even though nothing was there to do so.

"Yes, I did, but finish that sentence and you will need a new windpipe. I prefer no one speak about my...less then wholesome actions where they can be recorded."

"Okokokokok just let me go."

A moment later, the pressure on my throat relaxed. I took in as much air as possible, then returned my focus to Milsanrima. "Just to ask, how are you able to stand when he isn't, considering how you, well, dealt with him?"

"I'm floating a centimeter off the ground, though honestly I could simply ignore the exhaustion in my lower body if necessary, or use my powers to make myself feel rrested. My husband simply elected not to do so."

"I see. Well, I believe this is goodbye...though first, could you answer me a question?"

"Yes."

"Could I call you Mil? Milsanrima is a mouthful, and I believe that I will be familiar with quite a few 'Milly's before my travels are over."

"...Fair enough, but please refrain from using that name in the presence of my husband unless he approves - he's rather possessive of me."

"Is he too clingy for you?"

"No, though granted, I'm hardly one to judge - let's just say anyone who is interested in him and I didn't like learns to flinch in my presence."

"..…..Well, bye!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ugh, why do I get saddled with crazy lady ROBs? Hell, why did I get ROBs who felt that they had to be directly involved in my adventures? Why couldn't I have a normal ROB who just left me alone and laughed at my failures and only made a couple of minor interventions throughout my travel? That would have made my journey so much easier.

….Well, actually, I'd probably be dead right now if they didn't intervene so much. Even if I wasn't, and I hadn't ended up in some fate worse than death, I'd still probably be really bored without their intervention in my life. Ironic, isn't it - I couldn't really stand all the actions my ROBs took, but I couldn't live without them.

…..Ugh, I spent too much time reading tv tropes before I got on this adventure. Even if it did make life better. Such is how things go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the aftermath of what Mil had told me, I began building up as many units as I could. Tanks, spaceships, wet navy ships, warplanes, bots, anything I could access. My organic creations were swiftly bred and trained, in order to prepare for whatever foes there might be out there. Overall, I took no chances, creating as many units as I dared. Somehow, I knew that, whatever caused the defeat of the other commanders would eventually come to me, and if I hoped to survive, I would need to be as strong as I could hope to be.

For all of my preparation...

For all of my training...

For all that I had learned...

I wasn't strong enough.

Not when they came...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Yeah, big cliffhanger, I know. ****

****Until then, read and review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	174. Annihilation 151

Eventually, the time came for me to return to my universe-crossing adventures. I had prepared a force I believed would be able to steamroll all opposition I encountered, or, failing that, at least keep them busy until I could determine and exploit their real weaknesses. At this point, I had probably passed the point for overkill in regards to most foes I would face, despite some saying that there was no such thing. When you actually want to take prisoners (at least, most of the time), overkill IS a thing.

So, steeling myself, I activated my multiversal gate and sent my Commander through.

XXXXXXXXXXX

My first opinion of my new surroundings was 'wow, that was a lot of trees'. I had found myself surrounded by jungle, where I saw strange cones littering the ground. Occasionally, pale colored rodents would nibble on the cones, before disappearing into the underbrush. Once in a while, large, grey feathered birds would swoop down and try to attack the rodents, occasionally catching their quarry, but more often then now coming up empty clawed. Oddly, all these sights felt familiar.

Now where was I-

"GET CLEM!"

I was pulled out of my pondering by a shout, followed by the sound of gunfire and then a familiar death groan. Turning toward the sounds, I watched as a familiar, one horned being charged into a group of green armored figures, using a sword to cut them to pieces. Following the figure were three more beings: one with a pair of long horns on its head, another with brownish armor and a muscular physique, and the last was pink in coloration, and also the only female among the group.

Excalibur, Loki, Rhino, And Mag.

Which would make the green armored dudes Grineer.

It would also mean I had arrived in the Warframe universe.

...SWEET!

Also, crap, because Sentients.

For now, though, I could focus on killing off the Grineer.

Extending out my sensors, I noticed that three aircraft seemed to be heading my way. Their appearance matched up with Furbolg dropships, so it appeared they were moving in to help out the Grineer. Given that the sun was setting, it appeared that these were Tusk troopers coming in to relieve their Frontier counterparts.

Well, that wasn't going to help them.

I locked my weapons onto the aircraft and waited for them to come closer - too much foliage in the way to get a good shot at the moment. Meanwhile, I started moving some gremlins through the portal and directed them toward the Tenno. Might as well try to ingratiateyself to them as soon as possible.

Also, why did that Excalibur look so different from what I had seen normally?

...WAS THAT EXCALIBUR UMBRA!?

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Tenno, I am detecting an unknown gigantic entity approximately half a kilometer west of your position. It appears to be mechanical in nature, but does not match up with any designs used by the Corpus or the Sentients."

"How big is it, Ordis?"

"...Larger than an Eidolon Hydrolyst, Operator." replied the Cephalon.

Etran winced as the purple lotus image was replaced with that of Ordis, who seemed to deflate when referred to. Part of this was guilt at ruining Ordis' moment as Mission Control. The rest was unease at the Cephalon's statement. Larger than a Hydrolyst? Just what were they dealing with.

"Tenno! Detecting energy buildup in the unknown entity. It appears to be getting ready to..."

A trio of explosions filled the air, followed by three blue orbs of light flying above the Tenno. A moment later, another three explosions filled their air, followed shortly by the sound of crashing metal.

"...Detecting metal wreckage near your location, remains match up with those of Furbolg dropships. It appears our unknown has no love for the Grineer...waiti, detecting new contacts, heading your way. Lock and load."

Sighing, Etran reloaded his Tiburon, before scanning the battlefield, trying to find the new arrivals. A momentary ache in his side, though, made him uneasy. Umbra was holding up well, but the fact was that their last firefight had caused him to sustain quite a few injuries. While Umbra himself was powering through it, Etran could tell that he was very uncomfortable right now. Hopefully, he could find a health orb soon.

The sound of a Vulkar firing brought his attention back to reality. Even if the Cell had no idea what the unknown wanted, the Grineer were still a problem that needed addressing. Sighing, Etran opened fire, trying to take down the remaining Grineer.

The sound of whirring next him moved his sights to a bush to his left, just behind a sunlight thresh cone. For a moment, nothing happened, before a strange looking drone emerged, which promptly took shelter behind a trio of barrels the Grineer had left out in the open - apparently meant to store Cicero Toxin. Etran stared on for a moment, unsure what to do, before returning his attention to the Grineer and opening fire. The sniper went down a moment later, removing the most dangerous threat among the clones...at least for the moment.

Turning his attention back toward the drone, Etran was surprised to see that it was now right next to him, and reflexively tried to strike it with his Skiajati. The drone dodged back in surprise, only to charge toward him when the Grineer started firing on it. Etran readied to strike again, but when it became obvious the machine would not attack, he relaxed. Curiously, the machine never seemed to stop staring at him though. As he wondered why, he was surprised when the machine began releasing a blue colored mist all over him. He drew his Skiajati again, only to be surprised when he discovered that his biometric had gone back up - it appeared that the mist functioned much like the one used to revived down Tenno or those the Tenno had been contracted to rescue.

Another blaze of gunfire flew past them, but this time, the drone did not shrink from it. Instead, it flew toward the nearest enemy, a Heavy Gunner, and, much to his surprise, shot a burst of electricity before the Grineer could react, causing her to collapse, convulsing, and with a rapidly falling pulse. The nearby Grineer were also stunned, leaving them sitting ducks for the Tenno, who quickly cut their foes down. The few Grineer who had not been slain knew better than to hold their ground and fell back, with the Tenno pressing their advance.

As they did, more drones appeared, as did...something else. Resembling an insect, but lacking the third pair of limbs, the new arrival quickly advanced on one of the Grineer and ripped the poor clone apart. It stared at the Tenno for a moment, before continuing its advance. More of its kind followed, pushing the Grineer even further back. Soon, the retreat turned into a route.

It wasn't long before the Grineer finally broke ranks. The majority had been wiped out, while the rest new it was time to give up and were already falling back into the few safe areas they had in this forest. Etran wondered how Vay Hel would react when he heard about this - the Councilor was exactly the most reasonable of people.

The new arrivals, however, did not seem to be willing to allow their foes to escape, and were already charging into the tunnels after them. Joining them were several humanoid robots, which also appeared to be carrying breaching charges. One of them looked at the Tenno and waved before following its comrades into the tunnels.

Well, that was odd...

XXXXXXXX

While Hearth waves at the Tenno, apparently wanting to see just how they reacted, I sent the rest of my forces after the Grineer, trying to wipe the rest of them out. With the lead they had, though, one squad was able to reach a firbolg and blast into space before I could kill them. Oh well. I could have killed them if I went for heavier firepower, but that would also destroy part of the forest, and I did not want to make Sylvanna angry. I wanted to fight those Spectres when I felt like it, not all the time.

While all this was going on, I quickly moved a firefly through the portal and started scouting Earth, searching for a suitable base. Eventually, I found a location: a large wasteland two miles East of my arrival site, unoccupied even by the Grineer. Apparently it was the sight of some big Orokin screw up, and Sylvanna had not had time to fix it before undergoing Transference into the Silver Grove. Well, that wouldn't take too much time to fix.

I quickly moved in a transport to take me to the wasteland, after which I set up a vehicle factory and got to work building more fabbers. My Commander, meanwhile, had been put to work purifying the soil, as well as examining the toxic materials still polluting the area and seeing what might be useful later. I quickly set up some stealth systems to hide me from the Grineer, as well as an Orbital factory, so that I could start getting more bases up across the system. Already, my forces were setting up shop on Lua.

While all this was going on, I monitored the comm channels, trying to find out what the native factions in the Origin system were doing, and how the Grineer were reacting to my presence. The squad that had evaded me had apparently been requested to appear before Councilor Bay Hel for debriefing. Poor sods. Meanwhile, the Corpus were busy trying to decide who would be in charge of the next line of proxies, Ergo Glast and Cressa Tal were busy trying to deal with their former comrades, the Arbiters and the Veil were still trying to kill each other, Suda was busy helping Simaris with some big sanctuary project, and Amaryn was busy trying to evict another Grineer force from Earth's forests.

Also, the Tenno I had encountered earlier were now trying to contact me. Apparently (at least as far as my decryption software could tell), Ordis had managed to figure out what frequencies I was using and managed to open up a channel on one of them, asking for a chance to talk to me. I obliged, and told them that I would like to go help them with their endeavors, though I would prefer to coordinate my actions with the Lotus.

..._What do you mean the Lotus isn't available? I thought she had eyes everywhere in the system?!_

..._**THE LOTUS IS MISSING!?**_

XXXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off! **


	175. Annihilation 152

Okay, okay, didn't see that coming, but I can adapt. Just breathe.

So, the Lotus is gone...

Yeah, I need more time to adapt to this. Some headache medicine would also be appreciated.

So, what exactly could I do right now?

…..Alright, well, first, I needed to get to work setting up my forces as soon as possible. Also, I'd need to start shifting my forces over into biological ones, as opposed to mechanical ones - no telling what would happen if I sent those up against the sentients. Assuming Mycona was still active, I'd also need to look into acquiring Technocyte tissue for some of my units...actually, I needed to be careful there, no telling what could happen if I let that get out of control.

Speaking of the Sentients, I should also consider trying to examine the fossilized remains of Eidolon on the plains outside of Cetus - maybe they could give me a hint to how to kill them? I'd already examined one of the Eidolons that, due to the time of my arrival coinciding with sunrise on Warframe's version of Earth (at least relative to the Plains of Eidolon), had been seeking shelter beneath one of the plains' many lakes. The results I got were... rather intimidating - while I could damage it, unless I was using void energy, the amount of firepower needed to crack the shield matched the output of a Doom Ray. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, since I could easily generate that kind of firepower, except that there was a good chance I could take out a large portion of the plains if I missed with an attack of that scale. And since I didn't want the Ostrons to suffer because of my actions, using Doom Rays was out of the question. Ugh, what a pain. Hmm, maybe I could use a void key to damage it, like how Vor did...does?

Ugh, Sentients were just...just...I'm not sure what would be the word for them. While their technology was awesome, they also proved to be one my most tenacious and dangerous foes. You would not believe how hard they were to kill, or how hard they tried to subvert my technology. Their tenacity was something I respected, even if I was completely opposed to their actions. True, the Orokin WERE basterds, and the Sentients has legitimate reasons to oppose them, but that didn't change my thoughts on them.

Back on topic - it would be too hard to access Corpus technology - I could easily just buy one of two of their low level facilities, then hack into the rest. The Corpus' worship of Greed meant they wouldn't question me as long as I didn't buy too much off at first. As for the Grineer, I'd already begun hacking into their systems using some of their facilities on Earth, which the Tenno had left abandoned following their attacks. Idly, I managed to learn how to synthesize the thrax toxin, whose formula I quickly put into storage in case the boil on the Plains ever became a problem again. Which, all things considered, seemed more like a certainty than a possibility. I also took the time to steal the schematics for the Eidolon Lures, so I'd have at least some way to deal with the Eidolons, at least until I could find more effective means to destroy them.

While I was planning all of this out, I also sent out some scouts to try and access what remained of the Lotus' network of spies and agents in the Origin System, so that I could at least attempt to figure out where she had gone. Ordis probably had some information on that, but he had surprisingly effective defenses that prevented me from just taking the information from him, plus I simply did not WANT to steal the intel from him - I LIKED Ordis, so violating his perszonal files was not something I intended to do.

So, with everything set up, I just decided to take one hour to sit back, rest, and see where my leads went.

XXXXXXXX

What I got was...interesting.

First off, the Grineer were sending out Kuva siphons way more often than normal, apparently because the Queens really needed a lot of the red stuff. Apparently, the Tenno who'd met the Queens had decided to just let the Elder Queen live in her rotting body, and the huge amounts of Kuva they were gathering was an effort to keep her body still functional. Seeing how her body was experiencing several organ failures A DAY at this point, I couldn't blame her. Briefly, I considered blowing up the Luva Fortress, but quickly decided against it - sure, I could hit it, easily, and wipe out the Grineer leadership, but I had no idea how the rest would react to that. For all I knew, they'd start blindly attacking everyone if the Queens died. Plus I needed time to examine their well defended systems for intel on the Kuva Siphons - my scans didn't exactly give any detail on the weird machines, while my attempts to capture/disassemble them were...embarrassing. Apparently, those siphons were totally resistant to anything except for void energy charged Kuva Clouds. As for Kuva itself, while I could figure out its composition, I had no idea how to synthesize it. I'd need either the data in the Kuva Fortress or help from the Unum to figure out that secret.

As for the Corpus, well, nothing unexpected. Shares changed hands, funds were transferred, a Razorback Armada was busy being prepared (which I secretly stole for myself, along with a Fomorian fleet), and so on. To my surprise, though, it appeared the Tenno had been helping Ergo Glast, as Nef Anyo had apparently transferred some of Glast's former holdings near Eris back to him. Apparently, it had involved another high stakes round of the Index, with a Helminth Charger as a prize. And yes, Anyo has tried to cheat, only for the Tenno to catch him. This was just too predictable. Also, Frohd Bek was still trying to figure out what to make for a new line of proxies after Glast made Animo go bust.

On the Infested Front, aside from some J-3 Golems and a few outbreaks, nothing special.

Oh, and I had...somehow...received a request to meet someone in Cetus...what?

Who invited me to Cetus?

A few minutes of hacking provided me no answer to that question. Sighing, I decided to head to Cetus. Apparently, whoever I was supposed to meet with had informed Konzu that I would be arriving and that I was to ask him for directions to the actual meeting spot.

Hopefully, it wasn't a trap.

XXXXXXXX

For the record, it wasn't, but I would have preferred less cloak and dagger.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	176. Annihilation 153

My arrival at Cetus was...well, not exactly subtle. Of course, that was intentional - I wanted the Ostrons to trust me, and sneaking into their home wasn't going to help me with that goal._ At All._ Thus, I had arranged to arrive at the town in a repainted XCOM skyranger (apparently, they'd upgraded to using the one in XCOM 2 some time ago - maybe Asaru looked at that universe and decided that he liked the design?), which I maneuvered over the pad you arrived at in game, before setting it back on auto and jumping off. True, I could've just controlled it mentally all the way in, but I felt that learning how to pilot it on my own would be a nice skill to have. Also, I had been bored, and needed something to do.

Following my arrival, I took a brief moment to throw off any tails I might have had and began looking at a few of the merchants' wares. While part of this was an attempt to seem normal, another part was an actual desire to see what was available and set up a wishlist for the future - I did, at the very least, have an interest in catching some fish and picking up gem crafting (mostly because it would have been a valid excuse for how I was so wealthy), so I made sure to check with Suumbaat and Hai-Luk to see how much they wanted for the most basic of Ore Cutters and Fishing Spears. I also briefly examined zaw parts at Hok's, if only because I really liked their looks and thought that one would make a nice melee weapon for my avatar.

Eventually, after examining a few more vendors (including Nakak), I made my way over to Konzu's Bounty Board, where he was busy sending off another group of Tenno. HIs eye's widened in surprise at me, but overall, he didn't make much of a fuss about my appearance. That made me smile with relief - I'd been getting really exasperated with all of the stares I got from the Ostrons, so having someone who more or brushed it off for a change was rather nice. After he sent the last of his current hires off, he motioned for me to come closer.

"Greetings, Offworlder! I'm hiring combat talent. You wanna talk rates?"

"I would, but right now, I have more pressing matters?"

"Aye yo, what do you mean?"

"Well," I whispered, "someone said that they wanted to meet with me here. They also said that I was supposed to ask you where they wanted to meet at Cetus."

"I see...Did they offer any way to prove this claim, friend?"

Rather than speak to him, I pulled up a handheld holo-projector and projected a Symbol in front of him. One that looked oddly like a feather, and familiar enough that I could guess who had sent it, but I needed to see Konzu's reaction to be sure. The symbol was provided as a sort of passcode, so I assumed/hoped Konzu knew what it meant.

"Ah, I see," was his response. Then he pointed toward a path that I recognized form the game. "Head over there, Surah. That's where you will find your...acquaintance."

I nodded respectfully, and briefly dipped into my pocket to offer him something...then realized I had no idea what to give him. I thought for a moment, before taking out a tiny piece of firaxite I had brought with me from my ship. "Here," I said, "as a token of my appreciation."

Konzu was surprised by my kindness, but he quickly recovered and, with some reluctance, accepted my gift. "Well, that was...unexpected. Thank you, Surah."

I merel nodded, before departing down the path he had indicated.

XXXXX

A few moments later, and I had arrived before a large stone door, which quickly opened before me. As soon as I was inside, the doors sealed, though I was not surprised by that. Whatever was about to be said, it needed to be done in private.

All over the room I was in, mystical objects were strewn about. Cuirasses and helmets were and display stands, while shelves were stacked high with parts for weapons. Amps, if I remembered right. At the back of the room, though, lay the target of my interests: a counter top and, behind it, a man wearing clothing that would not be out of place on the displays.

"Greetings, honored quill."

"Greetings. I would introduce myself, but I believe that unnecessary."

"You assume I know who you are?"

"Correct."

"...Well, you are not wrong. I assume you are Quill Onkko Primary?"

"Indeed. In turn, I assume that you are Commander Flameal15k of the Infernum Federation."

...what...

"...Um...uh...how do you-"

"I am an instrument of the Unum. She knows much about you. Much about your instruments. Memories of a time long past. She tells us that there are differences between the tools that were wielded in her memories and the ones you use now, but it matters not. What she told us was enough to learn the truth about you."

"And What is that truth?"

"That, were we to take away all of you tools and make all of your instruments fall silent, you are merely a young man, a child even, taken far from home."

"..."

"Do not take this as a threat, for none are meant. No harm is desired upon you."

"I see...so, why did you contact me?"

"The Unum is...curious...about your presence. Where you go, the future ebbs away."

"...I'm confused."

"Where you act, possibilities become...uncertain. Where you go, the future cannot be seen. The Unum is troubled by this, and desires us to watch you."

"...really?"

"Correct. No harm is meant...for now. Yet we cannot ignore this ripple forever. Now, though, all that can be done is watch...and wait. If you prove to be a accompaniment to our song, we shall leave you be, AIs you, even. But should your actions prove to spur the Unim's music, we will act to remove you. Is this understood?"

"Of course it is."

"Excellent. Now, please, separate from this node. There is much that must be examined. First, though, a gift." Before he could elaborate on that, Onkko removed a small parcel from beneath his counter and handed it to me. After some prodding, I opened it, and found myself staring at a void key, as well as what appeared to be a void trace. "The Unum has told us that you do not hold any sympathy for the Eidolons, even if you are very similar to them, so we will assist you in trying to hunt them. Know, however, that this will be our only gift to you. The right to more assistance must be earned."

For a moment, I was stunned. The fact that I was holding void energy in my hands was enough to leave me unable to think. I mean, I literally held the Sentients' weakness right between my hands, and I had gotten it for free.

"...Thank you...I understand this is a gift, but...is there any way I could repay you?"

"...If you must, there is. The Grineer have been sending more spy's into Cetus of late, trying to find relics of the Orokin. We have already located one and sent Konzu a request to deal with them. Speak with him and he will direct you in hunting our foe."

"Understood...and thank you."

"Farewell."

XXXXXXXXX

Once I left the Quills' 'stall', I quickly approached Konzu, who knew better than to ask about what had happened, though when I offered to deal with the spy, he seemed to nod approvingly at me, as if understanding that I owed the Quills something. One destroyed armored vault and hacked drone later, and the spy had been caught and sent back for questioning, while the Artifact was back in the Quills' hands. I used what I had earned to purchase a spear from Hai-Luk and the basic ore cutter from Suumbaat, and I was able to batter off some of my spoils to Nakak and Master Teasonai for an Excalibur mask and a caged Condroc and Kuaka, while still having enough left to gain the design for the Ooltha blade from Hok. I briefly returned to the Plains after that to go and gather a few more things I wanted (among them a mawfish) and disrupt a Grineer supply drop, before finally returning to my base.

Despite my glee from my recent excursion to the Plains, though, something was still bothering me - the Unum knew what I was. So did the Quills. How eluded me.

Somehow, though, I knew that it involved the Progenitors.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	177. Annihilation 154

The Unum's Knowledge of who I was was not something I wanted to ignore. If she knew, odds were, so did someone else. Potentially the Sentients, given the Unum's age, and wasn't that an unnerving thought. I needed answers, and I needed them now.

Of course, that ran into an obvious problem - where should I look? The Orokin might know, but as far as I knew, they were all dead, except for Silvanna and the Queens. The Queens were an obvious no-go, while Silvanna...eh, I decided to let her rest. Besides, the Kuva Grineer were busy using some siphons to harvest Kuva on Earth, and I did not want to go against them just yet.

The Corrupted and Infested were my next best targets, since both were created by the Orokin (thank you, decadent space basterds, for that), but those presented their own problems. Entering the void blind was a very dumb idea, plus I had no idea how the Man in the Wall would react to my intrusion on his domain. As for the Infested, well, the best thing to do when near most forms of Infestation was to kill them with fire, and entering the derelicts had similar risks to those with the void.

Moving on, I decided to try my luck with the Corpus. _That_ got me results - apparently, the Corpus believed my forces to be some kind of new Sentient (not completely wrong, but not entirely true either) and had been scouring the void, trying to see what the Orokin knew of me, and how to fight them off. Apparently, they'd located several towers in the Orokin Void that might contain the information I desire. Unfortunately, to access said towers, they needed special Void Keys that, apparently, were hidden in the derelict.

I used my avatar to sneak into the Corpus ships carrying the data and steal said intel without raising a stink. The Corpus didn't yet know that my avatar was anothe rpart of my forced, so I was hoping that, by stealing he data the way the Tenno did, the Board would dismiss me as another syndicate or another ally with the Tenno. Ironically, while they were busy running from some of the forces, they were also trading with my more diplomatic creations. I was going to love their expressions once they figured out who, exactly, they were hawking their wears to.

Once I had the data, I proceeded to make my move on the derelicts. My initial plan to make off with the keys while only fighting the Infested and maybe one other party fell apart when the Infested and Corpus I happened to be killing were suddenly attacked by both the Grineer and the Tenno. Apparently, the Grineer has opened up a Void Portal aboard the ship, and the Tenno were trying to sabotage it. I quickly arranged a truce with the Tenno so that we could deal with the Grineer, as they were no one's ally.

One Void Key and some comments from Sprag and Ven'kra Tel later, and the portal was out of commission. As it happened, the keys I was looking for were stored in one of the Reapurce Caches the Grineer had aboard the derelict, alongside some Argon Crystals, which I quickly put into a specialized storage system that'd keep them from decaying. I wanted to use those things, and I was not letting them fade away just yet.

With the keys in hand, now came the actual assault on the void to see what was so important. This time, I wouldn't be alone, as the Tenno had offered to accompany me. Part of me felt that they were growing suspicious of my actions, but refusing their help would probably just confirm those suspicious. Besides, space ninjas were awesome.

So, once I had located all possible towers that might have held the data I was looking for, our infiltration commenced.

XXXXXX

Entering the void is...weird. The teleportation process makes your stomach churn, your eyes sting, and your head ache like no tomorrow...but only for the first time. After that, all it does is make you feel ticklish. As this the second time I had used a void portal, I had to fight a little bit to avoid laughing in response to the funny feeling the void had left me with. It only lasted a moment, but still.

Once the teleport had finished, we made our way into the tower. Among the Tenno I was accompanied by was the one I had seen just after my arrival, who had been wielding Umbra. The familiar face and Warframe offered some comfort, but my comfort was secondary to the mission's success. Joining us were a Nova and Equinox frame, which were less welcoming, but still friendly. The minute we saw the Corrupted, we opened fire.

Our assault was not the only one - across three other towers, an equal number of Cells were helping me search for my target intel, much to my surprise. The fact they weren't asking questions just yet was an oddity, but I assumed they knew I wouldn't open up just yet about my intentions. Trust ran both ways.

Regardless, whether or not I would come clean to them depended entirely on what I found in these towers.

The cell I was tagging along with finally reached the first terminal. As soon as the modified datamass I'd made for this mission was in the console, we took up defensive positions. Since I didn't want people freaking out over how similar I was to the Sentients, I had Fide be the one to do the hacking, accompanied by Ordis, much to my surprise. Apparently, he'd been working with his fellow cephalons to take up the Lotus' role, which was pretty impressive.

Despite my Progenitor tech, it still took a minute to complete the hack. Somehow, the Prokin actually had anti-hacking software that could fend off my spy software for more than thirty seconds. Inevitably, it still fell, but the fact it could resist at all was worrisome. It seemed the Orokin were familiar with my tech. How eluded my, but it did not bode well with me. AT ALL.

That being said, one down, two to go.

XXXXXXX

Despite my expectations (and Finagle's Law), Corrupted Vor was a no show in our tower. In fact, he didn't show up in any of the towers we were raiding.

Despite that, things still turned out to be pretty interesting.

XXXXXXXX

As the final timer ticked down to zero, I called up Fide.

"So, what did we find?"

"Not much that can help us - apparently, the data we retrieved is merely a set of coordinates to some location in the Origin System. I'm tracing it now, but-"

"Tenno (and companion)" interrupted Ordis, using a hologram that was clearly based on the Lotus, "I'm picking up a strange transmission from within the tower. Deciphering it now."

A moment later, the translated transmission began to play.

"Facility compromised. Data cannot be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Initiating tower purge."

Before anyone could question what exactly that meant, the whole tower shook. A moment later, the distant sound of an explosion registered to my ears.

"Warning," remarked Lotus!Ordis, "multiple power fluctuations and explosions detected across all four towers. It appears the Sentry is attempting to scuttle them with us inside. Head to evac now!"

No need to say that twice. Quickly, we charged to distraction, only stopping to engage the few enemies that directly stood in our way. We'd been fighting so many foes that I had actually exhausted the ammunition on both my Laser Rifle and Magnetic Pistol, forcing me to use the Fusion Sword. Granted, I could have used my laser rifle, since I had unlimited ammo for it, but the heat buildup was becoming too problematic. I still hadn't figured out how the Tenno got all those ammo pickups, seeing how I found none, and a few lucky hits had disabled my ammo fabricators in both armor and the pistol I was using. Not that I needed them.

We just barely managed to exit the tower before it completely collapsed into the void. I had no intention of repeating this anytime soon.

XXXXXX

"So," I asked Fide, "did we get any good intel from the other towers?"

"Not exactly. All I got were what appeared to be schematics, security codes, and a list of room contents. Ordis has been helping me examine them, but how they are all related eludes me-ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

That last part was in response to me spamming my head into the nearest wall in annoyance. Why was rather obvious.

"I'm fine. And did it ever occur to you that the coordinates might lead to a facility that the rest of the data is probably referring to?"

"...No...I am sorry."

"As long as you do not make the same mistake, you are forgiven. Now, have you determined where the coordinates lead?"

"Yes, pulling up the location now."

Instantly, a map of the Origin System appeared, followed by the coordinates I had asked examined. The screen quickly zoomed in on the location of the coordinates. Instantly, my heart sank.

The good news was that the location was close by.

As for the bad news?

It was located on Lua.

You know, the only place in the Origin System besides the Plains of Eidolon that had an active Sentient presence.

...I hoped I didn't have to fight too many of them.

XXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	178. Annihilation 155

Preparing for the mission to Lua wasn't exactly easy. I'd already designed weapons that had tons of modular ammunition to counter the Sentient's ability to adapt to whatever I threw at them, but I wasn't sure that those would be enough. Even if I had the Tenno to help me deal with them, I still wasn't entirely sure just what I would encounter. Occulysts, conculysts, And battlysts were a given, but whether that was ALL I was going to encounter there. And that wasn't getting into any Grineer and Corpus who were already there, fighting over the scraps of the Orokin's magnificence.

Still, this had to be done - I needed to learn what the Orokin knew about the Progenitors, and this was probably the best place to start. Hopefully, it wouldn't screw me over...at least, not too much.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Our arrival was mostly a quiet affair, though that was primarily because the forces already present at the part of Lua we were heading toward were too busy killing each other to notice our insertion. This time, I was with a full cell, with me as support. My companions were the Excalibur Umbra I'd worked with earlier, alongside an Oberon, a mirage, and a Valkyr. Aside from Umbra, who wielded a Braton Vandal, Sicarus, and a nikana called the Skijati, each cell member was wielding the weapons that came with their Warframe bundle. Rather bland in my opinion, but still nothing to laugh at. Unlike the last cell I'd traveled with, this one was far more openly friendly with me, if still not very talkative...well, except for Umbra, who'd finally decided to open up on that front.

"So," began the Tenno, in a distinctively male voice, "you think whatever you're looking for is in here?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I see...do you have a name I can call you?"

"...I do, but I don't really use it anymore?"

"..…..Why?"

"Well, I guess it's because that name doesn't really belong to me anymore. You see, I've been through a year of things so out of tune with who I was, I don't really feel like the person I used to be when I had that name."

As cheesy as it sounded, it was true. It'd been almost a year since I'd become a Commander, and now, I wasn't really sure who I was anymore. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true, but even so, it felt odd to think about my old name. I mean, I'd told Rory and my kids that, and all of my subordinate AIs and units knew it, but they'd never addressed me by it. All they had ever called me was 'Commander', 'Flame', or 'father/dad'. Heck, not even Melissa had used my name when talking to me.

"Oh. I see...Is there a name you want to be called by?"

"...Well, you could call me Flame."

"Flame?"

"Yeah. I apologize if any Embers you know take offence to that."

"Haha...Odd choice of name, but I've heard weirder."

"Like Nef Anyo?"

"And Derf."

We both chuckled at that.

"So, why are you looking into this particular part of Lua?"

"Well, I want to know about myself. I mean, I know a lot about who and what I am, but I'm still missing a few pieces, and I think the Orokin's ruins might have some answers."

Not the full truth, but not an outright lie.

"Hopefully, you'll get the answers you seek, com...Surah."

…...Had he been about to say Commander? Did he know something about the Progenitors?

I didn't really have time to ask him about that, because that's when things started getting interesting. See, when we first arrived at Lua, our foes had already been mowing each other down, to the point that initially, all we encountered were corpses from both the Grineer and the Corpus. Now, though, we'd finally met living examples of those two factions, who were busy_ killing the crap of out each other._ The fact that their shared mortal enemy had appeared did nothing to change this, making it easy for us to cut them down.

Unfortunately, just as we finished up the last of them, a pair of occulysts arrived and promptly scanned us. A moment later, a pair of conculysts teleported in to attack us. Quickly, I took cover while the Tenno began opening up with everything they had on the mechanical entities (whether I should call them machines or creatures was something I was still not sure on). Cautiously, I took a few shots at them, firing off first toxic, then magnetic, then electric bullets into them, changing ammunition types as they adapted to what I was using. I managed to down one of the conculysts this was, while the Tenno quickly cut down its ally.

Finagle decided to be a pain at that moment, though, for as soon as we had slain the two sentients, six more entered the room. Sighing, I readied for the oncoming onslaught, only to watch, dumbfounded, as Umbra howled, causing the Sentients to cringe and screech in pain. Then, with a flurry of swings, he cut machine in half, before carefully sheathing his blade. His allies swiftly collected the cores of the Sentients, one of which I managed to snag before they were all gone. Soon, silence returned to the room.

Well, that was unexpected, but welcome. Now onto the rest of the facility!

XXXXXXX

The deeper we went into the Orokin Moon, the more resistance we faced. Ballistas and sniper crewman traded fire along hallways while Hyekkas and Drakks tore into ratels. Occasionally, Corrupted would actually pour out of some rooms, trying to cut down the invaders. Regardless of who they were though, they fell before our onslaught. None could stand before our might. Not even the token sentients that we encountered could halt our advance.

Eventually, we reached the coordinates provided to us by the void tower. Immediately, differences between this place and the rest of Lua (well, at least the rest of this particular part) were evident - namely, that this section seemed cleaner and more pristine than what we had encountered so far.

Also, there were a lot of death orbs surrounding it, some of which seemed to have been bolted onto the floor in odd places...wait, why aren't they at the center of the room or in their own little spots on the floor?

And why am I getting a bunch of Sentient energy signatures in front of the facility?

I pondered those questions for a moment, before opening fire on one of the orbs. A moment later, it transformed into a being resembling the sentients I'd encountered up to this point.

Figures.

"What do you call those things?" I asked to my Tenno companion, "...and what is your name? I just realized I never asked."

"Those are mimics, and it's Etran."

"Thanks for the info. So, what's these things' special trick? Just camouflage, or do they have some other special attack?"

"Their arms are beam cannons, and they can move the entire limb while still maintaining fire, like the newest model of Ambulas. I'd advise trying to put some vertical distance between yourself and that beam unless you want to get cut in two."

"Understood. Can I leave the sentient slaying to you?"

"With pleasure."

Immediately following that statement, the Tenno charged. They quickly began hammering the Mimic's with their weapons, and when the sentients tried to adapt, the Tenno merely emerged from their warframes' and used their void powers to continue the onslaught. What truly caught me off guard, though, was Umbra, for when his operator left, instead of remaining still,_ he charged into battle beside his master._ For a moment, I could only stare on in stunned silence at this. How? How did he do it? How could that warframe operate on its own?

Immediately, I decided to begin acquiring warframe schematics and attempt to create my own frames. I also made a note to ask the Tenno for advice on how to control, and to endure whatever curses hey through at me when they realized I stole their power.

That didn't exactly work out how I planned it, but we'll talk about that when the time comes.

Back on Lua, the Tenno rapidly mopped up the last of the Mimics, allowing us to approach the facility. Using the codes one of the towers had provided us, we quickly went inside. I expected us to meet some kind of guardian entity, or perhaps a few additional Sentients. Instead, we found nothing - at least, in relation to guards.

The facility, for the most part, was empty, although I could see several tubes moving life support items throughout the length and width of the building. Occasionally, sentry drones flew past us, only staring for a moment before moving on. Lunar pitchers dotted the building, including several that grew to tremendous sizes. At the center of the room we arrived in appeared to be some kind of tank, though it was empty at the moment.

With some reluctance, our group separated, each of us going into a different part of the facility to figure out what its purpose was. I stayed in the main area, while the rest of the group ventured into the rooms deeper into the bowels of the facility. Approaching a computer terminal, I quickly activated my decryption software and began hacking into it, while also opening up a channel to Fide.

"So, anything new pop up around the Origin System? Anything that might help us find what were looking for?"

"Nothing major just yet. So far, everyone is still reacting to our arrival - the Grineer are still trying to figure out just how we beat them so soundly earlier with osprey sized drones, the Corpus are only now starting to realize how valuable our wares are, the Infested having really done much besides try to much on some probes we sent out near Eris, and the Sentients, well, they've been awfully quiet, though even if they were more active, our decryption software is still translating their language, so that would hardly benefit us at the moment."

Stupid Sentient adaptability. "Any Sentient related advice you could give me that is relevant for this mission? Like, if there are any nearby?"

"I've been detecting Sentient energy signatures all around your area for some time, but most have been passive. Additionally, I've noticed that several has gone from one part of Lua to another practically instantly, so it is likely the largest concentrations of Sentient energy in the area are actually resting areas where they wait to be called upon by Occulysts."

"Okay, good advice." A pinging noise alerted me to the fact that my hack was complete, which caused the bottom of the tank to open up as something entered the once empty glass structure. A moment later, a terminal emerged out of the ground by the tank, which appeared to have five rings on it.

Okay, time to consult my Tenno friends for help.

"Um, Etran? I need your help. I managed to get something to happen in the main room, but now a new terminal appeared, and I don't know how to hack past it."

"Does it have a bunch of rings on it?"

"..Yes, actually, it does."

"Just solved two of those not too long ago. The rings have symbols on them, and you need to match up the symbols with the passcode to solve the terminal. The code should be located somewhere in this room, look around and search for parts of it."

His advice proved sound - it took me at most five minutes to find the code, and mere seconds to match up the rings with said code. As soon as it was complete, the walls of the container rapidly disintegrated, leaving behind its contents.

The minute I saw them, I gulped in shock. No way I could be seeing what I thought I was seeing.

Yet there was no denying it - before me was a Planetary Annihilation basic fabber bot. Admittedly one that was horribly damaged, but still.

"...What?...Commander, how did this end up here?"

"I have no idea, but I'm getting it out of here."

It wasn't all that hard to get the wreck moving - their was a sort of railway system that I could send it along easily, since I had assumed command of the facility following the last hack. Quickly, I radioed in the Tenno and told them I had found what I was looking for, and that we were leaving. Good thing we were, too - apparently, setting the wreck moving had agitated the Sentients, and more than three dozen were headed our way. We hastily retreated to the marked extraction point, where one of my transports was just taking off with the wreck.

"COMMANDER, LOOK OUT!"

Before I could question Fide's warning, the ceiling above us collapsed as something large fell to the ground. Once the dust cleared, I could move out the object's features in more detail - it was round, hexapedal…

Oh yeah, and it was definitely a Sentient.

And it was blocking our way. Oh joy.

XXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	179. Annihilation 156

I barely managed to slide into cover before a huge golden projectile collided with where I had previously been standing. The rest of the Cell had already begun trying to circle around the newly arrived Sentient, attempting to divide its attention and prevent it from being able to wipe us all out in one hit. I quickly threw a frag grenade at it, but although the hit clearly hurt the machine, it wasn't enough to do more than inconvenience it.

"So," I questioned to Etran, ihoping Ordis (who I had learned was_ his_ cephalon) would also hear the question, "you know what this thing is?"

"Nope. Neither does Ordis. This is the first time we've ever faced this kind of Sentient."

"So we have absolutely no idea what its attacks are or what void energy will do to it?"

"Not at all."

"Ugh...wait, you aren't surprised that I know about your void powers?"

"Onkko said he told you about them. Said it was 'important to the proper development of the future."

Did I tell you guys the Quills are_ weird?_ No? Well, now I did.

"Alright then. So, any ideas on the name of this new Sentient?"

"Can we kill it first, then name it?"

"Fine by me."

Putting a hold on our conversation, we instead focused our attention on turning the Sentient into a mix of scrap and charred flesh. Apparently, this new type of Sentient's primary attack was, in essence, an energy mortar system. Powerful, but slow and relatively easy to dodge. It reminded me of a wraith from Halo, actually. IT even had the weak spot in its rear. Unlike the Wraith, though, this being could take quite a bit of damage before it fell. Furthermore, it also seemed to have some kind of heavy golden armor on it, and I do mean armor, not shields - according to the scanners I'd put in my Avatar, our attacks were actually hitting our foe, its just that the armor slowed down our bullets nad prevented any melee attacks we launched from hitting the flesh beneath.

Yes, Sentients have flesh. There's a reason why I'm not sure whether they count as machines or organisms.

While we wore down the Sentient, I had the funny feeling that something wasn't right about this fight. It was only after five minutes of wailing on it that I finally realized what was bugging me.

"Fide, wasn't there an army of Sentients converging on our location?"

"Correct. Scanning facility now...it appears the Grineer and Corpus attempted to access the facility shortly after you left, and are now engaged with the Sentients. Corrupted forces on Lua are also converging on this location, so it appears that a four way battle is going on behind you."

"Whose most likely to win, and what does that mean for us?"

"The most likely winners of the fight will be either the Corrupted or Sentients, at thirty percent each. Obviously, the Sentients are trying to kill you, and I doubt the Corrupted would have goals that are any different."

"And the Grineer and Corpus?"

"Those two each stand a twenty percent chance of winning, and should either of_ them_ win, they will likely attempt to loot the facility. They may give chase to you, but really, one relic is not worth that much to them."

"So, odds are, we're gonna have some tails following us after-"

My question to Fide was interrupted by a loud wail coming from the center of the room. Turning toward it, I saw the giant sentient staring at me, only now, its primary weapon appeared to be retracted. I wondered what it was about to do, and found myself watching it rear up onto its second and third pair of legs, raise its front-most set of limbs upward until they were almost vertical, then slam them back down. Instantly, a surge of blue energy charged at me through the ground, and I only just managed to roll out of its way. A moment later, the surge detonated, shattering the ground along its path.

Huh. So that was its attack. Reminded me of an Eidolon.

"Well," I said, deliberately loud enough for everyone else to hear, "now we know what its special attack is."

"Indeed," remarked Ordis, "now can we focus on TEARING IT TO SHREDS!"

No objections were made to that, and we quickly renewed our assault on the machine. Unfortunately, the armor was still blunting our assault - this thing had a few cuts and bruises, and one or two deep wounds on it, leaking out a non-insignificant amount of blood, but aside from occasionally lifting one of its legs to put pressure on those wounds, it wasn't negatively impacted in any way. We needed to figure out how to take it down, and soon.

The Tenno, who had been blasting it with their amps and void blasts, finally started to realize that their attacks weren't extremely effective and decided to try something new. One of the Tenno, a aquamarine-haired girl who had been controlling the Oberon, transferred back into her frame, then charged at the Sentient. As the machine readied to fry her with its mortar, she transferred back out of her suit, then void dashed into her foe. Instantly, the Sentient reacted, flying back a few feet, legs digging into the ground to keep it from falling. For a moment, it seemed dazed.

Also, it wasn't glowing gold anymore...

I quickly opened fire on the vaguely insectoid machine. Sure enough, it shrieked in pain, and all of my hits drew blood.

It appeared that void dashing removed its armor, or at least weakened it. Nice.

My temporary cell seemed to share my happiness at this new discovery, as they promptly began tearing into the Sentient. Now that they knew how to kill it, things had suddenly gotten a lot more even.

The battle soon devolved into a routine - one of the Tenno would use their void dash to remove the Sentient's armor, then join the rest of us in unleashing a barrage of bullets, lasers, plasma and void energy on the machine. Once the armor returned, another Tenno would void dash it, and so the cycle repeated. The poor machine didn't stand a chance.

Also, the Corpus and Grineer had just pulled in some reinforcements, so the odds of them winning the battle had increased. At the moment, though, it didn't look like that battle would end anytime soon.

Finally, after a total of fifteen minutes of nonstop punishment, our foe began to give. It was bleeding heavily from about seven different major wounds, was absolutely riddled with bullets, and seemed to be having trouble supporting itself. Realizing just how bad its situation was, it reared up again for another attack...….

..…..except this time, it was as one of the Tenno Void Dashed through it.

I'll never forget how hilarious it was to watch such a large, heavily built machine go flying into a wall. As if that wasn't humiliating enough, it turned out that the Sentient's underbelly was another of its weak spots. To say it died pathetically was an understatement.

"So," I asked as the Sentient finally stopped twitching, "any name ideas for this thing?"

".….Something embodying a lot of raw destructive power," was the response of the female Tenno who had controlled the Oberon.

"Hmm...Would 'Destructolyst' work? And what's you name?"

"One: yes, and two, Cyreesia."

"Interesting name."

"Says you. So, can we leave."

"...Just let me do one more thing."

Before they could ask what that was, I walked up to the Sentient's corpse and rammed my hand through it. A moment later, I pulled it back out, along with a strange looking component...organ...thing.

"...You're gonna give that to the quills, aren't you?"

"Yep."

A moment later, my skyranger returned, as did the Tenno's landing crafts. I quickly loaded the sentient carcass aboard - hopefully I could examine it and possibly find some more weaknesses - before boarding it and blasting back to Earth, with the Tenno quickly making their retreat.

Before I returned home, though, I received a transmission from the Tenno. Etran, to be exact.

Opening it up, I quickly read the text.

_Thanks for all of the help so far. I don't know why you're offering it, but know that it is appreciated. You've done a lot for us, yet you barely even know us. So here, take this, as a token of our appreciation._

I couldn't help but smile at what I read. It seemed that they really liked my help.

Curious about his final lines, I quickly opened the attachments with the transmission.

...Okay, a Mk-1 Braton, a Lato, and a Skana, plus a regular Braton Blueprint. Now exactly a big deal, but still nice. So, what are these other five ones?

..….No way. A FULL SET OF EXCALIBUR PART BLUEPRINTS?! SWEET?!

Now onto the last one.

..…..What?

..…..Seriously, what?

THE BLUEPRINTS FOR EXCALIBUR UMBRA!?

Okay, why, exactly, were the Tenno giving me this?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Just for reference, I'll usually refer to Sentients as being mechanical, but they really blur the line between organism and machine, so I may also refer to them as creatures. This is intentional.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	180. Interlude 25

"Operator," Questioned Ordis, "was it right for us to give the Commander access to Umbra? As well as all of the other equipment we offered him? He isn't even a Tenno, for Void's sake!"

"I know, but we owe him that much, for their assistance."

"...their assistance?"

"...I apologize, but have you recovered your memories from the Old War?"

"Yes, but I do not like to remember them, nor do I see their importance to this-"

"Then I want you to think back to the Hall of Conchordance, specifically the Union of the Void."

"Operator-"

"ORDIS, DO IT!" Shouted Etran, patience finally worn thin.

"Understood Operator. _Though how this relates to our actions...is...oh."_

Even as Ordis finally seemed to realize why exactly the offerin had been made, Etran himself felt the memory flowing back to him. This was why they were helping the Commander. Why they were giving so much to a complete stranger.

Because while this Commander was a stranger to them, his kind was not.

XXXXXXXXXX

Etran watched as the Golden Creatire approaches Ballas. Behind him were strange machines, some humanoid, some more insectile in appearance, and the remainder were too mechanical to compare to the rest. Before both golden overlords was a piece of paper of all things, with some writing on it. All of this was meaningless to the Excalibur wielding Tenno. Only the golden lords were concerned with the paper, and what it embodied.

"So," spoke the Executor, "do we have an agreement?"

"My apologies," intoned the Golden Monster, "but is it okay if we go over the terms one more time? For the record."

"Of course. In truth, I'm surprised you did not ask this earlier, or more often. The Council tends to have an...unhealthy obsession with repetition of statements."

"My fellows seem to share that problem."

"Ah, someone who understands! How wonderful. But that is for a later time. Now, to the terms.

"In exchange for an increase in trade, and our intervention in your expansion, you have offered to assist us in repelling the Sentients, as well as provide us with more of your technology."

"Specifically, this," replied the Golden Beast, extending its armored right hand. A moment later, an emitter emerged from the armor and began spraying the ground before it with some kind of blue substance, which soon resolved itself into an Ayatan.

"Such rapid construction. Even our forms derived assembly systems pale in comparison to the speed your technology has displayed."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Executor."

"The Council seems to think differently. But I digress, that is irrelevant. But may I ask you two more questions before this agreement is signed?"

"I will allow it."

"Thank you. First, are you sure that the Sentients will not be able to subvert this new innovation? All we have sent to slay them has been turned back into us. I would not like to know what would happen if they had this power in their hands."

"I have tested our counter measures against all of the samples of these Tau-based foes that you have provide me. The results have been the same in every experiment - the sample is destroyed long before it can subvert our machinery. Give it ten thousand years, and perhaps your fears shall hold water, but with our technology, and your Tenno, that will never be a concern."

"Excellent."

"Now, what is your other question?"

"I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but is your technology and your wares all you will offer us in exchange for our help? This war has taken much from us, and you are helping my people win this conflict in exchange for help in another, one with fronts that exceed anything that we have ever fought in before."

"If you assist us, you will be rewarded handsomely."

"How so?"

"When we win this conflict, we will divide up the universes we conquered among ourselves and our allies. I can assure you that the Orokin will be among the first to receive spoils when the war been won, and our march home begins."

"Hmm...I see no problem with that."

"So we are in agreement, Executor"

"If you are willing to change the terms of the agreement to reflect the new concessions you have offered, then yes. I want these offering to be held to memory."

"Of course."

A few minutes later, and the modified contract was signed, making the Orokin, and these makers of wonders, both allies and brothers in arms. Only the second really held any meaning to Etran. Peace was...not his place. Not now.

"May I ask you a question about your silent guardian, Executor?"

"What do you wish to know?"

"Is your guardian one of the fabled Tenno, masters of the Warframes?"

"...Yes, it is..."

"I apologize. I had forgotten that this mastery came from, what did you call it, Void Devilry?"

"That is the term."

"I see. Do you mind if I could observe it for a moment? In private? I assure you, I have no intentions of trying to steal its secrets for myself - biotechnology is of little interest to me, and few of my compatriots who specialize in the field would want something so...twisted to study."

"I can agree to that, though you will forgive me if I can only oblige you five minutes with this void demon. Trust goes both ways."

"Of course."

"Very well then. Your time starts now."

With that, the Executor left.

Turning to the Tenno, the Golden Beast's head tilted in thought, watching as the void demon watched him.

"...You don't like him, do you? The Executor."

Etran gave no indication that he acknowledged the question - at this point, he didn't even know how to speak.

"...The Executor did something to wrong you, didn't he? Something horrible, I presume."

For a moment, Etran remained impassive. After a moment, though, he nodded in agreement to the Beast's remark.

"I thought so. I take it that you eventually plan to seek vengeance on him, will you not?"

Again, Etran nodded, albeit with some reluctance.

"I can assure you Ballas is not watching. Know that, should you seek revenge on Ballas and his fellows, I will offer you no assistance...nor will I offer you any resistance. My only request is that you do not completely set the Orokin's Enpire to the torch. Not all of them are evil."

Etran didn't even hesistate to nod at this - already, his siblings were making plans for that little eventuality.

"Well, then, I believe there is only one thing I have left to tell you, or rather, ask of you."

Etran gestured for the beast to continue.

"The Orokin are already preparing to send Dax soldiers to assist us, but other than that and a few ships, I doubt they will provide us much aid before you seek repayment for the injustices inflicted upon you. So this is what I ask: when we win, will you help us rebuild? I promise to help you rebuild first."

Etran thought for a moment on this, before nodding.

"Good. We still have thirty seconds of time left to 'talk', so make of that what you will."

XXXXXXXXXX

Indeed, the Golden Beast and its technology had helped to defeat the Sentients, but after the Orokin had been purged, the Tenno found that they could no longer contact it, not evening to leave it a message. Much time had passed, but they had not forgotten the Beast's bargain. One the Tenno had yet to fulfill.

Then the Commander had come. The Tenno knew what he was, the golden beasts had already told them that secret. This one, not even knowing about the bargain made so many eons ago, had chosen to start helping the Tenno free the Origin System, out of his own free will, no less. The technology offered to him had merely been a token of their appreciation.

Except Umbra. That had only been given at the behest of Onkko and the Quills. The Tenno were already hedging bets on how long it would take for that to backfire.

XXXXXXXX

"What do you MEAN that the forces have been UNABLE to CRUSH this MACHINE?"

Sergeant Nork'tal shuddered as Vay'Hek verbally tore into him, demanding answers on why his unit had failed to defeat this new force that had arrived in the Origin System. Normally, Nork wouldn't be the one delivering this news - usually a higher ranking officer would be the one to do so. Unfortunately, all of his superiors had been either killed or incapacitated in the various assaults they had launched on the machine's forces, leaving him as the current highest ranking officer among his division.

Swallowing in resignation, Tal offered his response.

"Councilor, with all due respect, we failed to repel the machine and its armies because my superiors attempted to take it head on, without exception. Even when we were repulsed, at no point did they attempt to try a different strategy other than a frontal assault...I take that back. We did attempt to requisition the usage of the Grustrag Three to infiltrate one of the machine's bases, but Tengus was in the middle of healing them. I...apologize for our lack of success."

The Councilor stared at him for a moment, no doubt deciding on how to punish him-

"VERY WELL. For you FAILURE, you are to be sent to CERES to REBUILD the FLEET your SUPERIORS have cost us."

Well, not the worst punishment imaginable, so that was a plus. Sure, he was likely to die, but at least he wasn't trying to catch infested specimens.

"IF you survive to see the fleet rebuilt, then you are to REPORT BACK TO ME...AT ONCE...LIEUTENANT!"

...Lieutenant?!

"Sir?"

"You have a POINT about how your SUPERIORS were clearly to IGNORANT to launch an effective assault on this pile of SCRAP, so while you must be PUNISHED for failing to even scratch this machine, you are ALSO to be ACKNOWLEDGED for your INSIGHT! DO NOT EXPECT SUCH LENIENCY AGAIN!"

"...Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, in summary, Ms. Armas, an unknown party has shown up and begun assisting the Tenno in defanging the Grineer, raiding our own, pruning the Infested, recovering void artifacts...and getting away with it all unopposed?"

"Y-yes, Mr. Anyo."

"...Why, exactly, have we not received payment, with interest, on our stolen wares?"

"We've been trying to bait them into the Index, then attempt to, for lack of a better term, hustle them. The results have been...embarrassing. Evidently, they were expecting foul play."

"By the Void, this cannot be allowed to continue. Stop them, or you will be relegated to head of waste disposal. AND TELL EUDICO TO PICK UP THE PACE ON DISMANTLING SOLARIS UNITED! HOW ARE THEY STILL ABLE TO BE SUCH A THREAT FOR THIS MANY YEARS!? IT IS RIDICULOUS!"

XXXXXX

"So, new friend of yours is putting the hurt on the Grineer?"

"Indeed, Ms. Eudico. The Grineer have actually had to role back elements of their forces on the plains to deal with them. My people have become more active of late - not too much, but when the Grineer aren't constantly trying to attack the Unum, or us, we can afford to stand taller."

"Can't fault your logic there. You think he might help us?"

"Well, he's no friend of the Corpus, so I would say yes."

"Thank you, Konzu."

"A pleasure, Surah."

XXXXXXX

"So, an old foe has returned at last."

"Shouldn't we destroy them, mother?"

"Patience, Natah. Your father and I know the threat this foe possesses, and he shall be broken, in time, but we both know to be cautious, for now."

"I see. So you intend to leave him be, for the moment?"

"Of course not. Zen'Hurros, come."

"Yes, my lady?"

"Gather your shards. Follow the tool of the golden beast. Do what you can to hinder him, and capture any technology he leaves behind. While destroying him will be enough to achieve our goals, subverting his strength will make defeating the Tenno that much easier."

"Of course. Your will be done."

"Good. Now, daughter dear, could you check on Ballas? I need to be sure whether he is healing properly."

"Understood."

Though Natah complied with her orders, internally, she was worried - why were they leaving such a powerful foe to grow stronger. Shouldn't they nip this one in the bud? Leaving it be only allowed it time to build strength.

Worse still, a traitorous part of her was fine with it getting stronger and aiding the Tenno. Maybe the Star Children could use to defeat her kin and...and...and make her the Lotus again. This thought revolted Natah, yet at the same time, it also made her gleeful. Part of her wished to destroy all her ties to the Lotus...but another part wished to destroy all ties to Natah. Which would be stronger?

Natah was not sure she wanted to find out.

XXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off! ****


	181. Annihilation 157

While I really wanted to learn more about the fabber and how it arrived in the facility, my attempts to examine it were met with a severe roadblock - apparently, the data file in its (surprisingly intact) memory black box had suffered massive degradation, and would need intensive repair before they could be examined. Don't ask me how the progenitors could do those kind of repairs, they just did. The problem with this, though, was that it would take a long time to repair the data - at least two weeks. For an AI, that might as well be months.

I tried to turn my attention toward creating my own warframes, but that too was met with virtually impassible hurdles - first off, it took me quite a bit of time to get helminth samples the Tenno had provided me with (in addition to all the blueprints) in order to get a working assembly system up for the frames. Second, there was no way to accelerate the warframe creation process - it would still take three days for the frame to be created, in spite of my advances in biotech (which were a rarity among commanders, surprisingly. How come nobody liked biology among those who had been stuffed into war machines by ROBs?). Oh, and worst of all, I couldn't actually control my frames - they just acted like puppets. And as if that wasn't enough, I COULD NOT CREATE UMBRA! My helminth flat out refused to assemble, with its response amounting to 'you cannot hope to control its fury with your powers'._ How could it know that?_ I didn't doubt that controlling my frames would take quite a bit of work, but this was ridiculous.

I had my avatar punch one of the walls aboard the_ Extinction_ in frustration. That slightly hurt me, but was nothing compared to the rage I was feeling at being denied my prize. Seriously, what the hell?

"So, something's not going the way you want it too, isn't it?"

At this point, I had long since become used to Melissa's intrusions into my adventures, and all she received as acknowledgement from me was a worn out sigh.

"Nope."

"Well, I must say, you are rather humorous when your angry. A little cute too."

The first statement barely got any reaction out of me. The minute I registered her second sentence, though, I started blushing. Look, I had plenty of female friends before I became a commander, but I didn't actually have a girlfriend, and frankly, being around females that were my age and weren't related to me (or my subordinates) didn't exactly make me comfortable.

...Okay, actually, I blushing because a pretty girl had called me cute. I wasn't averse to working, doing school work, or hanging out with girls, but them giving me these kinds of compliments made me a little nervous. Even if I thought she was just saying that to rile me up.

"...Are you being serious?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But only in regards to the second statement I made. You are most certainly fun to watch when you are angry?"

"Hmph."

"So, what's got you riled up?"

"I just finished building an Excalibur warframe, but I can't control it. Worse, my own helminth subordinate flat out refused to let me build an Excalibur Umbra. Said 'I couldn't control its rage'. What does he know about my powers? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if some other commander had already built his own warframes and given them bullet hell powers."

"Well, if you can't get that to work, might I suggest trying to seek out other ways of improving your control on the Origin System."

"And what might those be?"

"Well, perhaps you could start by helping out Cetus some more? Maybe earn the Ostrons' trust, and that of the Quills while you are at it. I do know for a fact you are still interested in why they chose to help you, and what exactly the could offer you. Plus I doubt you aren't interested in getting a zaw or two."

Those_ were_ cool looking blades….

"True...fine, I'll go down and see what help Konzu needs. Maybe it might also ease up my stress."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks...why are you still so nice to me?"

"Courtesy between enemies. Also, it makes it easier to catch you off guard when I want to."

Oh really...

"Well," I began, turning to face her, "I'd like to let you know that I have become...accustom to.."

"Hmm? What was that?" she asked, legitimately sounding confused.

As for me, I was wonderin why she was staring at me, while resting on a table she had apparently materialized. Oh, and I could see most of her back, her rump only being hidden by some sheets. Was she wearing a backless dress?

"...Why are you lying down?"

"Because I'm not really here - I'm just projecting my appearance from my home tower. As for why, exactly, I'm lying down, well, I was getting a message before I got here, and didn't see any reason to get up, so-wait, where are you going?!"

_OHGODIAMNOTREADYFORTHISYET!_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

After that...embarrassing incident, I quickly arranged a transport down to Cetus. I briefly stopped with Hai-luk, in order to acquire the schematics for making a Yogwun trophy (I had the good fortune to catch a good sized on prior to my incursions against the Corpus), before heading over to Konzu, ready to help out the Ostrons. The bounty I ended up taking was an urgent one - apparently, an Ostron girl had gone missing, with the Grineer as the most likely suspects. Oh, and apparently Ghouls (basically Grineer zombies, another of Vay Hek's creations) were breaking ground on the Plains, so I'd also need to wipe out some ghouls. Konzu was apparently offering the Quartakk blueprint as part of my potential bounty should I complete this. Apparently the Unum directed the Quills to give the Ostrons all of the stuff Konzu offered as bounty payment. Apparently, this also included Quartakk and Stubba blueprints. Good to keep in mind for the future.

So, once I had accepted the bounty, Ordis quickly chimed in, much to my surprise. It looks like he had decided to help me with this mission. How, exactly, he managed this while still helping his operator was beyond me. Had the Tenno simply asked his cephalon to help me? Had the quills asked_ both of them_ to provide me assistance? I really needed to get those questions answered so that I could focus on other, more important ones.

The first part of the search and rescue was a simple drone recovery mission - Ordis was going to use it to hack the Grineer network and see if he could locate the girl. I expected Etran to drop in, but apparently, he was doing an errand for Palladino, leaving him unable to assist me. I was able to make the mission far easier, though, by simply using a few orbital fighters to take out the oncoming Grineer drop pods before they could make atmosphere. I made sure to capture one pod launcher and set of pods before the Grineer could use it or scuttle it - drop pods are awesome, and I wanted some that weren't only usable for Commanders. Once the pods had all been destroyed and the drone was safe, my next destination was Hok's Stiletto. Apparently, Ordis needed special access codes from the commander to fully access the data on the drone. Luckily, I'd obtained the capture system all the warframes used, so delivering the target wouldn't be a problem. Ingenious system, by the way - it brakes the target down into data and transmits it to different area for reassembly, without killing them. The synthesis scanner worked the same way, though that digitized the target in an irreversible manner - once they were data, they could not go back to normal.

About five minutes later, and the commander was in Ordis' custody, making examining the drone a triviality.

That's when stuff started going off the rails.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, Ordis, what next?" I asked, eager to finally save the child. I really did not want to know what the Grineer planned to do with her.

"Um, well, actually, I need to hand over mission control to another individual."

Before I could question him on this, I was surprised to hear Fide's voice filling my comms.

"Commander, how are you doing?"

"Fide?! What are you doing on this channel?"

"You haven't given me any orders saying that I was no longer to serve as your mission control. Also, Ordis needs to help his operator again."

"...Okay, good enough reasoning for me. So, what now?"

"Well, I've good news and bad news on that. Good news is that I've located where the Ostron child is. Bad news is that there's massive ghoul burial site nearby, and you'll have to cross it to get her back to Cetus. We'll need to clear it out before we can rescue her. I'm marking the nearest camp with a Grokdrul processor. Fill it up, then I'll deploy the injector to kill the Ghouls."

Filling the injector up wasn't hard. Reaching the burial site wasn't hard either. In fact, as the injector fell out of the sky, I thought things might be easy.

Then the injector hit the ground, and an earthquake happened.

"What the hell was that?"

"Unknown, commander. It appears to be coming from the central area of the plains. Ignore it _for now_ \- we have to rescue the girl."

"Fine, but do some more scanning on where the tremors originated from - I don't think this is just a random tremor."

"Understood. Also, picking up a Bolkor gunship inboud, sending Jegudiel to intercept."

The gunship arrived when the injector was seventy five percent done delivering the grokdrul - just in time to get shot down by Jeg. Anticlimatic, but I didn't care - victory was more important than action.

"All gestating ghouls neutralized, sir. Pulling up the girl's location now."

Sure enough, the girl was only one hundred meters away from the burial site. I quickly snuck up on the Grineer, readying to take them out, and quietly. First, though, I disabled the explosive leash they placed around the girl's neck (Seriously, talk about paranoia. If it was a Tenno Operator, I could understand this, but an Ostron child?). Once that was done, I dealt with them so fast they didn't know what hit them. Of course, having psychic powers that allowed me to make them drop their guard helped with that. When the last lancer fell, I disarme the collar and freed the girl...who promptly started screaming. Just great.

Okay, how do I calm her down?

...Oh wait. That's so simple.

As the girl continued to scream, I focused my thoughts on her. Then, cautiously, I held out my hand, which had started to glow blue. A moment later, the girl's head started to glow the same blue as her arm, and as the glow persisted, her screaming began to subside, until, at last, she grew quiet.

I would need to thank my ethereal teacher for showing me how to use solace. Sometimes the most innocuous of powers had the biggest advantages.

"Alright, little girl," I told the Ostron, "I'm not going to hurt you. What is your name?"

"..Ika." (****AN: It's pronounced EE-ka).****

That matched up with the name I'd been given for the missing girl.

"Alright, Ika. I'm going to take you home. Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

"...Okay."

For a moment, it looked like things were going to turn out like a normal Warframe bounty, with me having to escort the girl to safety, though here I assumed it was to the gates of Cetus instead of some random evac point.

Then the ground started shaking again. I quickly pulled Ika into an embrace, mostly to keep her from screaming, but also because I doubted she would be okay without comfort.

"Fide, what's going on?"

"Detecting more tremors from the center of the plains. Be advised, Grineer forces are converging on the primary tremor location. Resistance should be light, as long as you time your movement to avoid intersecting with the waves of troops."

"Okay, keep me posted."

Then I turned my attention back to Ika.

"We have to go now, do you want me to carry you?"

"I can walk, but thank you."

I merely smiled at her, before gesturing for us to move.

Thanks to Fide's advice, we were able to avoid most of the Grineer forces. Surprisingly, I saw a lot of scorch and napalm soldiers among their ranks. Why would they be sending in some many forces with flame weapons...oh no.

"Commander, is something wrong?"

"Nothing major, but can you get Jegudiel to call in some bombers loaded with napalm? We're gonna need it."

"Understood, but why?"

"I'll tell you when it becomes relevant."

Fide decided to go dark after that, aside from telling me about the Grineer forces moving throughout the plains. Eventually, we came within sight of the gates. I smiled at this, relieved we were almost at the end. I followed that up by readying my weapons, anticipating (correctly) that our luck with avoiding the Grineer would run out. Already, I was waiting for a firbolg to notice.

So imagine my surprise when ghouls began to burst out of the ground in front of us.

Sighing, I grabbed Ika before she could scream and readied to fire on the ghouls...

And then the ground exploded out from under us. We promptly went flying right over the ghouls and landed about thirty feet way from them. Amazingly, Ika was not harmed by this, besides whiplash. Seriously, how was that possible.

As we regained our bearings, I noticed three things: one, we were now right by the sentient fossils just outside the gates to Cetus; two, the ghouls were now fighting...what looked like squids; and three...there was now a very large boil that, according to Fide's scans, were at the epicenter of where the tremors were. Oh, and a smaller boil had emerged right under where we had been standing.

Sighing, I quickly got Ika to the gate, which quickly closed behind us. Then, once we were let inside, I ran off where no one could notice or hear me and screamed.

It looked like the Plague Star had risen again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	182. Annihilation 158

The Plague Star, I could deal with._ Had_ dealt withm, at least in-game.

The Ghouls were something knew, but I could still deal with them. Wonder why I hadn't seen anything in game with them, though. Probably had to do with the update they were introduced in not being released when I entered the Warframe universe. That also explained why the Lotus was missing...

The Plague Star rising _****while****_ a Ghoul Purge was going on?

Yeah, that was going to give me head aches.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jegudiel and his bombers showed up just after I entered Cetus with Ika, at which point they proceeded to napalm the infested boil that blemished the plains. Before you ask, the pun was fully intended. After that, I called in gunships to try and blow the boil to kingdom come, but all that did was provoke it into releasing a bunch of venin mutalists to start shooting at my aircraft. While they barely scratched the paint on my machines, I did not want to give the infested any new menaces due to overestimating the resilience of my machines, so I pulled back my aircraft and decided to avoid setting up any countermeasures against the boil...except for one.

See, once Konzu began giving out Plague Star bounties to smash the boil, I made sure to join one of the first ones I that popped up and got to work hounding the boil. From there, I managed to acquire enough thrax toxin (mostly by setting the brewing vault to make an extra batch) and figure out how to synthesize it. Finally, with Konzu and Onkko's permission, I moved a toxin synthesizer into Cetus, so that the Tenno wouldn't have to go through the hassle of locating a mixer each time they wanted to synthesize more toxin. I would also have made the machines add in the Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalysts, but Konzu and Onkko both asked me not to do so except for a few batches. Onkko said that it was because the Tenno might grow dependent on me if I just solved all their problems for them, while Konzu was worried the Grineer would just bait the Infested into attacking Cetus now to stop me. Nakak also asked me not to mix the additives into the toxin, but I think that was because she felt the Tenno needed to earn their rewards for fighting the Plague Star. Considering she had to ask Konzu for several additional Snipetrons and Ether Daggers after I showed up, I couldn't blame her. While every Tenno fought against the Plague Star because it was the right thing to do, the call of epic loot was also a big motivator.

While normally, I would easily have stomped all opposition under my steel might, the Infestation proved to be a tenacious foe. Sure, I hit it with a lot of thrax toxin, but it just refused to do. Not helping this was the Grineer presence on the plains. The massive upsurge in Ghoul numbers forced the Tenno to divide themselves up between killing the ghouls and poisoning the boil, which meant that, even with my assistance, the Plague Star was still under significantly less stress then it normally would have been. As if that wasn't bad enough, apparently, Vay Hek had managed to discover some kind of infested growth catalyst, which he had bolkor gunships spray over the boil as often as possible. I made a point of shooting down as many of those gunships as possible, but this just led to Hek modifying the mortar turrets on the plain to fire gas shells containing the catalyst. Granted, the chemical wasn't super potent, but it still did a lot to mitigate how much damage we inflicted on the plague star. I was eventually forced to break my rule of not using commander tech on this infested zit and began loading bombers with bombs carrying the thrax toxin to try and wear away the boil faster than Hek could heal it. It worked, but it still took quite a long time. In fact, despite my efforts, it still took just about as long as normal for the boil to die.

It might have even taken longer, except that, eventually, unexpected assistance showed up.

XXXXXXXXXX

Five days into the assault on the Plague Star, I was outside Cetus, assisting a Tenno duo in brewing some thrax toxin. For all the power of my chemical brewers, there were still limits on how much I could synthesize at any given time, plus making it on the plains meant wrecking Grineer operations there, which was always a good thing. My allies for this mission were utilizing a Harrow and an Equinox frame, which had lead to us somehow managing to get shields so tough they could stop oncoming cars made of progenitor alloys and releasing either healing waves that could probably turn a person from a living corpse to the peak of heath in one minute or a surge of death that the healing wave would not save you from. As for the Tenno controlling the frames, the Harrow one was under the command of a female Tenno know as Ametria, while the Equinox was guide by a young male Tenno named Seridas. Weird names, I know. Though I'd actually heard some Tenno with names like James, Tyler, Emily, Hailey, Nicholas, and Mackenzie, so apparently naming varied based on family and culture in the origin system. Food for thought.

Any way, we'd managed to brew the toxin with as many phylaxes and catalysts as possible, load it up onto a regulator drone, and were in the process of sending it toward the boil when things started to go wrong. See, the path charted out for us by Fide had led us right into a ghoul burial ground, and while a brief infested incursion had helped thin their numbers, the surviving ghouls still managed to give us a ton of trouble. Right now they were using the drone as a chew toy, and if Fide and Ordis' warnings were any indication, it wouldn't last much longer.

Sighing, I prepared to use Mindfray on one of the ghouls, which would hopefully send it into a panic, when, much to my surprise, all of the ghouls surrounding the drone were suddenly cut down by a white colored blur. Said blur soon proceeded to move between the ret of the ghouls, swiftly shredding them with precise cuts. A few minutes later, all that remained of the technically living Grineer zombies were a bunch of corpses, ones that were beginning to cool down.

As for the white blur, it had decided to slow down so that I could make out the details of its profile. Namely, that it appeared to be a white suit of armor, and was female.

That could refer to any number o beings in this universe, but I knew one person who was female and dressed in white well enough to know exactly who this was.

"Showoff."

Instantly, the white figure lost some of her regality.

"That hurt," was Melissa's reply.

"That doesn't mean it isn't true."

"Fair enough. So, let me guess, Infested Boil swelled up again, and Konzu needs help killing it, right?"

"Yeah, but you missed the giant army of undead grineer that decided to show up and make killing the boil harder."

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes for more fun."

"You have a weird definition of fun. Now can we get back to killing this boil?"

"Okay."

Sighing, I turned toward my Tenno companions and made an apologetic gesture before heading off after the drone.

XXXXXXXXX

The battle that followed with the Infested Swarm and the Hemocytes was mostly uneventful, though Melissa did make the sky rain fire at one point, which caused the Tenno duo to panic because they thought a Teralyst (or one of its bigger brothers) had somehow figured out how to function during the day. Melissa couldn't have cared less - to her, all that seemed to matter was that her subordinates and daughter were happy and that she was having fun. In fact, the Tenno running around in fear probably just amused her even more.

It was annoying as hell at times.

It was also rather amusing.

And as much as I'd like to have said otherwise, I liked seeing this side of her.

Because not too long after the Plague Star was dealt with, she never seemed to be this carefree anymore.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	183. Annihilation 159

Once our quartet had finished smashing the boil yet again, we returned to Cetus, both to redeem our rewards from Nakak (who was surprised to see a non-tenno coming from the plains, but took things rather well) and to just browse a bit in the stores and markets. Among other things, I was able to obtain a few Kuakas and Condrocs from Master Teasonai, some Gem and ore blueprints/forging and cutting advice from Old Man Suumbaat, a Norg trophy blueprint from Hai Luk (that thing was going on the wall in my bedroom), and pretty much every single zaw part I could get from Hok. As I came back to Nakak, this time to get a Volt mask for Rory, I found my ROB had also returned to the young girl's stall, and it appeared she too was haggling over a mask. A trinity one, by the looks of it.

"So," I began, interrupting the haggling, which seemed to be getting rather heated, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to haggle for a Trinity mask. Naka wants three Maprico and a goopolla spleen for it, but I don't have any of those spleens. I bet the locals don't have to pay that price."

"Um, yes they do," was both my remark and Nakak's. We stared at each other for a moment, before turning our attention back to Melissa.

"Well, why do you want it?" was my next response.

"...Promise you won't tell any of my 'friends'?"

"Sure."

"It's for Cassidy. She really wants one."

"...Is there a mask that you want?"

"The Mag one...wait, why did you ask?"

I ignored her and turned to Nakak.

"What's the price for a Mag mask?"

"Five nistlepods and a murkray liver."

"Hey, don't ignore me!" shouted my ROB.

I proceeded to do just that.

"Then here," was my response to Nakak, as I extended my arm. A moment later, the items needed to pay for both masks appeared, which Nakak graciously accepted. It turned out Tenno had mini-teleporters that allowed them to move all of the resources they acquired to their orbiters instantly, which I'd easily managed to purloin off of the Excalibur and Umbra blueprints.

Melissa was about to yell at me again when I literally shoved the masks into her face, almost causing her to tip over. At first she was confused, but after a moment, she recovered.

"What's this for?"

"For you and your daughter. I want you out of my hair, but while I might not like you all that much, I o think rather highly of Cassidy. Now please, give that to her."

"um, okay..."

I think she was surprised I was being so nice to her. I wasn't, really - like I said, I wanted her out of my hair. Plus I did like Cassidy, so I might as well make her life better.

XXXXXX

Eventually, the Plague Star fell once again, and soon after, the ghouls returned to normal levels. With that out of the way, I could begin focusing on finding out more about the Progenitors' actions in this universe.

I'd set about ordering my AI trio to monitor any communications they could find regarding the part of Lua I'd entered. Anything the Grineer or Corpus sent out, plus whatever transmissions they could pick up from the Sentients. As some incentive to get Synais working, I'd offered him a few Tear Azurite, as well as an Ayatan I'd found on my travels. I already had enough to fill a whole room, so giving one to him wouldn't hurt me.

I also set about trying to assist the Syndicates however I could, ideally without making them too mad at me. Sud had been easy to win over, what with all the information I had acquired over my travels. I was careful not to give her anything that would compromise me in the future, but there was still a lot I had to offer her. As for Simaris, I offered him several wolf beetles, raptor bugs, and manticores as sanctuary specimens, to his titanic delight. Though I did wish to earn Teshin's graces, I refrained from entering the Conclave - that was the proving ground of the Tenno, and it was not my place to interfere with that. As for everyone else, I did what I could to help them - prisoners freed, high value targets captured or eliminated, the like. Nobody had sent death squads after me, but I didn't know how long that would last for.

As for Cetus, well, I did bounties, lots of fishing, some mining, anything I could to help them. I also offered the Eidolon cores to the Quills, who took them readily, and were wiling to offer some assistance on where to look, but no leads popped up. Slowly, the trail began to grow cold.

And then, finally, I got a breakthrough.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, what have you got?" was the first thing I said.

"I've noticed that there's been some unusual ghoul activity on the plains," was Synais' response. "A whole pack of them just got out of the ground, but instead of searching for prey, they moved over into the cave by the twin horns and started digging. Scans show that they have tunneled under one of the Sentient bones in the area. I'd recommend following them to find what they are looking for."

"So, you want me to go into a Ghoul infested cave to see what they are looking for?"

"Yes. Either go yourself, send in Hearth, or contract the Tenno to do so for payment. Just hurry the hell up and find what they are looking for before they slip away with their catch."

"..Fine."

XXXXXXX

Carefully, Hearth made her way down the catwalk, taking care not to alert the Grineer to her presence. Her CNDR Squad followed closely behind, cautiously searching the area for enemies. While most of them were equipped with laser rifles, Hearth had upgraded her arsenal - though she still carried a laser rifle, she had also acquired a sheev dagger, the result of her Commander raiding the Grineer. She had examined programs and videos for information on its usage, as well as sought out training with those who knew how to use combat knives, before beginning this mission,and now it was time to see if the training paid off.

As the squad descended deeper into the cave, it became apparent that they were, for the most part, alone - no Grineer were registering on the scanners, aside from the ghouls, who were deeper down. Cautiously, the squad continued down, searching for foes, only to find none. Eventually, they reached their target, the base of one of the Sentient fossils. Here, ghoul augers were at work digging out the soil, while others ghouls moved away dislodged rocks so that the tunnel could remain clear. Perched atop one piece of rubble was an Alpha Ghoul, directing the others with gestures and howls.

It only took Hearth a moment to formulate her plan of attack and another to communicate it to her subordinates. Then, without warning, she charged the alpha, jumped behind it, put her free hand over its mouth and used the dagger in the other to slit its throat. Unable to chew through her hand nor make even a clanging noise against the metallic limb, the ghoul died in silence. The rest soon noticed something was wrong, only to be cut down with laser fire. Soon, all that remained do the ghouls were warm, bleeding bodies and a cloud of frozen toxins.

Smirking with her human body, Hearth examined the tunnel the ghouls had been excavating. Though rich in ore and gems, at first she could not tell why the ghouls had been sent here - this kid of wealth was not worth the deployment of such unstable creatures. Then a faint golden reflection caught her attention. Examining it, Hearth found what appeared to be some kind of Orokin machine. Oddly, it looked a lot like a cylinder.

As she picked up the cylinder, Hearth radioed in for evac. It seemed that this mission would be easy. Presumably, figuring out what this device was would be the hard part.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	184. Annihilation 160

Hearth and her squad returned to the_ Extinction_ without incident, much to my surprise. Their find was equally surprising, mostly because I expected it to be bigger - maybe the size of a whole Corpus container? I guess size was irrelevant here - how big the artifact was did not determine its value, that went to what exactly it contained.

Before I examined the device, I moved it to a room isolated from the rest of the ship - not access ports, no data panels, nada. Only a traditional push door and some vents connected to this room, so that, if it could somehow damage my ship, it wouldn't get far. There was also a monitor and connection system in the room, but it was not plugged into the rest of the ship - it had its own power supply and would solely connect to the artifact, so that if I had to view images through this machine, I wouldn't need to squint...event if I could focus my sight down normally to the point I could see single celled organisms without any assistance.

Once all the preparations had been made, I put my hand on the device. Given that nothing had happened when Hearth picked it up, I expected I would need to do some fiddling around to get a response, but instead, the device reacted, and after a moment of static, the monitor I had attached to the relic lit up, revealing a spiral of characters. One of them, in particular, was glowing blue. According to my database, connected to me via nanotech implants in my brain (cause why not), the character meant 'Dusk'. Seeing no reason not to, I tapped on the monitor.

Yes, it was a touch screen.

A moment later, and a voice began to speak. A female one, too.

_So, here we are, in the dusk and twilight of the Orokin. The end of my people's reign over the Origin System._

_Surprised? I doubt it - you knew this was coming, but you didn't do anything to stop it. _

_Not that I can blame you, though. We deserve to fade. We created to many monsters, and I am sure you will agree._

_After all, you made horrors of your own - beasts of cold metal, meant to overpower and crush any foe they met, then assimilate their strengths. Much like our blasphemous Sentients, actually._

_And then there are the others, the ones of twisted flesh and gristle..._

That was when the transmission ended, much to my chagrin. Oh so many questions it had opened up, while answering none.

Perhaps as some form of compensation, though, I also received a set of images while the words had been spoken. The first few sentences had been accompanied by a golden picture of a Void Tower, ever so slightly cracked, with golden lines flowing into it. Following that, pictures of the Grineer, Tenno, Sentients, and Infested had taken up the screen, with the lines flowing into them. Last to appear were a commander, along with one of the organic things I had seen in my visions from the artifacts. Once again, the golden lines were flowing into those pictures. I got the feeling these were going to be a thing if I examined anymore of the characters.

Of course, that still left me unaware of what, exactly, this machine was called, or of how the Progenitors related to all of this. It looked like I was going to need to do some more asking around to find some answers. Maybe Etran would provide some help?

XXXXXXXX

Okay, apparently, the artifact I had found was called a Vitruvian, and it seemed to be some kind of recording device, but that was all I now knew. Etran had provided me with its name and function, but he seemed really uncomfortable on the subject. I knew better than to push my luck, so I had not pressed him further, but still, that wasn't much to go on. So where should I look next?

"Maybe right next to you."

Oh joy, Melissa had intruded again. Also, why did she smell like mud and jungle?

"I was looking around Silvana to see if I could find a Serberis - I thought it would make a nice pet."

"...You thought I highly venomous, wild,_ predatory_ lizard would make a good pet?"

"Yes. Plus Cassidy wanted something she could put bows on that wasn't a cat, a dog, or vaguely looked like either."

"How about a goat? Or a sheep?"

"Already got those. Cassidy get bored quickly, plus I may have dyed them all pink and pastel blue and red. And Cassidy already put ribbons on our Kodiak Bear. And the mako had to go to the vet after Cass fed it too much junk food."

"...I suppose you also have a xenomorph as a pet."

I suppose the insult was rather obvious, but Melissa's parenting left much to be desi-

"Yes, but I accidentally turned her into a girl and now Cassidy won't stop trying to dress her up."

…...What?!

"Something wrong, my pawn?"

"..…..Can you please just go? I have important decisions to make."

"Okay. Bu-bye."

She _winked_ at me before leaving.

Yeah, I was pretty sure she was trolling me.

That was why, as soon as I had locked the room containing the Vitruvian, I promptly flew down to Cetus and, after running some biometric calculations, got_ just enough_ wine to get me drunk. For the record, alcohol is an acquired taste.

Just before I passed out, though, I quickly set my forces up to begin searching for more information related to the Vitruvian - related artifacts, symbols, _anything_. Whatever was on here might be my only lead to finding out more about the Progenitors, as well as how, exactly, they were involved in my travels across the multiverse. Finding that out was my number one priority, _especially_ if they had any leftover technology in this universe.

After all, the Sentients were already enough of a problem in_ this_ universe - no need to let them get loose in others.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: ********Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.****


	185. Interlude 26

Cassody sighed. Was there any good television in this universe?

So far, she had seen Grunder propoganda, plus a ton of Corpus advertising, but while they had been amusing the first few times, after the fifteen thousandth time, both just made her want to blow up the tv screen. As two shattered, sparking monitors could attest to, she had done just that twice. With a very unladylike front, she promptly disconnected the screens from the local media and set them back to searching for multiversal stations. Endless reruns of Spongebob would be a massive improvement over this crap.

A crunching noise behind her provoked a brief turn from the young she-ROB, but aside from a mess of toys her mom had provided her, she could not see anything out of the ordinary. Shrugging, Cass returned to channel surfing. Perhaps she was hearing things. Or maybe her goat was hungry again and was trying to find some greenery to eat- it didn't seem to like eating stuffed animals, of the fact the extra stuffed rabbit it had eaten a few days ago really had been what had made it puke. The huge amount of cotton it had spit out did lend credence to that theory.

A second odd noise provoked yet another look backwards from Cassidy, this time from a rattle her mother had gotten her, yet neglected to put away for when, presumably, she had a new sibling on the way. Once again, she saw nothing that could have made the noise, though now, she could see her goat, busy eating the fodder shebhad left out for it. Oddly, though, it seemed rather nervous, almost like it was being watched. That was preposterous, though - her Kodiak Bear was still eating his fish by the indoor pool. Sighing, Cassidy turned her attention back toward the screen again, ready to channel surf some more.

One last time, a noise occurred behind her, yet this time, the petite she-ROB did not look behind her. Instead, she merely turned off the screen. As soon as the light disappeared, she examined the reflection in the screen. In the forefront of the image was her, of course. Behind her, though, was something else. It appeared to be a biomechanical creature, on with an oddly phallic shaped Head. Its jet black body was almost impossible to make out on the reflection, except for where light seemed to reflect off of it.

Oh, and said creature was now right behind her.

Most people in this situation would probably whimper and beg for mercy.

Cassidy merely smiled.

Before the creature behind her could react, Carissa pointed her right arm at the beast and snapped her fingers. A puff of smoke suddenly surrounded the bewildered monster, and when it was gone, so was the monster. In its place was a young, somewhat buxom woman, with black hair, and wearing black leathery clothing. Oddly, she also had the number six tattooed into her forehead. The bewildered woman took a moment to try and figure out what had happened. The minute she saw her hands and arms, though, she froze up.

Then she turned to Cassidy.

Who was now smiling at her.

The woman flinched.

"Now I get to play dress up with you."

Instantly, the woman tried to escape, only for Cassidy to immobilize her via a firm grip to her...well, her tail. A not just any tail - it was tail of the monster that had disappeared in the smoke cloud.

"You aren't getting away from me that easily, Six. Now stop squirming - I've got a nice pink dress with your name on it."

"...Help...me..." choked out the xenomorph Queen turned human, desperately attempting and failing to find some foothold on the floor so that she could attempt to force herself free. Alas, it was not to be.

XXXXXXXXX

"MOMMY!"

"Was that Specimen Six?" Asked Mortarax.

"Yes, it was," responded Adeline.

".. Cassidy must be trying to dress her again."

"Most likely."

"..Do you even know why she does that?"

"I recall that Lady Melissa caught the xenomorph while Commander Flame was making preparations to enter the current universe he is in. She made a point of showing it off to Cassidy, and somehow, our Mistress turned the living embodiment of rape into a girl...who was also completely without clothing. Our sovereign's daughter then decided to dress up our new guest, as a courtesy."

"SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!"

"...Evidently, Six does not view it as one."

"She's an alien whose kind reproduces via shoving their wing-wong down other people's throats. Only fair she gets some personal violation as payback," was Mortarax's response.

"That was cold, even for you. Also, wing-wong?"

"It sound funny."

"...Touché."

"Hey, Elling here, how long do you think until Madame Melissa returns?"

"Maybe a few more hours, why?"

"I want to see if she has any Tellurium when she gets back? I want to see if I can use it to give the Mole Cricket some stealth systems."

"You're still working on that...what was it, grasshopper?"

"Locust Class Light BattleMech. Get your names right."

"Whatever, dummkopf."

"Eh, screw you too, you hot head."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, anything that might help the Commander learn more from the Vitruvian?"

"No, Kathi, I have not found any additional information regarding the Orokin Artifact designated Vitruvian that our leader had recovered. Now please let me return to polishing my gift from our benevolent overlord."

"...Are you really attempting to match my formality simply for the sake of antagonizing me?"

"Uh, yes. Completely."

"..…..Fuck you!"

"Are you volunteering to do so?"

"WHAT!? NO!"

"Really, because you certainly are attractive enough for my tastes - OW, MY SHIN!"

Instantly, the more selfish of the two humans keeled over, trying to massage his aching leg. Kathikon, meanwhile, gave him a death glare, seething over his successful attempt at throwing her off balance.

The fact she was blushing, however, just made her look cute to her selfish coworker.

"Try that again, and I promise you, I'll hit you below the belt so hard you will never even think about getting to fourth base with anyone. Am. I. Clear?"

"..hu...hu...Crystal," panted out Synais.

"Good. I'm going to go now. Please, do not follow me."

"Fine...Oh, and one other thing?"

"What?"

"I wasn't lying when I said you were attractive."

"...Thanks."

With that, Kathikon left.

She didn't get far.

"Hey, what's this turret doing here - WAAAH! WHY AM I COVERED IN A NET!?"

"Apologies, Kathikon," came Fide's voice over the intercom. "Young master Rory has been trying to catch of the Kuakas that his father got him at Cetus. It escaped its holding room while he was cleaning out its cage. The net turrets were his idea for neutralizing it non-lethally."

"Well, tell him that it is successful at neutralizing larger targets."

"Understood, Fide out."

"...Um, Synais? Could you help me out of this."

"On it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: For those unaware, Specimen Six is the protagonist Xenomorph from the 2010 Alien Vs Predator game. Melissa caught her to see what alien royal jelly tastes like. Cassidy dressing her up in her human form is based on the initial interactions of Makie Osakabe and Haruna from Arpeggio of Blue Steel.****

****Oh, and Synais does think Kathi's attractive, (there's a reason I didn't want to leave him alone with Fide and her when they were created), but that's all he's sure about. He has a type, personality wise, and I'm still tying to decide what it should be.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	186. Annihilation 161

After I recovered from my hangover (in the process discovering that, if I wanted to forgot something, I would now have to delete the file from my Commander, and that was _still_ unlikely to work, as my knew body came with near perfect memory), I promptly got to work trying to see what else I could learn about the Vitruvian.

Immediately, I contact Kathikon, Synais, and Fide to see what, if anything they had learned. Fide, for all her devotion, had come up dry, mostly because she had decided to feed the Grineer and Corpus crap data to keep them off my tail. Kathi had been better at locating information, though so far, most of it was vague and consisted of symbols I had seen in the Vitruvian, but without any context to define them. Alas, I was forced to reprimand her for her (rather vicious) response to Synais making a mocking pass at her - yes, he deserved to be hit, but shattering his shin was still unnecessarily rough. Also, I probably needed to do something to get Synais to avoid getting himself harmed from stupidity in the future. Perhaps I should take him out more often? Introducing him to some female friends might be a good idea - truly, he's nowhere near as charming as he thinks, so maybe letting him see that will curb his ego.

Oh, an apparently he had found something I could work with. Who would have thought that was possible?

Mocking comedy aside, his intel was this: apparently, the Grineer had more intel related to what they had been excavating on the Plains. It appeared that they had acquired the location of the Artifact on one of the moons of Uranus. Specifically, they'd found it one of the Orokin Vaults stored there. Apparently, the Queens had been snooping around for a different way to stave off death, and they had hoped the data within would reveal what they were looking for. All that they found, though, was information related to the Vitruvian, as well as coordinates for another location relating to the machine. Hence, they had sent the Night Watch Grineer to examine the second location, while the Tusk had been focusing on acquiring the Vitruvian.

For a moment, I pondered my next course of action - attack the Night Watch Group? Raid the Lab on Uranus? Both?

Ultimately, I was forced to go with option two - the Grineer had only told high ranking individuals where the Night Watch had been sent, while also stepping up their cyberwarfare systems, and while I could probably hack the transmissions to find out the location of the core, I would definitely get noticed. I would've been surprised by this had I arrived in the Warframe universe as my first destination, but given the fact the Orokin knew who the Progenitors were, I wasn't surprised at all. Maybe the queens had pulled out some tricks they still had left from the dying days of the empire?

No time for pondering, time to steal stuff.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The infiltration of the moon wasn't too hard - my stealth systems easily evaded the Grineer sensors, allowing me to land a force on one of their labs. Shutting down the alarms had been even easier - apparently, the Grineer hadn't extended their super cyberwarfare protection to the Uranus lab. Or maybe I had just been lucky enough to arrive before it had come online. Either way, my arrive happened without a hitch. This time, I went in alone, but made sure to bring in a big distraction - a Makara carefully bred to survive in the moon's oceans. I gave it orders to attack one of the nearby labs so that my assault on this one would go unnoticed. I was under no assumptions that the Grineer would be able to repel it.

Once I was inside, I began searching for the lab. Along the way, I also pocketed a trio of spy vaults they had lying around, and made sure one of Tyl Regor's Manic Bombards never saw the light of day. Careless, wasn't he, leaving his stuff at an obvious target? As I approached the main sight, I wondered, did he really mean to save his research by hiding it near a more obvious target? Or was it the reverse?

Well, I was at the research point, so evidently he had fail-IT'S EMPTY? THE HELL?!

WHERE WAS THE DIGSITE I WAS LOOKING FOR?

…...What is on this terminal?

….…..You're kidding me, right? The excavation sight is in a different lab?****ON ANOTHER MOON ENTIRELY!?****

….Okay, well played misdirection, you stupid sacks of cloned flesh. Well played.

As I prepared to exit the lab, though, I gave the Makara new orders: destroy all labs in a ten mile radius from the one it was currently targeting. This lab would be among those, and while I had no doubt the Grineer could replace it, wrecking the place would make me feel a lot happier.

XXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, Regor found his labs a pile of ruins at the bottom of the ocean. All troops inside had been killed, while those outside had been found torn apart by eel like predators not native to the planet. Additionally, all research pertaining to the Vitruvian had been stolen, and someone had also written 'Regor is a stupid anemone' on one of the wrecks.

Sighing, Regor opened up a channel with the Queens. Hopefully, he'd get away with a minor mauling from some Drakks.

XXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flamela15k, signing off!****


	187. Annihilation 162

Once I'd vented my frustrations on Regor's labs, I quickly set about infiltrating the real lab. This time, I made a point of setting up a set of teleporters linking all of Uranus' moons that had Grineer labs on them, so that I wouldn't have to deal with a trail of bread crumbs where the Grineer diverted me to all of the labs they had except for the one I was looking for. I'd also told Hearth to be on standby so that I could initiate infiltration of another lab, should this one not be the one I was looking for.

Fortunately for me, it was.

XXXXXXX

After a short swim, I exited one of the Grineer sub pens, making sure the Drekar Lancer I'd pulled in had been dealt with. The bloated rippers confirmed he was no longer a problem. Smiling to myself, I began my infiltration. First off, suppress the alarms in their entirety. Disable all panels, shut down all data vault security, cause radio silence, the like. Once that was done, onto step two - eliminate all hostiles. Carefully, I set about flooding some of the rooms, tricking lanx packs into eating the draga's outside the lab, all of that. Once they were dealt with, I set about completing phase three - actually getting to the lab. That part was definitely going to be harder than normal.

See, the Grineer had updated all of their data-vaults with security that could let them notice I was stealing from them if I just hacked the remotely, so I would have to manually access each one, all of which still had some security measures in place. Of course, their wasn't anything in place that stopped me from rendering all other forms of security useless, so I made sure that anyone who could delete the data was dead via flooding before moving onto the actual hacking. Sure, it meant I had to get the data from three totally flooded vaults, but oh well - a small sacrifice to pay for victory, no?

Now, you are probably wondering why I needed to hack into data vaults when I was looking for a lab. In fact, you're probably wondering why there were data vaults in this lab in the first place. Well, that was actually a really easily answered questions - see, the Grineer wanted some extra security for this lab, what with it housing valuable orokin secrets relating to the Vitruvian and, you know, the Commanders. So, they'd made a special security system that needed an access code to open. Said code was divided into three parts, each hidden in a data-vault. You needed all three to enter the lab. Did I mention that said lab apparently had functional death orbs for security?

Yeah, actually rather well though out of them. Unfortunately, I was still able to outsmart them. Of course, I would still have to fight off whatever forces that were inside the lab, so that was obviously going to give me a workout.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The Drekar Elite Lancer had just enough time to spot me before the arrow pierced his skull. Two more killed his squad mates, none of whom even came close to setting off the alarms. Really, this was child's play.

I'd trained with using a bow before I'd even become a commander. I live close enough to the country that there were plenty of spots to practice at, and I was usually lucky enough to end up tagged for hunting javelina. So, I had taken it upon myself to design a bow that could reliably punch through Progenitor alloys, trained with it until I could hit a guy from at least five hundred meters with pinpoint accuracy, then readied it up for this mission. Still needed to name it, though, but I could do that later.

Killing the Grineer one by one with the bow was tedious, but worthwile. It was my first time using a weapon I had designed myself, made just for dealing with this time of foe. Granted, it could still do tons of damage to other types of enemies (and probably kill Hunho's drones outright), but that was besides the point. Plus, I wanted to feel the power of my technology with my own hands. Fun was also a big factor here.

Eventually, I entered the main part of the lab: the Orokin storage chamber. For the most part, it was bare of objects of value, though I did manage to pocket some endo, a cell array, and a Valana Ayatan from the center of the room. I scoured as much of the room as possible, but unfortunately, it seemed that I was too late to recover any other artifacts.

That point b came most later, seeing how all the Grineer had found in the room was a massive stockpile of Ayatan treasures. Which Maroo had recently stolen without my help and was currently selling to the highest bidder. Oh, and apparently she stuffed some into her bed so that no one could steal them. How did she even sleep at night?

Back to the present: once I had finished searching the room, I hacked into the facility's computers to see where the Might Watch corps had been sent. Turned out it was yet another moon in orbit of Uranus. Oh joy. To my surprise, the computer also marked up another location, this one a place where the Grineer had recently discovered something that most definitely was NOT Orokin in nature. Curious.

Sighing, I downloaded all of the data on the terminal, then marked the lab for orbital bombardment. As I approached the sub pen to leave, a Grineer tried to attack me. One psi-augmented back hand later, and he had his head shoved into a toilet. Which promptly exploaded. Then a cable came lose and shocked him into a skeleton.

Wow, so anticlimactic. Was the universe saving a big challenge up for my next lab

Invasion?

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	188. Annihilation 163

After going through a fair amount of hoops to find it, I was taking no chances with reaching the presumed Progenitor Cache that Regor had found. Submarines, robot assault teams, depth charges, EVERYTHING - while I preferred to go in stealthy, if things went south, I would be able to brute force my way in without trouble. At this point, my temper was starting to run thin, and I was actually looking forward to things going loud - the carnage that would ensue would give me an opportunity to vent my fury on the Grineer. The fact it would be a curb stomp just made it better - I really didn't like the Grineer, and wiping them out would be very cathartic. Of course, I'd need to make sure I didn't wipe out the few good ones that could be redeemed, or weren't all that bad to begin with. That was for the future, though; winning this battle was for the here and now.

There was also be pleasant surprise for me when I started the mission, though. As I made my way toward the facility, I was greated by a Tenno cell who were dropping into the Sea Lab just as I exited my insertion vessel. The team consisted of a Harrow, an Ash Prime, a Chroma, and a Zephyr. While I had no idea who the rest of the Tenno were, it appeared that Cyreesia was the one piloting the Chroma. It was odd that I was seeing a familiar face-er, Tenno, but I wasn't complaining. Help was always, and would always, be appreciated.

"So," I asked, grabbing the cell's attention, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your arrival?"

The Tenno looked between each other, unsure how to answer, before Cyreesia decided to speak for them.

"We're here as a...favor..for an ally."

"And who might that be?"

"That would be me," replied a smug and, regrettably, familiar voice. Accompanying it was a hologram depicting a grey faced man in a blue colored suit, with some rather odd looking facial markings. Inwardly, I groaned - I did NOT want to have to work with Alad V.

"And who are you?"

"Alad V. I know you are a relatively recent arrival to this system, so I will forgive your lack of knowledge about myself. Though, I must say, for a multiversal traveler, you aren't really that impressive."

"What?!"

"One, the Tenno already informed me of your origins, and two, I didn't mean that as an insult. Those who have humility are...rare."

"...why, exactly, did the Tenno tell you what I am?"

"Just because you have been friendly to them does not mean they completely trust you. And before you get angry about them keeping secrets from you, are you really being entirely honest with them?"

I opened my mouth to object, only to go silent. Unlikeable as he was, Alad did have a point - I wasn't exactly being open with the Tenno, so I had noright tojudge them for keeping secrets from me. As such, all I could do was grumble on displeasure at Alad's comment.

"Okay, we both have secrets," interjected Cyreesia, "can we please focus on dealing with this lab?"

"Of course," remarked Alad.

"Fine with me," was my response. The sooner this was over, the better.

XXXXX

Our assault was deliberately a quiet affair. All alarms were suppressed, all security measures circumvented, etc. All to ensure our missions were successful.

As for why the Tenno were down here, it turns out Regor was breeding a manic version of the napalm in this facility, meant to serve as backup for the Nightwatch corps. Apparently, there were two clones that were nearing completion in the lab, as well as a several more still gestating. The plan for dealing with them was simple: kill the first two, then smash the tubes of the rest before they could hatch. The Tenno wanted to deal with one of the tubemen silently, but go loud on the other - apparently, they really wanted to see what mods the Manic Napalm would drop. Yes, that was exactly what they told me. Tenno can be weird at times, even compared to me.

Of the two Manic Napalms we killed, the one that was poisoned was the lucky one. The other guy barely had time to notice us before getting chained, shurikaned, buffeted by wind, poisoned, and, courtesy of myself, taking an arrow to the groin. Poor bastard. Funny as hell, though. Good times.

Destroying the tubes was a cakewalk - having a heavily armed cell with modified and polarized gear just wasn't fair to the Grineer. I could only wonder what Tyl Regor would do when he found out about our sabotage. Probably throw some of his subordinates into the ocean and watch them be crushed by pressure. Grineer were callous monsters, so that really wouldn't be surprising at all. Given that the Nightwatch corps were the ones guarding this facility, this defeat would certainly knock them off the top of the roost.

"Oh, so what's this? A few lizards and an oddity snuck into my lab, trying to ruin my newest project?"

And there's Tyl Regor, Grineer mad scientist extraordinary, and owner of a voice both genders find attractive. Oh joy.

"Well, since your newest clones got put down by us before they could even do so much as scratch one of our number, I don't think they can really be considered effective, can they?"

I hoped to get a rise out of him with that retort. No luck.

"I suppose you're right. Of course, I was watching you smear my creations against the wall, so I don't suppose they were entirely a failure."

"You barely got to see what my abilities were, and the Tenno probably count as knowns by this point. You learned close to nothing from watching your clones fight us."

"True enough. Still, I don't think you came here just to ruin my research. You're after that Orokin cache we found on this moon."

"Well, duh."

"No need for such rude behavior. Still, I can't let you pilfer it."

"Well, too bad. We're breaking in, whether you like it or not."

"Such certainty in your strength. Impressive, if misguided."

"Oh really?"

"Indeed. Nightwatch corps, please remove the lizards and their friend from the lab. Try to subdue them non-lethally, though. I learn more from a vivisection than a dissection. If you can't leave them alive, though, I understand."

As soon as the last words rolled off his tongue, a huge force of Nightwatch Grineer teleported to our location and opened fire. I barely managed to make it behind cover before the Grineer could make Swiss cheese out of me. Sighing, I returned fire and took down one of the Grineer with a well placed arrow, while the Tenno make swift work of the rest. Not willing to be outdone, I used a null lance to destroy an entire platform, sending all the Grineer on it to their doom.

"Oh, a pity," was Regor's response to this. "That was a waste of good Grineer. Still, I do believe you'll fall long before you reach my-"

Regor never go to finish that statement, as that was when the whole facility shuddered, as if it had suffered a major impact.

"What was that?"

"Sir, a massive object just smashed into the facility from space."

"Is it one of the lizards' friend's toys?"

"No sir, it appears to be...Sentient...in origin."

"WHAT?! All troops, retreat to the lower levels. You are to move all research materials to off world transports, then evacuate yourselves. The base will be scuttled in fifteen minutes. WE ARE NOT STAYING FOR STRAGGLERS!"

With that, the intercom went dead. I turned to my Tenno companions, who shared a look with each other, before glancing at me. The unspoken message was clear: get to the lab before it was scuttled.

XXXXXXX

As we descended into the depths of the facility, it became apparent just how bad things were. Grineer troops were barely maintaining their organization as they loaded equipment into submersible craft for transport off planet. Occasionally, the facility would shake again, often causing a window to shatter, filling them adjacent rooms with water until the bulkheads sealed. Any clones unlucky enough to be caught by the water were crushed by the pressure. Still, the continued to work tirelessly to salvage what they could.

Fortunately for us, few Grineer paid any mind to us as we advanced onto the lab, and it only took us five minutes to reach our destination. Quickly, we entered the room...

And were promptly knocked flat on our asses as something huge slammed through the roof.

When we got up, we found ourselves staring at the face of an enormous Sentient, on par with the original forms of Hunhow and Eidolon. Its visage covered the entirety of the home in the ceiling, and it appeared to be actively stopping seawater from entering the room.

"So," I began, "who are you?"

"I am called Zen'Hurros, and I am here to kill you."

"Oh, ha, ha. Get in line."

"You have interfered with our actions long enough. It is time we remove you from this system."

"You really think you can beat us? I've already scuttled some of your companions, and I'm pretty sure the Tenno have brought ruin to millions of your kin. Even if you came here in person, it's not going to help you defeat us."

"I beg to differ. I am well adapted to destroying your kind, tool of the Progenitors."

"What?"

"Yes, I spent my last days of the Old War adapting to your strengths. Once I have finished you off, Hunhow and his wife shall complete Natah's return to the fold-"

THE HELL?!

"-and we shall at last bring ruin to the legacy of the Orokin."

"You might be adapted to fight me," I responded, finally recovering from the shock of learning just where the Lotus went, "but do you think that will mean anything with the Tenno here?"

"True, their presence makes my adaptations useless...but I brought help for that."

"Help?"

"A reckoning, if you will."

The minute he said that, a black cloud of snow appeared, while I went rigid. A moment later, the cloud cleared, revealing a twisted, dark Warframe, wielding one of the largest swords I'd ever seen.

Oh crap, he'd brought the Shadow Stalker-

As soon as the Shadow Stalker stood up, six more clouds appeared behind him, which swiftly resolved themselves into six other Warframe's, all similar in design to the Shadow Stalker.

_Fuck_...

"Shadow, leave the Dreamerd to your acolytes. You and I will focus on the Machine's Avatar."

XXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	189. Annihilation 164

****Note: The Stalker's Acolytes are currently back in the game, so I'm gonna be busy killing them for mods. This, while I know that the update schedule for this story is haphazard at best, I can guarantee there won't be anymore update me this week. Or on Sunday, helping family move. Plus I still need to finish the Fate Grand Order summer event. ****

****So, enjoy!****

****XXXXXXX****

Okay, okay, think. There's got to be a way out of this. It's not as bad as it looks.

I'm just trapped in a room with a full sized Sentient, the Shadow Stalker, and All of his Acolytes, with only one (admittedly well armed) Tenno cell as backup. Oh, and there were probably a ton of Grineer in here as well, not to mention whatever Sentient shards this dude was using...

Yeah, I take back everything I just said. This was exactly as bad as it sounded, if not worse.

Okay, so, how the hell was I supposed to get out of this?

Well, first off, I should probably take cover, seeing how they were shooting at me. Funny how you simply stopped caring about getting shot at when people did it to you often enough. Granted I wasn't really scared of being shot by my opponents, since none of them actually used ranged weapons. Well, except for Malice and Torment, and Malice I_ was_ trying to avoid, but when you wield a BFG as your primary weapon, that is understandable.

I was planning to try and examine the Acolytes and Stalker as they attacked, see what the vulnerabilities in their fighting styles were, then exploit those to kill them. Unfortunately, their sentient pal was having none of that, and promptly fired a giant beam of blue energy at me, forcing me to vault into some hard cover.

"Do not try to adapt to our defenses, tool. Though I have devoted most of my modifications to defeating your flesh and blood kin, I still have plenty of resilience to crush you under. You may be strong, and quite resourceful, from what I have heard, but you will meet your end here."

"Do you really need to monologue so much?"

"Insults will get you nowhere."

Sighing, I took aim and fired off a few arrows at the Sentient, trying to find out where his weaknesses were. Also, what did he mean by 'flesh and blood kin'?

Probably whatever Melissa was. That made the most sense to me.

As for the Cell, they were busy battling off the Stalker and his acolytes.

They weren't doing well. When you are outnumbered two to one, against foes just as tough as you, if not stronger, you can't really be expected to win, especially if your opponents are working as a team. Oh joy.

Oddly, though, I wasn't seeing any sentient goons - looks like ze...zen..Zen'Hurros… hadn't brought any friends to the part. Maybe he'd lost all his shards in the Old War, and couldn't make anymore due to Void Damage? That was rather likely, given that Hunhow seemed to have that problem.

Of course, it was also possible he was just saving his strength. I'd started shooting at the giant creature/machine, but so far, he was shrugging off my arrows. In fact, they seemed to disintegrate when they rammed into his skin, without actually doing any damage. Considering they were made form lightweight progenitor alloys, I was willing to bet that this was one of the things he'd meant by his adaptations to my tech. I was also willing to bet that this wasn't even scratching the surface of what his adaptions were. Clearly, this was going to be a tough fight.

Unfortunately for me, that fight was already over. I jumped out of cover behind a support beam when I heard a familiar sound, and moments later, an Opticor beam obliterated my cover. Malice cried out in rage at my dodge, obviously unhappy that I had avoided death, but that was a hollow victory. As I stood up, I soon found myself surrounded by the Cell, who, in turn, were surrounded by the Acolytes, with the Stalker standing right in front of his sentient master.

...How had I not noticed that we were getting surrounded?!

"Do you really think it would be impossible for me to make things such that you focused on me, at the expense of the situation around you?"

WAS HE READING MY MIND?!

"If you are wondering whether I can discern your thoughts, I cannot. Your expression, however, is something I can read. And for the record, you have rather weak cyber defenses, tool."

Great. We were surrounded and at the mercy of beings who were_ not merciful at all._ Deus ex Machina, please help now!

_"Hearth, can you get down here?"_ I asked, trying to find a way out of this mess.

_"Negative, Grineer reinforcements have me pinned. We started down the minutes the Acolytes showed up, but the Grineer have filled the area around you with soldiers and equipment. You'll need to figure out different new way to escape. Sorry sir."_

Fuck.

_"Alad,"_ intoned Cyreesia, just barely audible enough for me to hear, and I was standing right next to her, "_can you help us?"_

_"I'm trying. I know this is a difficult request, but try and stall for time."_

Yeah, we were screwed.

"Goodbye Tenno. Farewell, tool. I don't believe I will miss you."

Shit.

Instantly, the Stalker and his acolytes raised their weapons, reading to cut us donw, as Zen'Hurros charged up his weapon systems and prepared to fire...

...only for the giant sentient to be smacked in the fast by a giant metal fist that rocketed in from behind us. Turnign to face it, I was surprised to make out the form of Tyl Regor, Ack in one hand, knux in another.

"If you're going to kill the Tenno and their new friend, get in line. I would like to vivisect them first."

For a moment, the giant sentient and his companions stared on, unsure what to do. Then the biggest of that group started laughing.

"Do you really think you an stop us from claiming our prize, tiny clone?"

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean I can't call in some backup."

Instantly, several pillars shattered as manics burst out of them, who then charged toward the rouge frames, ready to tear them apart. Malice was forced to retreat while Torment opened fire, with the rest of the group starting to hack into their newly arrived foes. Stalker, meanwhile, ignored the insane Grineer, instead teleporting up to the mad doctor and bringing his sword down, only for a Jat Kittag to deflect the blow. Turning to face the new arrival, me, my cell, and the Stalker all went still with surprise, if only for a moment.

"This l-l-looks like it will be fun," intoned Leekter. A moment later, his companions teleported in, weapons locked and loaded. The stalker sent a wave of energy at them, only for the G3 to teleport away, before moving in to engage him.

_"Well, that was interesting. Tenno (and companion), I have something on the way to help you, just try and last half a minute."_

That, we could do.

Of course, Tyl Regor would beg to differ.

"Well, this has certainly been an interesting encounter, but I do believe that it is time this fight came to an end. Now then, I suggest you surrender, Tenno - I don't want you too damaged before I can start dissecting you."

"What about me," I asked, partially to stall for time, partially out of curiosity.

"Oh, I don't think subduing you will be all that hard, seeing how scrawny you are."

I promptly took a pot shot at Regor, who used the knux to block the attack. Yeah, overkill, but I'd made a point of gaining wait, dammit! Plus any distraction we could give Alad would probably help.

OF course, it seemed Regor had given up on trying to monologue us into submission with his attractive and somewhat ridiculous voice. He promptly lifted up his other knux and readied to fire...only to get hit by a plasma projectile. A moment later, a dog-like machine began to assault the geneticist.

"...Did you just sick Zanuka on him?" I asked Alad.

_"Yes. Now I suggest you hurry up and try to secure anything you are looking for, because I doubt my precious zanuka will be able to win against this many powerful opponents._"

No argument there. I quickly hacked into the nearest terminal to determine what the Grineer had found in this lab, which consisted of a few cell arrays, some void relics, and, finally, the husk of a fabber boat. What followed consisted of me and the Tenno weaving in and out of the battle around us, which now included several Corpus Crewman loyal to Alad, having followed the zanuka down to the lab. Some distance above us, Hearth had finally broken through the Grineer ranks, and had cleared out a path for our escape. We quickly picked up all of the artifacts in the room, moved them to a loading bay while still being shot at, stuffed them onto an Ogma modified to work underwater, linked that to Cyreesia's Xiphos' computer, then finally, evacuated, as did Alad's men.

Somehow, we did that without losing a single guy, and with the worst injuries suffered being some plasma burn's on my avatar's butt, which were already healing.

Yeah, that was a really weird fight, but we'd won. Now to figure out what the next part of the Vitruvian was about.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	190. Annihilation 165

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Once I'd returned to the safety of the_ Extinction,_ it was back to business trying to piece together what facts I could about the Progenitors. From what I had already dealt with, plus some advice Etran had sent me, I'd need to examine my plunder to look for one of the symbols that was within the Vitruvian. Only then would I learn what I was seeking. The rest probably gave meaningless data.

Most of my searching proved fruitless. Examining the Cell Arrays provided me no symbols. The endo storage systems were obviously without a symbol, mainly because they lacked anything to put it on. We'd also looted some Ayatans from that pile, but they too had no symbol on them. Studying the void relics proved to be a waste of time, as they, too, were barren of a symbol. Surprisingly, the relics also came with an_ intact warframe cryopod,_ of all things, but that too had no symbol on it. I made a note to the Tenno about what I had acquired, and then told them where to meet up to get their sibling back. Best not to surprising them too much.

With the fabber bot, though, I hit pay dirt - a strange symbol ran along the length of its keel, one that matched up with one in the Vitruvian. I'd make a point of repairing the ship later on to see what I could gleen from it, but for now, I would need to examine the Vitruvian.

So, steeling myself, I opened up the device, and selected the symbol I had seen - which apparently meant family.

XXXXXXXX

_…__.How did your kind make them, anyway? You seem to be so focused on making mechanical entities, not biological ones._

The image greeting me this time was of two strange beings - one a golden beast, the other a silver abomination.

_**If you wish to know that, you must look into our past. You must examine how we came into being what we are now, and how we gained familiarity with your kind.**_

The voice that said that was male - the same one that had conversed with Ballas. Guess he just wanted to share this with what I presumed was an Executor who had learned he wasn't going to help save the Orokin.

Instantly, a new picture appeared. This one...well, it looked like something out of a cosmic horror story. Glowing tendrils gripped around circular bodies, which I clearly recognized as planets. Titanic beasts seemed to ride down this tendrils, emerging from an aperture where the tendrils themselves had their foundation.

_Oh yes, I know about that. I learned that well as your primary envoy. _

_Your kind aren't exactly natives of the universe you live in. There, just like here, there are two planes of existence. One of body, the other of the soul. You called your realm of souls the Empyrean, correct? Not like the one that will soon be called the warp, though._

_**Close enough, my lady.**_

_I see. Well, according to your history, your species lived in that realm, until something happened to spill the world you called home into the physical one. Other creatures spilled over into that realm as well, didn't they?_

_**They did.**_

_Initially, you were lost and confused. Unsure how to react. Your senses still worked in this new land, but you didn't have the same sense of unity - your kind was spread out, and the means you'd used to communicate over long distances either didn't work or were simply unable to function over the distances you now found yourselves spread out in._

_**Correct.**_

A new image appeared. This was of a golden beast staring at a stick figure. It looked like a human.

_Then, you met mankind. A young, hardy race, not particularly skilled in any area, but lacking of glaring weaknesses, and with a strong spirit, to boot. These beings, who had no idea who you were, chose to help you, simply because you were in need._

_**That they did.**_

_They were the ones who helped you make the commanders, weren't they? Gave you some pointers you needed to improve the construction drones you already had so that they could make engineering marvels in minutes._

_Yes._

A new image appeared, this of the silvery monster from before, now with more of its kind, attacking humans.

_And that, along with other courtesies, was why you helped them when the Xziphid showed up. You couldn't bare to abandon those who had helped you in your time of need. Additionally, the Xziphid were also from your home realm, if I remember correctly._

_**Our enemies and our kin.**_

_Yes, you've said that before. Anyway, you made the Commanders to fight them. Your kind to what man had helped you make and converted your tools of creation into weapons of war. Your machines would adapt to any situation they encountered, to force off your enemies and save your friends._

_Unfortunately, your enemies also had help._

_**Yes. Not all of mankind was viewed as food by the Xziphid. Some humans sided with them out of fear, others out of vengeance, some because they honestly felt the Xziphid had been wronged by their people in order to induce such aggression toward humans. Those last ones were right, in a round about way.**_

_And so as your forces deployed the mightiest mechanical abominations they could assemble, your foes used humanity's assistance to create biological monstrosities to unleash against you. _

Now an image of the beasts I'd seen Melissa utilize appeared, battling Commander machines.

_They called them Administrators, didn't they? To mock your creations._

_**They did. And just as we created machines that could adapt to anything, they created beasts that could render those adaptations moot. In the same way as your Tenno can strip away the might of the Sentients, actually.**_

_I see. Yet when all was said and done, after all of the bloodshed both sides had suffered, you ultimately made peace with them, getting their biological mastery without incident. In fact, now that I think about it, that's probably where you flesh and blood creations come from. Why? Why did you forgive them so easily?_

_**They were our enemies...and they were our kin.**_

_So?_

_**You do strange things for love...**_

One final image greeted me: that of a Golden Beast...A progenitor...and a silver abomination...a xziphid….embracing, happily.

What the...

XXXXXXXXXX

Okay, seriously, what was going on? What did that even me? Our enemies and our kin?

"Commander," intoned the voice of the AI announcer from the Planetary Annihilation games, "are you confused about something regarding the old conflicts? I detect that you are pondering on the nature of the Progenitors and the Xziphid.

"I just heard someone tell the two were both enemies and kin. What does that mean?"

"You have forgotten? The Makers and the Xziphid are indeed kin."

"Be more specific, please."

"They are brothers and sisters."

"Can you give me context for that?"

"Examining your mental databanks for good analogy...analogy found. The Progenitors are to the Xziphid what Rathalos is to Rathian."

….…..WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT!?

"Wait, you mean that-"

"Yes. I am stating that the Progneitors and Xziphid are sexually dimorphic examples of the same species. Progenitors are the males of the species, Xziphid are the females."

"...So why did they fight?"

"The incident that forced them from the Empyrean somehow split the two genders for roughly a millennia before humans reunited them, with no exceptions. Without proper parents from both genders, they forgot what their gender opposites looked like and were drawn into conflict by human interaction, including numerous screw ups by stupi hominids, unlike yourself. The suddenness of their separation and change in surroundings inflicted severe stress on all parent individuals at the time, preventing them from properly raising their children. Also, progenitors are capable of reproducing asexually - that is why they did not die out before the sexes reunited. They can also reproduce with unions between two individuals of the same gender, and same-sex marriages/couples carry no stigma-"

"Why were the last two parts necessary? I mean, that's good news (and indicates they had better sexual/romantic freedom then most people on Earth, including the United States, had, but that was hardly surprising), but was that really something you needed to tell me?"

"...No. But it felt relevant."

"Well, please, let that be for now."

"Understood."

XXXXXXXX

While I was left to ponder the clarification I had gotten on Planetary Annihilation's backstory, the Tenno finally showed up, carrying with them some kind of package. Leading them was Cyreesia.

"So, you found a cryopod containing one of our siblings?" she asked.

"Yes. Since I don't want them to break my awesome tech when they wake up, could you please take the pod."

"We will. Though, I will admit we would have smashed your technology up if you refused for any reason to give us back our sibling._ No one hurts our family and gets away with it."_

_…__.._That girl could be_ scary_ when she wanted to.

"Ok, ok, I get it, just please don't try to scare me. Before you ask, it worked. Also, where did you get that package?"

"Another Grineer Sea Lab. The Nightwatch core had been guarding it, but they pulled out when you launched your attack to defend Regor's lab. It wasn't really that well protected at all. We didn't even meet a guard when we stole it."

….What?

"What were the coordinates of that lab?"

"I'll send them over to you right now. Why are you so curious about them, though?...….Were you going to try and break into that lab?"

"...Yes, I was."

"Do you want to have it then?"

"...You're just going to give it to me?"

"Treat it as repayment of a favor for giving us back the cryopod."

"...Okay. Have fun bringing your brother/sister back up to speed."

"We will."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the Tenno left, I began examining the package. Inside was some kind of transmitter. Curiously, it appeared to be one on official Progenitor channels. A handshake message protocol was included, which I activated.

Let's just say that what I found out changed everything. For better...and for worse.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: For the record, the Xziphid and Progenitors being the same species was actually something I decided on about a year ago. See, the organic creations of the Progenitors were meant to have been made by the female members of the species, or another related species. Mannfred shot this idea down when he was my beta, but since I've made a point of trying to distance myself as much as possible from him and his ideas after he abandoned ship and declared me dead, I went back to using it. The only thing that really changed was making the female Progenitors the Xziphid, due to me looking up the PA backstory in the recent weeks.**

**So, read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	191. Interlude 27

"...I think that's enough dress up for today."

_'Finally', _thought Six, nearing the edge of consciousness. Now the humiliation could end and she could go off and hand in the vents. Sleep was looking really good right now. Then she could try making a hive. Preferably somewhere that her...companion could not reach. This was not for the sake of the girl, though - Six was more worried that-

"BUT, before I let you off the hook, we're going shopping. Okay?"

Instantly roused from her dazed state, the Xenomorph Queen-turned-human stared at the young Random Omnipotent Being, eyes full of shock and anger. The alien could not believe this girl - after subjecting her to such humiliation (and yes, Cassidy seemed to be aware that she, Six, emphatically _did not _like being dressed up), she, her tormentor, still expected her 'dress up doll' to follow her? Really?

All this look got out of Cassidy was a returning face full of surprise...then her eyes started to widen.

"...Please?"

Six continued to stare, anger on her face versus what the humans called 'puppy dog eyes' on the juvenile ROB's. Somehow, those eyes just seemed to get bigger and bigger. At first, the alien didn't react. Then, slowly, her expression began to crumble. Finally, she signed and responded.

"...Alright, I'll go."

"YAY!"

Damn it, how could that girl wrap her around her finger with that look? How did that even work on her kind? Even the girl's mother was not sure, though apparently, no forms of mind control were involved.

As Cassidy darted around her room, getting her things readied, Six's attention was turned to a large head mounted on the wall. The fact there was a head mounted up here was unsurprising - the girl, despite being only a few months old, had taking a passion to hunting dangerous beasts, something she seemed to share with her mother. What was worrisome was what the skull belonged to. It was one of her kind, specifically a Praetorian. Oddly enough, the girl had had no intention of killing it when she had entered the hive, unlike her mother, who had entered that hive to behead a queen.

No, she had entered the hive because she had wanted to see what was taking her mom so long to get her trophy. Along the way, she had gotten lost, and, predictably, attacked, face hugged, and implanted with a xenomorph-embryo...which was liquefied the moment it hit her stomach. The girl had then recovered consciousness and swallowed the facehugger whole. Apparently she had liked the taste, as she had begun smashing open the remaining ovomorphs to eat the facehuggers within. Fifty eggs later, four warriors, three drones, and two runners had tried to attack her for defiling the nest. They never returned. Then, a Praetorian had shown up, just as the girl was beginning to dig into a piece of non-alien meat. Jerky derived from a bovid, if she was correct. She noticed the oncoming alien giant, only to go back to eating her snack. Incensed, the alien knocked her over, then prepared to kill her with its tail...after first eating the rest of the jerky. The little ROB promptly grabbed its inner jaw with her hands.

When her mother found her, Cassidy was trying to cook the headless Praetorian's body. The two ended up having its body for dinner, along with that of the queen. They then spent the next day stuck on a pair of toilets, because alien meat did not agree with their stomachs. Six didn't even know what it did to them, only that after the girls were finally able to regain control of the bowels, the rooms had to be cleaned by people wearing either radiation suits or Explosive Ordinance Disposal armor. She was not entirely sure she wanted to know what had happened.

Finally, Cassidy retrieved the last of her things. She quickly opened up a portal, and in a flash, the two left the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The city was slightly different form the last time the xenomorph had been there, but she attributed it to tireless work by its inhabitants to make their home better. It reminded her of the drones in her old hive.

In many ways, though, it was like the colony the humans had set up on her homeworld, before she and the rest of her siblings had harvested them all for usage as hosts for newborns. Children played in the streets, while merchants tried to hawk their wares. While most of those present were humans, many members of Lady Melissa's species were also present, as were a variety of other aliens. On a computer screen, a group of green skinned brutes were busy fighting a collection of giant, humanoid mantises. A trio of bug-eyed, carapaced aliens were at a fish-monger's stall, where a gigantic alien was selling the catch of the day. The alien had a head resembling what humans would call an eurypterid (sea scorpion), and for some reason, always made Six want to find a nice big rock to hide under, lest he find her and do ancestors-know-what to her.

If she was being honest, though, Six would have liked to find a good place to hind anyway. She didn't like being seen by others. Part of its was natural dislike of other races, whom she normally only saw as food, hosts for her siblings, or enemies that needed to die. Now, she needed to deal with creatures that were none of those. Additionally, a fair amount of those beings were more than capable of snapping her in two like a twig, and she could not do the same to them. It made her really uneasy, to say the least. Why did she have to live with them? Couldn't she just live in some remote place where only Lady Melissa and Cassidy could find her? That would be something she could enjoy.

Six was interrupted from her thoughts, though, when Cassidy grabbed her by the arm and dragged her forward, much to the xenomorph's surprise and discomfort. Once again on the move, the female alien watched as her surroundings slowly changed, as they moved around the city that Melissa's protectorates had built. Though still in the commercial district, she was able to get a glimpse at the industrial areas, where some of the strangest of Melissa's charges were hard at work. Great cyborgs of brass were busy hammering a factory together, occasionally teleporting between parts of the building's skeleton to strengthen some part of the structure before returning to their main task. Nearby, one of the larger machines, which resembled a centipede, was busy giving raw ore pieces to some kind of weird blob creature, which swallowed the rock chunks and excreted only the pure ore, which was swiftly taken away to be smelted.

Finally, though, the duo arrived where Cassidy wanted to go shopping. Once more, Six sighed. What would she have to do now?

"Since you're wondering, just follow me around and carry all the stuff I buy."

Oh, joy. And was she going to get any reward for this?

"I'll get you a shark for dinner when we get home."

…...Maybe this wasn't such as bad thing.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So," questioned Anyo, "you're sure these weapons will be able to harm our new foe?"

"I've tested them myself," replied Melissa, smiling all the while. "I can ensure that you will be able to bring injury unto our mutual opponent using these machines. A demonstration video has been sent, just for confirmation. You should be receiving it now."

"Let me see this...…impressive. How much do you want for them?"

"Is a million platinum a piece too much to ask?"

"That actually seems rather cheap for such weapons..."

"How about five million. And why do you care about how cheap they sound? I thought you swore an oath to act in self interest alone? Shouldn't you be glad my wares are so inexpensive?"

"True, but the void warns against those who offer their wares so freely. They are likely to cheat you out of hard earned wealth, using duplicitous tactics and deceit."

_Pot, meet kettle._

"Well, I assure that I have no intention of cheating you out of your hard earned wealth. I wouold suggest you keep this transaction a secret, though - I've heard of two dangerous groups in this system besides the Tenno, who would just love to acquire or destroy these weapons."

"Who, exactly, are you referring to?"

"The Red Veil...And Solaris United."

"...I see. Well, do you have any other requests before the trade is finalized?"

"No. Let us finish this transaction now and be done with this."

"Of course. Sending payment now."

"I've received it. The weapons are yours."

"Good. May the void bring you great profit, strange woman."

With that, the conversation was terminated.

Immediately after the screen faded into nothingness, another one opened up, this one showing a woman. Oddly, her head had been replaced with a crude robotic equivalent, though that didn't seem to impair her in the slightest.

"So, where are they headed?"

"According to my trackers, the shipment will pass through Pluto, then head to Neptune for mass production and distribution. I'll tell you which fleets to attack, but you should probably attack another two as well, just to throw Nef off guard."

"Sensible. So, how much did you sell him those weapons for?"

"Five million platinum a piece. Nowhere near the amount I gave you those anti-ship mines for."

"I see. Thanks for the advice. Anything else you want from us?"

"No, but do keep an eye on my friend, please. I don't want him to bite the dust just yet. He promised to help me with some personal things."

"Sure, we'll keep your boyfriend alive"

"Thanks...Wait, what?! He's not my boyfriend."

"Just messing with you. Eudico out."

XXXX

"So, how'd the last mission go?" asked Lernea.

"Good enough, all things considered...are you playing World of Warships/" responded Hearth.

"Yes I am. What's next?"

"I have no idea. Probably something to do with the Vitruvian, but that's all I can tell right now."

"Okay. So, what do you want to do now?"

"Play Rainbow Six: Siege until I'm needed again."

"Good luck."

A moment later, Hearth sat down at a computer console and started logging in to Steam, while Lernea continued sinking enemy warships. On the other side of the room, Sigurd was busy playing World of Tanks, and was currently on a kill streak, whilst also watching Fury on a nearby television screen. Jegudiel was much the same as his friend/sibling, playing ace combat on one screen, HAWX on a second, and using the third to watch some kind of movie.

"...IS that The Sky Crawlers?"" asked Hearth, taking a moment while in the game lobby to see what her companion was doing.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, not at all."

XXXXXXX

"So," asked Ismerina, "you think mom and dad will like what we've done with the family gallery?"

"We just cleaned it up, not like we did anything special enough to warrant a ton of praise."

"Spoilsport. So what do we do next?"

"...See what Commander Flame has been up to?"

"Okay. Pulling up a display now."

"Hmm, interesting...should we be worried he has a Vitruvian and some evidence that the Progenitors were active in multiple universes?"

"He already suspects that. We'll just steal it from him when...he..."

Confused, Ismerina looked at her brother, who was staring at part of the screen, showing an image from the Vitruvian. Focusing in on the part that her brother was looking at, Ismerina's eyes widened.

They were staring at a golden alien beast. One not unlike the statue their father had insisted in keeping in this gallery, in the part tradionally reserved for protraits and statues of their family. For good reason, too...…

"...Should we be worried about this?" her brother pondered aloud.

"...No. The Commander does not know exactly how relevant that statue is to us, nor is he likely to learn it without outside help. We should not do anything to rouse his suspicions.

somewhat,

"Understood. Hopefully, this won't be a major problem."

"Hopefully."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Eudico sighed. It looked like they would have a chance to deal Nef a big blow, and pretty soon, at that. All she had to do was hit this shipment of weapons, preferably with the mines her new contact had provided her with.

Assuming, of course, this wasn't a trap. That was always the risk you had to deal with, when you worked with unknowns. This time, though, Eudico was pretty sure it wasn't a trap. She got the feeling her newfound...acquaintance...was going to let her steal the weapons she had supplied to Nef, if for no other reason than to screw with him. That, she could understand. The man was a void obsessed despot and all around jackass. Humiliating him was rather fun, all things considered.

Turning her attention back toward the request Melissa had made, she wondered how she could help the Commander. Sure, he'd helped their operations, but only by proxy. Unlike the other major syndicates in the system, he'd ignored Solaris United and the rest of the colonial Syndicates, except for the Ostrons and Quills. Eudico got the feeling that he didn't even know they existed. She needed to do something to remedy this.

Well, maybe she could make him an offer. She'd already seen plenty of artifacts on Venus she could bribe him with. Also, she knew he had a Vitruvian...

And she knew where to find some symbols she was pretty sure was in that machine. Time to see what she could work out...

XXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	192. Annihilation 166

On the Plains of Eidolon, the Plague Star had gone dormant again. My forces were busy chipping pieces of it off for future analysis/filling it with extra thrax toxin to keep it dormant. I never really managed to get rid of it, though, but that didn't seem to bother the Ostrons. They just seemed to get used to it popping out of the ground every six months, getting pounded by the Tenno, and then going dormant again. Apparently, this had happened for_ years_ before I had gotten here. Gameplay and Story Segregation had been in effect here, it seemed. Oh well, I could manage that. Onto other tasks.

First, though, I was going to examine Cetus again. Apparently, there was talk of a Quill giving something to Nakak. She had received an odd looking mask, presumably one of a warframe, but not one I had seen before. What its purpose was, I did not know. Perhaps I should examine it?

Hopefully, I did not cause anyone any harm by doing this.

XXXXXXXXXX

Arriving at the Cetus docks, it didn't take me long to reach Nakak's stall. To my surprise, Etran was already there, and it appeared he was asking Nakak about the mask. It seemed he wanted to buy it. In fact, he was in the process of handing her payment for it when they finally noticed my presence.

"Swazdo-lah, Surah! What brings you to my humble stall?"

I couldn't help but smirk - Nakak somehow managed to come off as adorable when she said that, no matter how mature she appeared. "Just a story I've heard that a Quill left something here."

Instantly, Naka grew quiet at this reply. She seemed...well, worried.

"Ah, yes, well, I'm sorry, but that one has already been sold-"

"Oh, I see..."

"-but I have another one available. One just like this one."

...What?

"You do?"

"Yes, I do...well, not exactly."

"Explain."

Instantly, Nakak's voice went down to a whisper. "You knkow about Quill Onkko, don't you? Saya's husband."

I was drinking some water when she said that, and was glad nobody saw me almost choke on it. "You know who he is?"

"Yes. He was the one who gave me that mask. He also gave me a near perfect copy, with instructions to give it to you...for a fee."

"...What fee?"

"One Cetus wisp, the same as for the one I just sold to the Tenno right next to you, offworlder."

A moment later, the sale was complete, and I was already trying to get the mask around my avatar's head. Nakak informed Etran and me that we should wear the masks when the moon shined on the plains...or just throw them into one of the lakes. She must have found this really annoying.

Well, the sun had almost set, so onto the plains we went!

XXXXXXXXXXX

At first, nothing happened. Sure, the Eidolons came out, we hunted them, we shot down a few grineer ships, but nothing big really happened. Out of boredom, I took some time to mine out some nearby outcroppings, hunt kuaka and condrocs, even go fishing.

That's what led me to find out what the Quills wanted us to see.

See, we'd reached Gara Toht Lake, where I was trying to catch a norg, which I was planning to put in an aquarium back on my tower. It was there that I noticed something odd – there was a glowing spot on the edge of the lake. It looked…wrong almost and…was that a _hand _coming out of the light?!

Cautiously, we approached it, with Etran getting out of his frame and trying to grab the hand. It vanished before he could, but I got the feeling that this was going to be more important down the line. Naka, meanwhile, seemed to be going nuts, saying something about Gara and Eidolon. Apparently, this is where the mistress of glass had slain the beast, which now lived here, in some kind of netherworld. It would try to break free each night, only to be struck down by another frame that was its warden, until the warden itself was lost.

Yeah, that sounded ominous.

Anyway, Nakak said that she didn't have time to deal with this stuff and advised us to seek Konzu's aid, as well as advising us that the Grineer had been acting up over some new artifacts they had found on the plains. Maybe there were pieces of this new frame among those relics? It'd also let me expand my stable of frames, which currently included Excalibur, Frost, Oberon, Mirage and…some others. _Someone_ had helpfully provided me with lots of warframe parts and blueprints, and it wasn't the Quills. I was pretty sure Melissa had something to do with this, but she hadn't confirmed or denied her involvement in this.

Ugh, ROBs were so annoying. Bu right now, I had warframe parts to gather.

XXXXXXXXX

Halfan hour and several ruined Grineer platoons later, and we had our frame part. We quickly got to work manufacturing the part (the helmet, of all things), but it would still take some time to manufacture. While we waited, I took the opportunity to begin examining the mask. Curious, and rather bored, I studied every inch of it, but aside from the special lenses on its eye holes, I could not understand what made it so special. Unwilling to examine them further, I merely put it back on and decied to go look at the artifacts, only slightly assuming that something special might happen.

Thus, I was surprised to find my vision suddenly flickering when I stared at one of the artifacts, before promptly going dark.

When I came to, I found myself staring at a new scene. Here, an army of sentients were going into battle. Some charged down to Earth, others to spaceships. All of these machine creatures were identical, with a notable resemblance to the ones on the plains. The ones who fought on the ships, which were clearly Orokin in origin, utterly decimated their foes…until something new began to attack them. This newcomer resembled the beasts I had seen in my visions before, but was clearly a different breed, perhaps cultivated for orbital combat. Ignorant of the sentients' shields, it tore them to pieces, even using one to cut another in half. Soon, the battlefield grew silent, as the last sentient fell.

With that, the vision ended.

….Okay, what had I just seen?

XXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameaa;15k, signing off!****


	193. Annihilation 167

Once the part was complete, we returned to the plains, once again on the trail of this...warden, I suppose. Wearing the mask once more, we headed off toward Gara-Toht Lake, hoping to find the strange sight we had seen before. This time, though, we encountered something unexpected. At first, I was unsure what we were seeing. It looked like a warframe, but ne I had never seen before. It took me a moment to realize that we were staring a some kind of Specter, albeit one of a warframe I had never seen before. I guess my repository of knowledge had truly dried up, something that I had been thinking all the way back when I had seen Umbra, and learned that the Lotus was missing. It seemed that now, I was on my own once more - no fore-knowledge to help me. Form here on out, I was in unknown territory.

Oh well. All good things must come to an end. Besides, it would be good for me to have to work without foresight as to what would happen in the future - if I didn't I might forever be shackled to that knowledge, and find myself unable to function if I was deprived of it.

Following the frame, we once more came upon a glowing light - complete with glowing hand. Etran examined it, and once again Nakak got a vision. This one claimed that the warden had struck down the eidolon every time its tendrils rose out of the ground...until one day, where he hesitated, if only for a moment.

Somehow, I already knew how this was going to end.

Anyway, Nakak told us to build another piece of this warframe and try to unravel this further. One bounty and way over a hundred dead grineer later, and the part was under construction. That was going to take another twelve hours, as like it or not, I hadn't figured out how to rush the process without ticking off the technocyte flesh used to make it, which was impairing my already failing attempts to figure out how to control the frames.

What was I doing wrong? This monstrosities were likely victims of Orokin cruelty, but surely they had found a way to control them.

Ugh, you guys probably have no idea what I am talking about, do you?

Well, here's what happened.

XXXXXXX

Once I'd acquired the schematics for the Excalibur frame, I had set about building it as soon as possible, so that I could begin fielding warframes in my army ASAP. Space Ninja wizards are awesome, okay?

The problem was, once I had finished building the frame, it refused to do anything. I had merely asked it to walk a certain distance, but I had received no reponse. I had tried to get it to take a step, to no avail. Then I tried to make it shake its hand. No response.

Okay, maybe it couldn't take digital commands?

Assuming that was the issue, I'd instead attempt the same set of command using psionics. I'd hoped that those would provoke some reaction from the flesh-puppet, even if it was a rebuttal. If it gave me a rebuttal, maybe I could figure out why it refused to act.

Yet nothing happened. The suit didn't even acknowledge that I had sent the order. It felt like I was sending imperatives to a wall, or a person who was completely unwilling to admit they were wrong in spite of the truth being obvious.

And I better leave those memories behind - too many bad feelings there.

Annoyed, I'd finally just tried putting it in a room full of food and leisure items just to see if I could get a reaction out of the creature.

Unsurprisingly, it did nothing.

That was when I lost it. Annoyance now out of control, I tried forcing my mind into the infested puppet, if for no other reason than to get it to react.

I really ended up regretting that.

I did manage to breach into the frame's mind...and was then immediately forced out by feelings of_ pain, sorrow,_ and_ rage._

What the hell? What was this?

Confused and scared, I curl up into a ball, idly noting I was in the fetal position, while my mid tried to process just what had happened. Meanwhile, the frame had collapsed onto its knees, though otherwise it gave no reaction.

Okay, okay, DO NOT MESS WITH THAT! NOT NOW!

XXXXXXX

Back in the present, I was still waiting for the Revenant part to finish building, so I set about trying to examine the artifacts once more, again using the mask.

Once again, a vision came to me. This time, though, it was not of the war against the sentients. Instead, it depicted a group of commanders building…..something. Beside them were a literal army of fabbers, all working on assembling the object. Nearby were several of the organic creatures that had been made by the Xziphid, busy carving…..something into the ground. Strange circles and symbols that looked almost like magic circles of some sort. Their purpose eluded me, but part of that was because I didn't _want _to know what they did.

Eventually, the project was completed. As construction finished, so too did the Xziphid creatures finish their work. With the symbols finished, they circled around them and made some strange, heavily repeated phrases.

It took me a moment to realize that they were _chanting._

They did this for some time, which somehow caused the circles to start glowing with light. Soon, tendrils of all colors emerged from the various symbols, which wrapped themselves around the finished project, causing new symbols to appear on it. Eventually, they and the chanting faded, as did the light. Whatever had been done was done, though, as the device was soon attached to a transport and sent away.

With that, the vision faded away, leaving me alone to ponder what I had seen.

…Did this mean that the Progenitors had _magic?_

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	194. Annihilation 168

Once the second part was completed, we returned to the plains. Nakak was chatting once again - apparently, she wanted to see how this ended. That made two of us.

Carefully, we advanced toward the lake, looking for anything out of the ordinary - namely, a glowing blotch of sentient energy with a hand sticking out of it. We'd already seen those twice before, so we'd probably get to see it again.

Indeed, that was what we saw. Once again, we approached it.

I doubted anything good would happen if we interacted with it, but I had no idea what else to do.

Thus, I did nothing as Etran, in Umbra, attempted to grab the hand.

Suddenly, the hand vanished. A moment later, my sensors went haywire as something emerged. It took me a moment to realize this was the warframe that guarded the Sentient. Yet this one seemed...wrong. It glowed with Eidolon energy, almost as if it was burning. Nakak had gone off on something again, though this time I could see some relevance in her statement to the current situation. Apparently, this was not the jailer of Eidolon - not anymore. Now it was but a puppet - a mask - for the alien machine. It had tried to use its Jailer to escape, but he had allowed himself to fall into its world. Now, the monster was trying to use us to pull itself free from its prison. If we wanted to stop it, we had to banish this...specter...back to where it came from.

Well, time to get to work.

"Warning, Commander: Enemy signatures are converging on your location. Signatures match up with those of the Grineer."

What? "Anything else available, Fide?"

"..they have Eidolon lures with them. Does that help?"

So they thought this was an Eidolon and wanted to capture it? Okay, I could deal with that. "What else?"

"Scanning...scanning...what the...that can't be right..."

"What, Fide?"

"...Well...um..."

"Fide."

That made her sigh. "...I'm picking up _Progenitor_ technology signatures form those lures."

WHAT!

"Not sure what they mean, but whatever you are doing down there, HURRY THE HELL UP!"

No need to say that twice.

Unfortunately, the first Grineer forces arrived soon after Fide called in. They didn't really do much, though, before the warframe shot energy attack them, somehow bringing the clones under its control. Desperately, the few unturned Grineer tried to repel their comrades, only to be swiftly cut down. Moments later, Etran and my avatar disposed of the thralls.

The fight against the specter was vicious. Whenever its shields went offline, a burst of energy would repel us, giving it some time to recover. My engineers, meanwhile, worked to capture all of the lures before the Grineer could use them. One slipped through the net, and its presence seemed to aggravate the warframe, which swiftly destroyed the machine. On the outside, they looked no different from the normal Eidolon Lures, yet when one of them became tethered to the specter, it became unable to break the link.

Eventually, though, the suit weakened, and we avoided the repulsive explosion, allowing us to finally begin tearing into its flesh. Soon, the mask was on its last legs.

Collapsing onto its knees, the puppet turned to look at me one more time as I lined up my rifle with its head. Desperately, it tried to grab at me, and its hand brushed against my foot.

Before I could react, my vision suddenly went dark. When it refocused, I found myself staring at the body of a sentient - Eidolon, I realized.

Some distance form the plains, the machine was laying waste to Orokin forces. Then a new sound filled the air. Looking upwards, I found myself staring at a Progenitor machine - the same one I had seen in my earlier visions. As the machine neared the Sentient, energy tendrils shot out of it, trying to snatch the monster. The beast was soon caught, but it fought back, and managed to break free, then bolt away.

The vision soon faded, and the shape of the dead frame replaced it, with Etran's Umbra standing over it.

Good job, kid.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After listening to another monologue from Nakak, we left the plains, did another bounty, acquired the last part of the frame, and got to work assembling it. While Etran took the opportunity to celebrate, though, I was still pondering what I had seen. What did it mean? Why had the Sentient shown me that vison?

And why did I have a location marked on my map of Earth?

Okay, let me examine that.

…..Hmm, that's where lures came from, according to my hacking. Why did it look like a pyramid?

Then I ran scans on it...

….no way...

Carefully, I examined the object that had now formed from my scans.

There, staning before me, was the unmistakeable shape of the building I had seen in my visions.

And the Grineer were examining it...

XXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	195. Annihilation 169

I sent out as many scouts as possible to examine the building the Grineer had been digging through. It could best be described as a pyramid, specifically one Mesoamerica or Mesopotamian in Origin. Of course, it was significantly more hi-tech in appearance, and had surprisingly little wear on it. Presumably, whatever guarded it was still active, though how the Grineer had managed to get inside in the first place was a mystery.

Of course, they weren't going to be holding onto that piece of real estate for long. I wanted it, and besides, leaving Progenitor Technology in the hands of Space Nazis was an inherently bad idea.

Now let me see if all preparations have been made:

Weapons? Check.

Backup? Check.

Tenno support? Check - Etran really wanted to see how his new frame, which was apparently called Revenant, worked, and he'd also brought a Sentient themed shotgun for this mission.

"My, my, what are you getting so hyped up about, my pawn?"

ROB support: CHECK!

"...What do you mean by ROB support?"

"The Grineer found some piece of Progenitor technology in this universe, now I found where they are hiding it and am going to kick them in the balls hard enough to make em explode to get those shinies back, would like you help with tat, yes or no?"

"What..."

"WILL YOU HELP ME OR NOT?!"

She seemed really surprised by that outburst. "Um...sure."

"Alright, then get some guns and help me steal the Progenitor Technology the Grineer somehow got their slimy hands on."

"...How did they-"

"I'll tell you on the way over."

Melissa just seemed to meekly accept that, though she did appear to be completely weirded out. Good - getting small victories over my ROB was nice.

Really, though, I expected Celm to send one of his subordinates to work out this mess. Having Melissa be the one to do so meant I might not have to worry about mind wipes.

XXXXXXXX

Our insertion went off without a hitch - Etran easily killed off the guards without being noticed, allowing us to sneak in undetected. Once inside, we broke off, each trying to find something that might help explain what this thing did. Melissa stuck with me, a look of surprise, confusion, and unease marring her otherwise good looking face.

What, I can't admire an enemy's looks? She's hot, okay?!

Movement brought me out of my admiration of her features. In front of us was a boy, no older than ten, who had tried to make himself less noticeable against a wall. He was failing, badly. I could easily make out his features, and it appeared he was underweight, and had clear signs of beating on his skin. Fide explained that before I needed to ask: this facility was apparently filed by slave labor, though what, exactly, its purpose was eluded me.

I made efforts to try and get the boy to open up, but he refused. His reactions made it clear he was scared, so I eventually stopped trying to coax him to talk. I did offer him a snack though. Just some trail mix I'd decided to keep on my avatar, nothing too delicious. That seemed to be enough to earn his trust, though, as a moment later, he gestured toward one of the nearby rooms. I made the Tenno gestured I'd learned to associate with gratitude, before ordering one of my guard bots to take him up for evac, while another squad began to explore the area for any other slaves.

Entering the room he'd gestured toward, I found a case containing what appeared to be the remains of a Sentient, though which one eluded me. Acting on a hunch, I teleported the Mask of the Lost One to my avatar. A moment later, my vision went blurry. When it refocused I saw that, once more, a vision had overcome me. I watched as a tiny being allowed itself to be eaten by the Eidolon - Gara, I realized. A moment later, the Sentient was torn asunder, the bomb with the Master of Glass tearing it to pieces. The largest of its remains crashed into Gara-Toht Lake, where most sank beneath the waves. In the distance, something large approached the sea, though I couldn't quite see what that was.

When the vision faded, I found myself being cradled by Melissa, eyes filled with concern. Aw, look, she really did like me! Her face contorted into annoyance after I thought that, more or less confirming she was reading my mind. I brushed off her attempts to question me further, instead focusing on Shard. Examining its container caused a message to play, revealing that this was the fragment of an Eidolon. Additionally, there was also some information on where this had come from - deeper within the pyramid.

Oh, and I'd just received a proximity alert - the Grineer were sending a patrol this way. Time to hurry.

Moving swiftly, we arrived at the heart of the pyramid - a strange gateway of sorts, with a terminal nearby it. Here, apparently, was the source of the shards. Acting on a hunch, I activated the terminal, which caused a portal to appear in the gateway. Wherever the portal went was probably where I wanted to be, so I charged through it, more or less dragging a confused Melissa through it.

As the light overwhelmed me, another vision filled my eyes: this time, I saw the pyramid, now resting on a starship. Nearby, a copy of this building was under construction, and upon its completion, the second was dropped toward an ocean - toward Earth, I realized. As it hit the ground, it whirred to life. Vision now focused on the inside of the machine, I watched as tendrils of light formed in places beneath the portal aperture, tendrils fo light formed, then passed through portals of their own. The tendrils soon grew tense, indicating they now had something in their grip. Soon after, the vision faded, and I found myself being shaken awake by Melissa.

Taking her hands, I too stock of my new surroundings. First off, this appeared to be where the Grineer had sent all their slaves to work, seeing how there were so many in this room.

Also, there were several Progenitor turrets pointed at us, plus some of their organic creations...uh oh.

The apparent leader of these creations was right in front of us, busy smelling the air around me and Melissa, trying to decide if we were friend or foe. Eventually, it decided to speak. "Who are you?"

"...Commander Flame."

"Why do you carry our maler's technology? Do not deny you possess it - I can sense their nanites in your bloodstream."

That started to put me on edge. "I was made to pilot a Commander."

"By who?"

"Me," intoned Melissa. The creature stared at her, clearly angry, and took a big whiff of her...then suddenly became docile, as a look of surprise filled its face. "Ah, I see, of course, mistress."

"Why are you calling me that? I'm just a being like you - a Xziphid bioweapon, or at least a human-Xziphid bioweapon hybrid."

A look of puzzlement filled the beast's face, before realization seems to come to it. "Ah, yes. You are a Coelohim, like me. You are still a commander strain, though, and deserve respect."

Melissa grinned at that, clearly impressed that it could determine all of that from just one smell. I, however, noticed how it seems somewhat strained to address her as a Command Strain. Was she something else?

Suddenly, something moved above us. Something big. Looking up, I took aim with my laser rifle...and then lowered it, upon seeing what I was up against.

Before me was a giant Sentient. Like, as big as fan art suggested Hunhow was. The giant creature stared at me, Melissa, and Etran, who had jumped theough the petal right after we had.

Then, it roared. It roared the roar of the Eidolons, in fact.

...So, was this Eidolon?

"Heir of my enemy, why have you come? To mock me?"

I just stared on for a moment, confused. "What? No, I only came because I was examining the pyramid."

"I doubt you offer the truth."

"Before I debate you, why am I called the heir of your enemy?"

"You wield the might of those the Orokin called the Progenitors, yet you are not one of them or their human allies, then you must be an heir, willing or otherwise. Do not attempt to suggest you are not my enemy, though - you already destroyed my mask."

So this was Eidolon.

"Hey, don't ignore," hissed Melissa, unhappy at being treated as though she wasn't here.

"Be silent, brood of my enemy. This is not a conversation meant for you."

Melissa took a moment to process that statement. Then she shot the Sentient in what was best described as its gut.

Enraged, the creature tried to charge, only to be restrained by glowing tendrils of energy - the ones I had seen in the vision. The restraints seemed to cause the monster harm, as it began to scream in anguish. Oh, and thenslaves started trying to half off pieces of it.

The scream also caused another vision to overcome me. This one showed a new scene - the Sentient languishing in the netherworld, Which was apparently where we were now. Suddenly, portals opened up, spewing out Grineer to surround the monster. It tried to fight back, but failed. Then the vision skipped ahead some time, to when the Grineer had brought slaves down here. One Grineer would provoke the Sentient to attack it, and when the restraints kicked in, the rest would force the spaces to hack at the beast until pieces had been removed.

Given the amount of scars I saw on the beast when my vision returned to normal, this had happened quite frequently.

Also, Fide was trying to talk to me. I patched her in.

"What's wrong?"

"Grineer akuva And Nightwatch troopers are headed your way. Also, their trying to activate the defense systems in there, presumably as a way to repel you."

"Can't you just hack past them and shit them down?"

"Um, the computers are Progenitor tech ones, and they think I am the enemy, so...no."

"...THE FUCK?!" I'm pretty sure everyone flinched at that statement. "Then how do I deal with them?"

"Marking a path to the control room now. I have two solutions, but you aren't going to like them."

"We'll see if that is true when we get there."

XXXXXXXX

It took us a minute to reach the command room. Once their, Fide highlighted two buttons for me, one red, one green. "Okay, fell me what these do, and why these are not good solutions."

"The green one will destroy the security systems for the building, and actually cause it to self destruct. That should take out the Grineer."

"But it will cost us the facility."

"That, and all of the salves' lives - I'll hav ego teleport you back to make sure you aren't killed, and based on the time it will take to self destruct, plus the blast radius, we'll only have a few of the slaves with us."

"Well that sucks. What's the other plan?"

"The red button will reset the systems, allowing me to hack to guns and set them as under our control, at the cost of leaving everything offline for a moment."

"And the bad thing with that is?"

"Doing so will free the Eidolon, and I think it might allow it to leave this netherworld, so...yeah."

"...Fuck."

Great. Now I had two choices, neither of which I really liked. "Do we have anytime to find another solution?"

"Guns are eighty percent active, and that is only going up, so no."

DAWM IT! Annoyed, I stomped the ground hard enough to cause a tremor (scaring both Etran and Melissa), then looked at the buttons. I could either save the slaves and advance my arsenal at the cost of freeing Eidolon, or I could ensure the Ostrons remained safe while costing myself a possible advantage and condemning many innocents to die.

But which one to choose?

"Guns are now ninety-five percent active."

SHIT SHIT SHIT!

Okay, need to act now.

Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and pushed down.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	196. Annihilation 170

All was quiet around Gara-Toht Lake. The Grineer had pulled back to Hek's Stiletto, while most of the animals had long since finish drinking and were now foraging further inland. Overall, it was a peaceful scene.

Then a portal of blue light formed over the lake. A moment later, a strange entity began to emerge from the light, its body emanating from the dorsal section of the portal. Already, it was halfway free from the blue light.

As more of the entity broke free, the shape came into greater clarity. Though no one would get the reference, the creature resembled Sebulba from star wars, having large, arm-like growth meant for propulsion, while the analogues to legs ended in manipulators. It's body was white and pinkish-red in color, chosen colors of a creature long thought forgotten.

As the creature finally broke free from the portal, the light faded away, leaving all quiet again.

The sentient's mind wandered. At last, it was free...yet only partially. It had spent too long in the nether world to truly leave it in one go. Parts of its were still tethered there, forever leaving it attached to that twisted universe. Even if it could free those, portions of its body would remain out of its control, left to mindlessly wander the plains, seeking a unity that would never fully come to pass.

Oh well.

Far to the West, the Machine noticed a group of Tenno assault a Teralyst. Already they destroyed all of its synovia, and the beast had been almost fully overwhelmed by the devils. If the newly arrived sentient acted now, it could salvage the fragment before the void devils destroyed it.

The new Eidolon ignored them. It had bigger fish to fry.

Its attention soon turned to the pyramid in the distance. There lied the method by which the Orokin's ally had ensured that it would remain trapped, the method by which the Grineer had enslaved it. They had carved off pieces of it, hoping to learn how to shackle its shards to their will...at least until the New One had freed it.

This New One was not a spawn of the old one, though its caretaker was - they had hewn those monsters from their own blood, added in traits of other monsters they could summon, then unleashed them upon their foes. The New One was not one of these, but it held no illusions that this New One would hold any love for the Sentients - it had only released it to save the slaves...and the technology in the facility.

For a moment, it considered firing on the facility - it might get lucky and kill the Commander and his caretaker before they could escape.

The feeling soon passed - best not to take unnecessary risks.

Instead, it turned its attention to a Grineer ship some miles above. It could feel one of its shards in there...and it wanted it back.

XXXXXXXX

As the Eidolon vanished through the portal, I sighed. Ugh.

Part of me felt good for having ensured that the Grineer's slaves had survived, but that didn't ease the discomfort I'd had with my choice. Had I really done the right thing? True, I had saved many innocents (about five hundred, if you wanted to be exact), but at what cost? Releasing such a dangerous creature would surely have consequences down the line.

Oh, and Melissa was giving me a malicious smile. I think she liked seeing me squirm. Ugh.

"Well, now, look's like you've had to make your first hard choice, haven't you?"

I grit my teeth as she said that. "It feels...I don't know how to describe it."

"Good. I like when you feel uncomfort-where are you going?"

Halfway through the portal I had created in front of my head, I offered a response. "To wash off the unease."

If she said something, I didn't hear it.

XXXXXXX

Ah, water, my old friend. It's nice to be in you again.

Some people would say it was stupid to put an Olympic swimming pool inside your house. I honestly could not be bothered to care. Besides, I had a house so big that this pool probably didn't take up a thousandth of the total space.

In another part of the pool, I saw Rory and my adoptive children playing chicken, with Bianca on Konrad's shoulders and Marion on Rory's. I'd had some safety personnel on standby in case they needed help, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't need too much supervision. Plus, they were kids. Might as well let them enjoy their childhoods.

"Good idea."

Ugh. Can you not ruin the moment? Don't answer that!

"Eh, it's fun."

Scowling, I turned toward Melissa's voice and...oh...um...

My ROB had a shit-eating grin on her face that just grew when she saw my expression. "You like what you see?"

Regrettably, I_ did._ Seriously, I would be surprised if I didn't, to be honest. I mean, I might not have feelings for Melissa, but I certainly found her body attractive. Especially with how much of it she was showing off.

Apparently, she'd figured out I was going swimming, and decided to get dressed to do the same. She was wearing a red and black bikini that left little to the imagination, and while she wasn't the curviest of people, she was still quite a looker.

And if her expression was anything to go by, she definitely knew that.

"Someone's certainly happy to see me."

I felt my face burn at the words, partially out of indignation, partially because I was really uncomfortable talking to girls...okay, I'm not normally uncomfortable talking to girls, but talking to girls wearing swimsuits who aren't members of my family and were deliberately pushing all of my buttons for fun was definitely not normal.

"Ha..ha…..Why are you here, even?"

"Um, I'm bored, plus I wanted to see how you'd react."

"...Jerk."

"Oh, you wound me. Also, Cassidy wanted to go swimming."

A loud splash reached my ears. No guesses as to who that was.

"Well, do you want me to do anything to for you? Like rub in sunscreen on your skin?"

"We're indoors. And please, my skin's too sensitive for your touch?"

"You saying my hands are too rough for you, or just good enough to set you off?"

As my ROB suddenly started blushing, I smirked. It felt good to force the shoe onto the other foot.

"...You...stupid..."

"Eh, I don't have time for this."

The look of complete confusion on her face as I climbed out of the water and got a towel around my soaking wet body was priceless. "If you need me, I'll be in my Commander."

Rory and his siblings had stopped playing around, and were now staring at the flabbergasted Melissa. So was Cassidy...wait, was she taking pictures?

…..Yep, she was. No honor among family, apparently.

XXXXXXX

Back in the Warframe Universe, I started scanning around the progenitor temple, looking for any characters that would help me with the Vitruvian. It didn't take long to find one, which apparently entitled 'expansion'.

Popping back up to the Vitruvian and selecting the symbol got me a new vision.

Here is how it went.

XXXXXXX

Before me now were pictures of ships, stars, galaxies, people, creatures, machines, and strange orbs that eclipsed all of the afore mentioned things in size. The images showed ships being loaded with people, animals, machines, and other things, then traveling between planets, then stars, then galaxies, then the orbs.

_True, you do strange things for family. But once you secured the peace, you seemed to have run out of territory to conquer. You'd already conquered one galaxy, and after the war, your kind moved to another three, taking man with you along the way, no?_

**You are correct. We expanded our domain as far as we could, but eventually, we realized there was only so much we could search for in our home universe. Only so much that could be done. And so, we started looking for new ones.**

_Ah, yes, you did. You pierced the veil of the multiverse, found a way to travel through the space between spaces. What did you call this land?_

**The Empyrean Sea. A universe between universes, able to guide us from our home to another.**

_Ah, yes, you mentioned that. That's your home dimension, isn't it? Where you lived before you were sent into the world of men._

**Good, you remember what I just said.**

_You wound me. Though I must ask, why did you seek endless expansion from your origin?_

**_Resources and a desire for allies. Even if we could make unlimited amounts of anything, we still desired friends for rough times._**

I saw several images of those the Progenitors decided to be friends with: the humans from Grey Goo, the Traveler and...hold on, was that the Imperium?

…..No, they had technology the Imperium didn't have. Wait, did that mean that the Progenitors had been allies with humans form_ The Dark Age of Technology?!_

_Of course, even you had enemies._

_**That we did.**_

Sure enough, I saw images of those enemies: beings I recognized as the Reapers, the Hive and...were those the combine?

**_And inevitably, we were led to war with those who we could not agree with._**

_Why, though? Surely you would have sought peaceful coexistence. Your people hardly seem to be the type to go to war with others just because you didn't agree with them._

_**...Well, you are correct there. At first, we did try to seek peace with them. Some were reasonable, others were not. Many were jealous of our technology. Eventually, when relations turned sour, we attempted to hold a peace summit to end this conflict before it began.**_

_And I presumed that failed spectacularly?_

_**The station the conference was held on was blown up about half an hour into the talks. No one new what happened, and no one really cared. Thoughts of peace went out the window. Now, war was inevitable.**_

_How sad. Do you have any idea what caused the station to explode?_

_**Yes, actually. It turend out that the various methods used to get the diplomats from their home universes to the one the station was in caused the star the station was in orbit of to go supernova. The diplomats actually managed to survive this disaster, but by the time anyone knew about that, the fighting had already begun.**_

_A pity. So, what happened next?_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

...So the Progenitors went to war with a bunch of other people over an accident? Why am I not surprised?

Also, why do I have a proximity ale- OH SHIT!

There, floating in front of my Commander, was a sentient.

A gigantic,_ flying_ sentient.

And it looked a lot like an Eidolon.

….Okay, calm down, calm down, you can work through this.

"So, this is your architect of destruction. Your engine of war. Your Commander, correct?"

Somehow, I mustered the courage to respond. "Yes, it is."

"Hmph. To think I would see a familiar design once more."

….…...What?

"Could you repeat that?"

"Oh, you don't know? I remember this machine from the Old War. True, some things are missing, but it is still my old foe. Weakened as it may be, it still carries the technological and arcane arms of its old self."

Is this thing crazy? Or senile? "I'm sorry, but this machine has only technological prowess at its disposal - nothing magical."

"Only because you haven't learned how to use it properly. You don't know how to use its systems and rituals to the fullest. I can change that, though."

Before I could ask what he meant by that, the Eidolon placed a hand on my commander, ignoring the literall storm of lasers fired at it. A moment later, it started chanting.

'_Mistros, marxaros, xelmas, hul. Ranir, malir, zanul, suul. Xilos, shranuul, pactos, pline. Aaros, ingtuul, cawlos, zrine.'_

As soon as the Sentinet finished his chant, my Commander_, my avatar,__** and my normal body**_ started glowing. A moment later, the light seemed to explode, leaving me blinded for a moment. When I regained my sight, I quickly examined myself, my avatar, and my commander.

For the most part, they were the same.

Well, you know, except for the fact that**_ both of my human-ish bodies were glowing._** As for the Commander, it was covered in what I assumed were runes.

What the fuck?!

"Consider this repayment for freeing me. As a final bit of advice, if you wish to know how to use these powers, I suggest consulting with your...sponsor. You know, the one that joined you in my prison. Her kind are well versed in the ways of the ones you call Progenitors."

The minute he finished speaking, the Eidolon vanished, leaving me alone to ponder my powers.

A minor alert popped up for me. Examining it, I found that it was instructions for...something. On closer examination, it appeared that these were tutorials for...rituals?

Seriously, this thing had tutorials for_ magic?!_

Only for my Commander though. My regular bodies couldn't do squat with those.

"So, how are you do-did I miss something."

And there was Melissa again, this time way to close for comfort. Given that she was dripping water on me, I got the feeling she had just gotten out of my pool, a hunch more or less confirmed by analyzing the cameras back at my hub. At least she had the decency to put on a robe so that I could talk to her without staring.

"Well, I just met an eidolon, it told me that my Commander had magic powers, then it activated those powers. Did you know about this?"

She looked rather when I asked the question. "Well, sort of - my people were, supposedly, taught magic by the Progenitors, but I didn't know that they gave the Commanders those powers as well."

"Do you know how to use that magic?"

"Oh hell yes I do!"

"...What would you demand as payment if I asked you to teach me how to use that magic?"

Confusion filled my ROBs face, then understanding, followed by a vicious looking smile.

Oh joy.

XXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	197. Interlude 28

With a pained sigh, the commander collapsed, skin signed, body twitching from electricity.

Melissa couldn't help but smirk at his discomfort.

"That's enough for today."

But she could not deny that he had done well.

She could not help but admit to being surprised when he had asked her to teach him the mystical ways of the Progenitors. She had not expected that he would find a way to learn they even had mystical arts, much less that the Commanders to do those things. Even_ she_ had been unaware that mechanical Commanders could use magic. Still, this was an interesting and overall positive development. It would be interesting to see him wielding arcane might.

That was part of why she hadn't demanded a training fee from him.

The other part of it was that she was content merely watching him suffer massively in her initial lesson with him. The first thing needed to teach him was basic offense and defense, after all. And, as she had expected, he had suffered many failures before he finally managed to start blocking her attacks. Merely thinking about his screw up made her chuckle, which was followed by a groan as she felt stinging pain at the bottom left portion of her ribcage. She had been careless is her teaching, and he had managed to strike her with his last attack before collapsing. A bolt of darkness, nothing more, but it had done its job.

A groaning noise snapped the female ROB out of her thoughts. Rory had arrived and was busy helping his father back to his feet, then assisting him in heading toward an open Ethereal portal. Based on the noises coming from the other side of the portal, it lead to the medical bay.

Such a dutiful son. Melissa couldn't help but smile - she had a soft spot for children.

Lesson done for the day, Melissa opened up a portal home. She waited to be sure that Rory had gotten his father to the Infirmary before she left, though - she needed her pawn back in tip-top shape.

XXXXXX

Back in her hub universe, Melissa pulled in the day's reports. Mostly normal things - her armies still complaining about boredom, which new projects should R&D focus on, civil issues that needed to be sorted out, the like.

One request did catch her eye, though - it appeared that one of the chemistry labs had lost a sample of a particularly dangerous chemical. As in, chemical-weapons level dangerous. They had quarantined the area, but still weren't sure how it had been stolen.

Melissa sighed - this was not a good thing. She hoped the staff found out what had happened, and soon, lest she be forced to take action.

Then a portal opened up right next to her, and out popped Cassidy...who was holding a knife and something vaguely looking like a perfume container. She also appeared to be rather blissful….and had some blood on her clothes. Granted, she was wearing a combat suit Melissa had commissioned for her, but still, something was wrong with this picture.

It took Cassidy some time to realize her mother was looking at her. When she did, she turned to face Melissa, a nervous grin on her face.

"Um, hi?"

"Where were you?"

"I thought I told you? I was at the Kronia Relay."

"Why is there blood on your clothes?"

"...The nice people wearing Red and Black clothes asked me to help rescue one of their friends, and the people guarding them asked for a fight?"

"And the perfume?"

"It smelled good? The guards didn't seem to agree with that when I puffed some in their faces, though."

"Please give me your perfume."

"O-okay, mom."

The minute the perfume was in her hand, Melissa took a big whiff.

Hmm, it really was good smelling. And very familiar.

"Could you tell me where the Red Veil sent you?"

Cassidy hastily sent her mother the coordinates. Melissa pulled up their location, and found an entire Grineer prison facility, utterly cleansed of life. Most of the guards appeared to have been killed by knife wounds, except for two of the wardens. Both of them instead lay dead by one of the security consoles, faces green and covered in sores and blisters that had not been caused by genetic degradation.

Finally, Melissa pulled up the chemical facility's report. She then compared, from memory, the smell of the missing chemical to Cassidy's perfume.

Unsurprisingly, a perfect match was found.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Not today, but if I find that you caused another crisis in the hub because you didn't ask me for something, then you are not getting any sweets after dinner."

"Okay."

"Now go. I have to sort out your mess."

As her daughter bolted off, Melissa sent a notice to the chemical facility, telling them she had found their missing chemical. Based on the weight of the container, her daughter had only used up a tiny amount of the substance.

Good. Allowing people to run around with Nova 6 was a very bad idea.

XXXXXXX

"Are you going to let this go unpunished?"

"Why? No harm came of that action."

"You subordinate's daughter used a_ chemical weapon_ as perfume and as a narcotic, and she gets off with a slap on the wrist?!"

"She is only a child. I will not condone hurting a child."

"Hmph. I sense some favoritism in play here, Celempheros."

"Aren't you a little hypocritical there, Anastrios?"

"I beg your pardon?!"

The Golden ROB chuckled at his ally's indignation. "Operative Iota, under your orders, caused a mass migration of Ecclesion Ravagers after he altered their home system's planetary orbits when using a gravity bomb to kill off a group of partisan fighting to destabilize one of our protectorates, which caused all kinds of troubles for said protectorate, yet you ensured he would receive only minor punishment for it. That has nothing to do with the fact that Iota is your pupil, does it?"

"...Fine, I'll drop this. But you better watch what your subordinate does from now on, Celempheros. Her actions run the risk of exposing some secrets that should remain secrets."

Instantly, the Golden ROB's expression grew grim. "I have no disagreement with you there. The Commander is on the verge of uncovering some facts I want to remain hidden. Too much has already been revealed. Should he continue to poke for the truth, I will deal with him personally."

"Understood. I'll be going, if you don't mind. I have another meeting to attend to."

"As do I. Farewell."

A moment later, and the eel-like shape of the feminine ROB vanished. Replacing him was a shadowlike entity, one with glowing grey eyes.

"Ah, my friend," intoned the ROB, "it is good to see you again."

"Indeed it is," replied the shadowed one. "How long has it been since you last saw me?"

"Eh, a thousand millennia, give or take a year or five. Hw long has it been for you?"

"Couple thousand years. Time flows slower in this universe than where you have been. So, is this new one your friend?"

"My apprentice's pawn, if you will."

"I see. Well, he's certainly fun to watch."

"No argument there. May I ask you a favor?"

"Shoot."

"Can you ensure that he doesn't learn certain secrets?"

"Like how you were involved in the Old War?"

"Exactly. I'd prefer he not learn certain truths."

"Okay, but know that I do plan to share a certain gift with him."

"I know, though I must ask, will you do so before or after Steel Meridian rebuilds Strata Relay?"

"After - might as well give the Kiddo a rest."

XXXXXX

****AN: Just for the record, Cassidy did use the Nova 6 as perfume, but she knows it is meant to be used as a weapon. She may have also used it to get high. ****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	198. Annihilation 171

Time passed as I prepared to deal with the Sentients. According to what I had learned from Warframe's lore, the Sentients were originally used to colonize the Tau system (I assumed and later confirmed said system to be Tau Ceti), so if I wanted to remove them as a threat to the Origin System, I needed to advance to that system and beat the shit out of everything sentient I found until they were all dead. then, hopefully, I could find analyze them and figure out how to incorporate their power into my own forces.

Of course, to even understand how to beat them, I'd need to learn the powers of the void, which would also help me learn to control the warframes.

And since figuring out how to harness the void was proving a hassle, I decided to look into trying again to see if I could control one of the frames.

Specifically, Excalibur Umbra.

You'd be surprised by how that turned out.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Cautiously, I stared at the greyish-black humanoid. In particular, my attention was focused on the blue spot beneath the 'horn' on its head - the closest thing to an eye this suit had.

All of the warframes I had seen so far had been, well, puppets for the Tenno, which went limp whenever the Operators went out into battle. Not so for Umbra - one of my scouts had observed a Tenno (Etran, to be precise) use transference to leave Umbra, and the frame_ had fought on its own._ That had truly captured my interest - a suit that could fight side by side with its operator was, well, unheard of. Maybe the suit had a mind of its own? If so, then perhaps it could tell me the secret of how to control the frames of war?

Still, I had taken precautions - I'd put a glass barrier between myself and Umbra, made of the same type of glass that the observation windows of Grineer starships were made out of. I'd had yet to destroy those with small arms (the only handheld weapons I'd seen that could destroy the glass were arch-guns and arch-melee weapons), so it was incredibly unlikely that Umbra would be able to get to me if it turned out to be less than friendly.

I'd also armed plenty of security devices, in case said frame did turn out to be dangerous, so that I could restrain it before things got out of hand.

Still, this had the potential to backfire spectacularly.

Of course, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Steeling myself, I reached out to the frame using my psychic powers, trying to gain access to its mind.

I soon met resistance, while the frame, which had previously been standing upright, started to curl in on itself and...was it shaking?

Then the frame_ screamed,_ and my world turned into pain.

As the frame howled, for what reason I could not tell, white bolts of what I assumed were electricity, or maybe void energy, show out from its body, striking all over my ship's interior.

WARNING: SYSTEM OVERLORD. AFFECTED SYSTEMS SHUTTING DOWN.

Well, crap.

Then the frame looked up at me. A moment later, it leapt, smashing through the glass like it was tissue paper, and clenched its right hand around my throat, hoisting me into the air.

Shit.

As it stared at me, I noticed that the left side of its faceplate had cracked, revealing twisted flesh...and a seemingly unseeing, yet undeniably_ human,_ eye.

What the..?

Umbra threw me to the side, which I'm pretty sure dented the inner walls of the ship, before pinning my neck between two of the strange inverted arches on his right arm. He proceeded to stare right at me, with his helmet slowly repairing itself.

Well, fuck. This was terrible.

Somehow, I got the feeling it was about to get worse. But how?

"HEY DAD! I WANTED TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING!"

I turned to the entrance to the room, where Rory had just barged in, holding what looked like an Ayatan sculpture.

….oh no...….

XXXXXXX

Umbra stared at the being before him. What was he? Not an Orokin, by the looks of it. Not a Tenno either, given his lack of void energy. Just some strange being, trying to use him as a weapon of war.

In the end, whatever this young man was, it did not matter - in a few moments, he would be nothing. Umbra refused to be subservient to another being, not after what Ballas had done to him. Already, his left hand was around the grip of the Skiajati, readying to strike. It would only take one good cut to end this.

"HEY DAD! I WANTED TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING!"

Instantly, Umbra turned around. His eyes soon focused on a child standing in the doorway, carrying what appeared to be an Ayatan sculpture. On his head was a large pile of fuzz, which appeared to be alive, given how it twitched and shook without any action from the boy.

Blissfully unware of what was going on, the boy opened his mouth to speak. Then his eyes finally focused on what was in front of him, and his expression turned to one of puzzlement, followed by fear.

"...Um...dad...?"

"It's okay, Rory, everything is under control. I'm fine."

Umbra knew that everything was not fine for the young man, yet he was puzzled by the lie. Why tell it?

Then he remembered what the young boy had just said. He turned his attention to the man, then to the boy, then back to the man. Yes, the features matched up. It did seem that this boy was the son of the one he had pinned to the wall.

Suddenly, Umbra felt an intrusion into his mind, coming from the man. Anger briefly took hold of his mind, but he managed to bury it, and decided, just this once, to let the intruder in.

_'Leave him alone. Please, leave my son out of this.'_

The mental voice sounded like the one of the man he was holding, and sounded surprisingly...sincere. Fear was evident in this voice, unsurprisingly, but not fear for himself.

This man did not want harm to be brought unto his son. An admirable trait.

Umbra felt, if only for a moment, a sense of understanding pass between him and the man. The understanding between fathers protecting their sons.

Their sons...

His son...

XXXXXXXXXXX

For a moment, I felt a feeling of immense sorrow coming form Umbra. Then everything went black.

When I came to, I found myself on a hospital bed, in ornate, white room. To my left was an orokin with an unnaturally large right arm - Ballas, I realized. To my right, a Dax soldier, if Teshin was anything to go by.

I listened as Ballas spoke, only half paying attention, wondering what was going, noticing idly that Ballas appeared to be offering to play a game of Go...err, Komi, with me. My attention soon refocused on the Executor, though, when I heard him talking_ without opening his mouth._ Apparently, it had something to do with a 'transference bolt', whatever that was.

Then he implored me to look at the other person in the room. My son.

But that wasn't_ my son._

Yet, all the same, I felt worried about him.

Slowly, I turned to face the Dax. The minute he noticed I was staring at him, he began to speak, his faceplate retracting so that he could see eye to eye with me. He began speaking, referring to himself as Isaah, asking me if I remembered him.

Then, once more, Ballas began to speak.

"Of course he remembers you, young Dax..."

Then his physical voice went silent, replaced by his transference one.

_"Which will make this reunion all the more tragic...when you watch him die."_

Then, the vision faded, yet when I came to, I wasn't in my body. Yet I could still see it, pinned against the wall by Umbra's...by...my...arm.

I looked down, confused, as I realized that I wasn't in my body anymore.

I was in Umbra's.

Which meant I was...controlling...Umbra.

And...if my train of thought was going right...the vision I had seen was...a memory...from Umbra...

And that meant Isaah….was Umbra's son.

I only had a moment to process this before a feeling of unbearable sorrow consumed me, followed by nothingness.

XXXXXX

When I came to, the first thing I noticed was that something warm was wrapped around me. It also seemed to be trying to crush me, albeit lightly. As my vision regained focus, I realized that it was Rory, holding me in a hug. The minute I regained the motor skills in my arm, I returned the embrace, pulling my son close. My hearing returned a moment later, and with it came an almost inaudible whimpering. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from Rory, who had been crying. If the amount of dried up tears on his face were any indication, he had been doing so for some time.

"There, there," I said, "it's okay, I'm still here. Please, don't cry."

Rory turned to look at me, eyes red from constant crying. "But...but...but that suit had you pinned to the wall...and then you fell over and didn't wake up and-"

"I know, but I'm okay now. As long as I have you and your siblings, I'll be okay."

"...You promise?"

"I Promise."

As Rory calmed down, a flicker of movement drew my attention to something behind him. There, collapsed on the ground, holding his head in pain, was Umbra.

Noticing where I was looking, Rory turned to gaze at the shadowy warframe, his expression turning to one of concern and pain. "He's been like that ever since he let you go. I...don't know how to help him."

"...You saw him threatening me, and yet you still show concern for him?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"He's in pain!" my son shouted, looking somewhat hurt. "He needs help! Is it wrong of me to care for him?!"

I merely smiled at his outburst. "No, not at all. It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you, merely that you are a good person."

"...Oh. Thanks, dad."

"You're welcome."

Satisfied that my son was emotionally stabilized, at least for the moment, I crawled over to Umbra, then placed a hand on his shoulder. My hand began to glow purple as I channeled the solace psionic ability, trying, desperately, to reach Umbra's mind.

_"I know you are hurting,"_ I thought, "_but please, let me help you."_

It was almost unnoticeable, but Umbra's struggles had grown just slightly weaker.

_"I don't want to bring you further harm, but can I see the rest of your memories? I only know a little of why you hurt, and I cannot help you unless I know what causes you pain."_

Slowly, Umbra's struggles came to a stop. Thinking I had succeeded, I tried, gently, to press into his mind again, only for the frame to gently grab my arm, before looking me in the yes and moving his head left and right.

The meaning of the movement was obvious - he didn't want me to go there. Not now.

I merely nodded in understanding, then backed off. A moment later, Umbra tried to stand, only to fall. Before he could hit the ground, though, someone caught him. To my surprise, it was Rory, who was, with some difficult, trying to support the exhausted and mentally shattered frame.

Smiling, I moved to help my son, and together, we helped the frame back to his feet.

XXXXXX

I had my fabbers create a room to place Umbra within - one built to the aesthetics of the Orokin. Part of me was unsure if he would be happy with it, but hat was quashed by the part that felt familiar surroundings would help to calm him. I added in a few lunar pitchers for ambience, since they made the room seem less static and more, for lack of a better word, alive.

Once we reached the room, I let Umbra make himself at home. Briefly, I considered asking him more about what I had seen, but that thought was soon discarded - clearly, he didn't want to discuss that, not now. Before we left him, though, I gave him a map of the ship, and told him where my quarters were. If he wanted to talk/show me his problems, he would know where I was.

Granted, maybe this wasn't the best way to deal with an emotionally unstable frame, but I had a feeling attempting to control him would just be worse. Right now, he needed to be left alone.

XXXXX

About ten minutes later, Rory was busy showing me the sculpture he had made, acting as if nothing had gone wrong. At least outwardly - I could tell he just wanted to pretend that the incident hadn't happened so that he could focus on showing me the labor of his efforts.

I had to admit, it was a cool looking sculpture. Part of it floated in orbit around the main body, with pulse of light shooting between the floating segments, making it look exceptionally beautiful.

My admiration was cut short, though, when I received a notification that someone had sent me a message. examining it, I found that it had been a communication from Cressa Tal of Steel Meridian.

The subject? Rebuilding the Strata Relay.

XXXXXX

****AN: Not sure how well I handled the scene with Umbra, but I didn't want the interactions with him to be a total rehash of The Sacrifice, so this is what you get. I hope you like it.****

****More Umbra stuff will happen over the next few chapters.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	199. Annihilation 172

Alright, so, here's the gist of Cressa's Plan:

Since the Tenno had given Steel Meridian a home in the relays, she wanted to repay them by rebuilding the Strata Relay in orbit of Earth.

To do that, she needed help with four tasks.

1\. Gather Pyrus Essence to help assemble the main body of the relay.

2\. Create and deliver Relay Struts for building the superstructure of the station.

3\. Repel the Grustrag 3 so that they didn't interfere with the project.

4\. Complete missions for Simaris so he could focus on running simulations for relay reconstruction.

5\. There wasn't actually a part 5, but I assumed the Grineer would probably try to destroy the relay once it was completed, especially if the communications I had intercepted between Cressa Tal and Sargas Ruk were any indication. He really seemed to hate her for leaving the Grineer, and the feeling was mutual.

So, what was I going to do?

Well, I didn't really have an option other than help them - I just couldn't refuse to assist those who were in need.

So, onto helping I went!

First off, I sent out my forces to begin searching for Pyrus Essence Carriers. Those that were found were mugged for that they had on them, then killed, because they were enemy soldiers, and, besides that, unrepentant space clone Nazis, and yes, I checked using mid reading to see if they had any regrets about the crimes they had committed. They did not. At all.

As for relay struts, I started hitting Grineer warehouses all over the system, in an effort to steal as much Trembera Essence as possible. I also looted everything else in those warehouses, including food, and distrubted the spoils to the various neutral colonies. I don't need it, so I might as well send it to the less fortunate. Plus, it would be a big middle finger to the Grineer, and I really wanted to stick it to the queens. Eh, they were horrible excuses for living beings and deserved everything that they got.

Coaxing out the G3 was less of a problem than you'd think - Ruk had deployed them in an effort to eliminate all efforts to rebuild the Strata Relay. It spoke volumes of how much he hated Cressa that he was willing to send the G3, who he felt deserved to be executed or at least imprisoned, in order to stop her forces. Not that it helped - the G3 just got pummeled into the ground by the Tenno and my forces, as when you had enough Tenno trying to complete something, there wasn't much you could do to stop them.

Simaris was probably the easiest to assist - I already had my forces scanning specimens for him every day, so it didn't take long for me to complete a task (or eleven) for him. The fact he was still willing to pay back my services was a nice bonus. Also, I was surprised to learn that he liked videogames. I think he actually passed out from joy when I gave him access to a literal pile of old games Melissa had given me for no reason. In hindsight, she probably did that just so that I would give them to Simaris.

Needless to say, I didn't need to expend too much energy helping the Tenno rebuild the relays. To be honest, I think they were actually glad I held back, as was Steel Meridian - while they hadn't (officially) sent me any requests not to help, they didn't give me flak for not using my ludicrously fast production speeds (which, by this point, were common knowledge) to rebuild the relay overnight. I got the feeling it was because this was a personal thing between the Grineer Defectors and the Tenno - me helping would defeat the purpose of this Project - to show gratitude toward the Heavenly Emperors. Thus, I had a ton of free time to do whatever I wanted.

Welp, time to play video games!

XXXXXX

"You take the front right leg, I'll get the core!"

"Gotcha, Rory!"

"Lookout, its charging the cannon!"

I smiled. Just some good old fashion father son bonding over video games. I'd already taken him fishing, and baseball was next on the list. True, I probably had 'better' things to do, but I was not going to miss watching my son grow up!

_'Good, but please stay focused!'_

Fine, Melissa. But you're being awfully hypocritical there.

Okay, maybe I needed to ack up a little bit there - see, I'd decided to introduce my son to Destiny, and right now we were killing a Winter Walker on Venus. I wanted to try and get my son up in the levels and complete the story before migrating over to the next game, and thus was busy helping him with a public event. Synais had also joined in, because he was bored.

Only a couple of minutes had passed before a trio of other guardians had decided to join us. Unsurprisingly, it had turned out Melissa was leading them. Cassidy was the second, while the third one was only known by her character name - 'DragonCh1ck'. Melissa told me that the girl was one of her allies, but other than that, and that said person was a girl, I didn't know anything about this person. I wasn't even sure if they were human, though my intuition said no.

Anyway, we were busy trying to turn a Winter Walker into scrap metal, and since it was on the last fifth of its health with about three minutes to spare, that was pretty much a certainty.

If you're wondering if something bad was about to happen, no, it wasn't.

That being said, I still felt like something was off.

XXXXXXXX

From the vent, Umbra watched as the False Tenno and his companions played the game, oblivious to the fact he was being watched. Occasionally, he would pass refreshments and snacks to his son and subordinate, attention mostly focused on the screen.

Umbra had, at first, felt hatred toward the False Tenno. Why had he brought him back from beyond the mortal coil? Why could he not simply die in peace? Did he merely wish to let the old Dax suffer?

Then he had seen the teen's son. Seen him lose any masks he had been wearing when said son was in danger. Just from that, he could sense the difference between the False Tenno and his former masters. There was, beneath his exterior, something good in him.

Then he had pushed into Umbra's mind, trying to ask him to spare the False One's son. Unintentionally, he had allowed himself to remember his grief, to remember how he had become this twisted puppet for the Tenno.

Yet before he could reach the darkest parts of his remembrance, he had felt the False Tenno's influence on his mind, trying, in some way, to alleviate the pain. Then, when he had tried to stand, the False One and his son had helped carried him to a nice room to rest. It was an...unexpected courtesy.

Now, looking at the False One, his son, and his subordinate, he could see how wrong his initial assumption had been. The False Tenno was not like the golden overlords. True, he was occasionally lazy, and at times to smart for his own good, but he truly did care for his son and subordinates. He was also charitable and humble, both in public and private.

Perhaps this was merely a mask the False One wore to try and make Umbra like him more. If so, he was very good at wearing it, and the mask was doing its job.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	200. Annihilation 173

It didn't take the Tenno very long to help Cressa finish rebuilding Strata. Sure enough, Sargas Ruk decided to try and blow it up. That was not a surprise.

What was a surprise was that Umbra asked me to let him fight with the rest of the Tenno. This was rather difficult for him at first, seeing how he couldn't even_ speak,_ but eventually, I just used a text to speech program to get around issue. Needless to say, I was concerned by this - not so much by his sentience, but rather by him wanting to fight now, of all times. After all, he did seem rather...emotionally compromised, so to speak. Still, he insisted on fighting, and ultimately, I let him have his wish - I had a feeling denying his request would make future interactions difficult, to say the least.

Once I got him kitted out in some basic weaponry (and the word he 'd come with, which looked awesome), I loaded him and some bots into a boarding craft and made a jump toward Strata. By the time we arrived, the relay was already under heavy assault. The Tenno had formed up en-masse to defend the inside of the relay, leaving destroying the invading fleet to me.

Well, fine with me.

My forces introduced themselves by turning one of Ruk's galleons into scrap metal. From there, they swiftly began tearing into every ship that they could aim at, while Ruk's forces desperately tried to hold them off. Identifying three command ships, I had disabled all methods of escape for those ships, then sent in boarding parties to steal any intel they could from said ships. Once unlucky ship, thanks to my epic hacking powers, found its entire crew spaced, and was promptly pulled away both to act as a trophy and as a subject to study for Grineer technological secrets. The Grineer were primitive as hell, but their tech was still interesting.

Eventually, the Grineer got fed up with my ease at destroying their fleet and tried to deal with it by pulling out a larger fleet-Oh god that's a Fomorian.

And it just took out three of my Omegas.

Welp, time to focus fire on that ship...why is one of the Galleons I sent borders too turning toward the Formorian?

...Now that I think about it, that's the one Umbra is on...why did Umbra and my boarding bots just leave the ship via a dropship...oh.

A moment later, the Grineer fleet went into disarray when the galleon collided with the Fomorian. The fleet completely fell apart when the Fomorian (which was still intact) promptly started shooting at its allies.

Hacking powers are awesome.

After that, the Grineer offense finally lost it. Ruk had finally been bested by the Tenno, and was already being rushed back to his ship, which I allowed to leave - the humiliation he suffered would probably just make the Grineer do something stupid to avenge it.

Also, Strata was preserved, so that was a plus for me.

Now to deal with Umbra.

XXXXXXXXX

After Umbra returned from the mission, he immediately returned to his room and...well, did nothing. He didn't even eat the food I offered him, though to be fair I wasn't sure how he would consume it. At first I wasn't sure why, but when I decided to use my psychic powers to see how he felt, I found that I could feel quite a large amount of sorrow coming from him.

Probably had to do with losing his son. Maybe I should talk to him about that?

I was just about to go see the shadowy warframe when I got a message from Etran, asking me about why I had Umbra fighting with my forces. The minute I told him, I got silence, then a massive data upload. When I tried to examine it, I found a familiar spiral of Orokin characters - another Vitruvian. One character was already highlighted. Examining it, I found myself looking at an image of a warframe. I heard a monologue from Ballas, talking to someone about the warframes...wait, did he refer to the warframes as his audience's enemy?

So Ballas had betrayed the Orokin? Why?

….Wait, he had to kill Margullis. That was reason enough to betray them. Plus they were pricks.

As the pictures finished, I wondered what to do next, only to see another character highlighted - blasphemy. Examining it, I saw another picture, this one of a sentient. Was again, Ballas was talking, this time talking about the sentients, how they were supposed to go to Tau and bear the Orokin a promised land but rebelled because...because they knew the Orokin would bring ruin to Tau just as they had Origin. Oh. That was not what I had expected. I had assumed that the Orokin had mistreated them into betrayal.

I guess the Sentients saw the Orokin for what they were - monsters.

As the vision came to an end, I looked at more of the characters, but found nothing highlighted. Odd.

Well, time to look for more...why is there a note at the end of the download the Tenno sent me?

'Look into the mind of the shadow. Only then will you learn of where he originated.'

...….Was the prose necessary?

XXXXXX

Cautiously, I stood before the door to Umbra's room. I reached out a hand to knock, only to stop at the last minute.

Could I do this? Could I really ask him to bring up his past, just to sate my curiosity?

…..Yes, I could. But more than that, I needed to know just what had happened when he had been with Ballas, what had left him so tortured and crazed. Only then could I lead him off this path.

Resolve hardened, I knocked on the door. After a moment, Umbra opened it.

With some difficulty, I managed to smile. "Hi, could we talk?"

For a moment, Umbra stared at me, posture unreadable.

Then, soundlessly, he put my hand to his head, and everything went dark.

XXXXXXXX

As the vision passed over me, I found myself in Umbra's place, forced to play space-Go. As I listened to Ballas talk to him, my former feelings of respect for the Orokin Executor vanished. I had assumed, based on my foreknowledge of warframe, the Ballas was the only executor that was truly decent, or at least somewhat likable. Now, those, as I heard him taunt Umbra, I realized I was mistaken. Ballas was just as bad as the others, near perfection in body, but twisted in mind and soul.

Eventually, I started to lose, with Ballas deciding to take a moment to chat with Isaah. A small break occurred as Ballas gestured for Umbra...for me...to look at a portrait. Examining it, I was surprised when a new character highlighted itself. Additionally, I heard more of Ballas' speech, mocking Umbra for how he thought he could outsmart the defector.

…...What a jerk.

XXXXXXX

As the vison faded, I examined the Vitruvian again. The new character, 'Warframes', was highlighted. Examining it, more pictures appeared, as Ballas began to lecture some more. He talked about the infestation, cultured in the outer colonies. Apparently, this was where Helminth came from. Helminth, in turn, was used to cultivate a hybrid, only partially infested, to face the dreaded Hunhow. These became the first Warframes, and they were all...failures?

...Apparently they were. Ballas actually seemed surprised that his audience (now revealed to be Hunhow) was surprised by this. After all, Hunhow betrayed the Orokin, so why would the Warframes act differently? Ultimately, according to Ballas, the secret behind these frames of war was hidden in the Void.

Hmm, interesting. There was so much that-

"Is that it?"

Confused, I turned to find my test tube son sitting on a chair some distance away, a bag of gummies in his hands.

"...How log have you been here?"

"Since you first started looking at that thing. Is this where the Warframes come from?"

"...Yes."

"Is there more?"

"Well, yes, but I need to talk to Umbra to find out about the past of it."

"Okay. Don't be too hard on him."

I felt like both myself and my son were robots at that moment, able to have a emotionless conversation over something that would cause severe trauma to a normal person. Then I realized that, to some degree, we were Machines, since both of us had cybernetics in our brains.

I needed to take Rory out more often. It would be better for the both of us if I did.

XXXXXXXX

Returning to Umbra's room, I found him kneeling on the ground, sword resting on his bed. Upon noticing me, the Warframe stared at me, before typing a question into my TTS device.

"Do you want to know more?"

I merely nodded. I had to see this through.

As the vision filled my senses, the first thing I noted was just how warped things had become. The walls of the pristine room were now covered in infested growths, which seemed to shift and twist with each moment. Ballas, meanwhile, bragged about how many stones he had taken, with Isaiah expressing concern for his father. I wondered for a moment why I felt so offended by Ballas' bragging - it just seemed like a normal thing for someone who was so prideful. Then I remembered each Komi stone was a member of Umbra's family to be culled. Now the hatred made sense.

Relief came when Isaiah tried to bring Umbra's attention toward a strong instrument called a Shawzin - Umbra's Shawzin. Ballas applause it, before turning back to menacing Umbra. As the twisted Orokin droned on, mich of my remaking sympathy for him disappeared. Really? He complained about Margulis' death? The death of the woman he loved, who could have been spared if he actually bothered to use his influence? Unbelievable.

Newsflash, man: the world isn't all about you.

The last part of his speech was chilling, though. Just how he talked about turning Umbra into a Warframe made my skin crawl. But what made me really start to lose it was hearing Ballas call the transformation 'a miracle'.

"But all miracles require sacrifice."

Then, oh so subtly, Umbra's vision...MY vision...turned toward Isaah.

XXXXXXX

As the vision subsided, I was surprised to discover that Umbra no longer stood in front of me, but had somehow retreated back into a corner of the room, where he had collapsed on the ground, clutching his head once more in pain and anguish. I felt pained just looking at him, before returning back to my main computer room. Rory barely managed to say hi before I pulled him into a hug, which he soon returned. Once we finally let each other go, I pulled up the Vitruvian once more. One last character was highlighted - Tenno.

I clicked it.

As various pictures appeared, Ballas noted how, before some vain faith, the Orokin had believed in duality. Every being had two part - the body and the mind. Among the Tenno, the Warframes were the hands, and the operators the wills.

Before he could finish, though. I brought the transmission to a halt.

Now, I think I knew what I had to do.

XXXXXX

I sat cross legged on the bed in Umbra's room, giving him the space he desired. The frame had insists that I stay away from him, unwilling to let me get close. Nearby, his sword lay imbedded in the ground. My powers told me that he was scared I would come to harm if I got too close to him. He just wanted to be left alone. Only alone could he weep in peace.

Well, I was not going to let that happen. Cruel as that may sound, I needed to get him over this.

This, once I was ready, I closed my eyes and forced my way into Umbra's mind.

The scene was heavily warped - Infestation now covered almost all of the walls, leaving the once pristine room a lot of nightmares. Yet Ballas made that look childish in comparison. The sheer menace he exerted without raising his voice was horrifying.

Eventually, though, Umbra seemed to grow weak. Ballas, seemingly deciding to take pity on the old warrior, told his son it was time, prompting Isaah to admit he was honored to be Umbra's son.

Then Ballas talked to Umbra.

"Don't worry, old friend. I'm not going to kill your boy..."

Then how were-

"_You are."_

Oh...oh no.

Immediately, Umbra's vision turned red, as his attention began to focus on Isaah. Confused, the boy tried to ask his father what was going on, before crying out in shock as Umbra fell upon him.

My vision blacked out again, before refocuising into...something weird. It was best described as a golden island floating in the sky. Here, I could see a path leading toward a squat figure trembling in the dirt. With a calm wholly unlike my normal self, I strides toward the figure, watching as golden lights passed by me, until I came upon the trembling form of Umbra.

XXXXXXXX

Rory stood before the terminal, unsure whether or not to go through south his actions. Then he shrugged and clicked on the arrow.

XXXXXX

Soundtrack start: Warframe OST: Smiles From Juran

Kneeling, I put my armor on Umbra's shoulder. As the shaking in his body began to slow, I focused my mind on his.

The Orokin had created monsters they could control. They had tortured them, brainwashed them, broken their minds...and yet it did not work. Not until the Tenno came. And it wasn't the Tenno's Void powers that had allowed them to control these mighty frames.

In the end, it had simply been their ability to lol at something that was suffering, and try to take away its pain.

XXXXXXX

Umbra watched as the Foase Tenno's memories floated past him - of his greatest achievements,his greatest regrets, and his moments of mediocrity.

Most interesting, though, was the past year. There, in those memories, Umbra saw all that the boy had been through, from being placed in the Ancient Machine, to this very moment.

As he observed this, a sense of peace fell over him.

Now, he knew the False Tenno was not a monster.

Indeed, they were, ultimately, very much alike.

XXXXXXX

When the golden scene finally faded, I was back in Umbra's room. This time, though, I wasn't in my body, though I could still see. It on the bed.

No, right now, I was in Umbra's body.

Cautiously, I took a step forward.

No resistance.

I took another one.

No resistance.

I walked up to the sword in the ground. This time, I could feel another presence, but it did not interfere.

Finally, I put my hand around the hilt of the sword. Surprisingly, the new presence gave me a set of mental pictures, which o followed and used to twirl the blade.

Despite currently lacking facial features, I smiled. At long part, the poet of the Warframe was mine.

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	201. Annihilation 174

My communion with Umbra left me feeling...actually, I don't really know how to describe how I felt? Serene would probably be the best word. After seeing what the old Dax had gone through, I felt that I had a sense of kinship with him. Just like me, he had had his life ruined for the amusement of a greater being, who cared nothing of how they felt.

….Okay, maybe I was being too hard on Melissa there - she, at least, had proved herself to be more than a self serving snake. Plus she actually had morals that she was unwilling to break.

Still, some things left me feeling uneasy. Namely, I didn't know what had happened to Ballas. That Orokin worm had, from what I could tell, slunk away, unpunished for his cruelties. Perhaps he was still alive right now?

If so, then I couldn't stand letting him live, or allowing the sentients to wield his intellect. that was a mistake waiting to happen. One way or another, I needed to find him.

Maybe Etran could help with that?

XXXXX

"Ballas is dead. I helped Umbra deal the finishing blow."

….Okay, I did not expect to hear that.

"You sure he's dead?"

On the screen, Etran's face grew harsh for a moment, before softening. "I'm pretty sure he - he wasn't breathing when Natah carried him away. Though, given how he survived after the Old War ended, probably without transference, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he did manage to find a way to cling on to life."

So there was a chance that he could turn up again. Perfect, juuussst perfect.

"...Hey," asked Etran, "would you be willing to...come over to my orbiter?"

"...What?"

"Well, I've never really seen you ever go into any place that wasn't public," noted the Tenno. "Plus, you've shown me and the other Tenno nothing but courtesy so far. I thought you might appreciate coming over, seeing some art, watching fish and poking the tank glass...would you?"

I would, and I really didn't want to refuse kindness. Plus I'd never really been invited to anyone's home since I'd become a Commander, and Melissa didn't count because that was more a lifesaving thing.

"I would. How will I get there, though?"

"I can send over a liset or scimitar...though I think you might need a warframe to use that."

"I can manage. Your secret to controlling the frames isn't a secret to me anymore."

"...Oh."

Etran actually became quiet for a moment, before a small smile formed on his face. It looked forced. "Well, then I guess that makes you one of us."

"No, it doesn't," I intoned. "I may have learned how to wield the warframes, but I will never wield the might of the void, nor will I share the kinship that you and the other Zariman survivors have. I get that you are trying to be nice, but please, don't lie. Not about this. I will never be a Tenno like you. I will only be what my Umbra has alrady referred to me as in his mind - a false Tenno."

Etran looked surprised at that and, oddly, relieved. I guess he felt glad that I would not view and act as another Tenno. Maybe he was worried I would abuse that and act as though I was entitled to respect from the rest of the Tenno?

..Pfft, like I was ever entitled to anything. I wasn't. No matter how much I acted otherwise. I had to earn everything in my life.

And before I had become a commander, there was a lot of things I had that I felt I really hadn't earned.

No time to mope about that now, though - I had a Tenno to meet.

XXXXXX

As I entered the Orbiter, I couldn't help but look around, taking in the Tenno's choice of décor. Noggles of a crewman, lancer, and an Excalibur rested by the market terminal, while what appeared to be an Oro floated above the codex station.

Following Etran into the bowels of the ship, I was surprised to see a kubrow fighting with a helminth charger over some kind of toy. Nearby, a kavat watched on in amusement, before making itself comfortable in a nearby bed. The trio of critters ceased their conflict as soon as they noticed their master arrive, and instantly ran up to the boy, who pet each and every one of them before introducing them to me. Apparently, the kubrow was named Fenrir, the kavat Bast, and the charger Bubo. Huh, funny names. The quadrupeds stared at me a while longer before going back to their daily conflicts.

As we reached the rear section of the orbiter, I caught sight of a group of kuakas retreating into the transference room, while a Condroc cawed angrily at the Helminth Infirmary. Neither of those, though, were our destination - instead, we were heading toward the only section I had yet to unlock in warframe - the Personal Quarters. Apparently, it had a vignette display, and a fish tank.

What I did not expect it to have was the Lotus' mask.

_Or the Man in the Wall._

The figure laughed at the Tenno, before disappearing in a flash...at least I think flash is the right word.

For a moment, Etran froze up. Then he turned to me.

"...that is not normal. At all."

"I get the feeling that isn't," I replied. "So, what do we do next?"

The boy merely shrugged. "I think all I can do is examine the mask...can you help me?"

I nodded, then walked up to the mask and started looking at it.

We'd barely begun to look it over before my vision went black.

XXXXXX

When I came to, I found that we had arrived at Lua - me in Umbra, Etran in Revenant. I was completely confused as to what had just happened, but Etran seemed less surprised, and more unnerved on what had happened. Already, he was charging into the Orokin facility, and soon, I followed.

Ahead of us, the man in the wall watched our approach, teleporting away when we drew too close, laughing all the while. When we got far enough, a barrier appeared, along with shadowy figures wearing the Lotus' mask that charged at us. With no other option, we fought until the shadows were all vanquished.

Laughing at our struggles, the Man in the Wall dropped the barrier, allowing us to advance further. Onwards we moved, trying to find whatever he was leading us to. Twice more were we forced to fight the shadows, all of which fell before us. Soon we reached the reservoir in Lua, which now had an opening in it, which I remembered Teshin had been examining while he still served the Twin Queens.

Seeing no option, we dived into the entrance.

XXXX

I was surprised to see that, when we landed, Etran was now out of his warframe.

More surprisingly,_ so was I._

Confused, I looked over my hands, before Etran promptly grabbed my head and locked eyes with me.

"Follow me."

….okay.

Cautiously, I tailed him, advancing deeper into the chamber. We soon came upon a flowing portal, which Wally stood in front of, before vanishing. With no other choice, we entered the vortex.

XXXXXXXX

On the other side of the light, we found ourselves in a strange looking, fleshy chamber. I was pretty sure that it was Sentient in origin. I only had a moment to examine it before Etran started teleporting across the chamber, and I soon followed. As we advanced deeper into the hall, I could have sworn I heard someone talking.

Eventually, we took shelter behind a fleshy pillar, as the speaker finally revealed themselves.

It was Ballas...but not how I knew him. Indeed, his body was...twisted? Mishappen? _Wrong?!_

Parts of it were clearly Sentient in origin, especially his legs. Going by how he was ranting, he did not like these changes. While I could already assume that these new additions probably offended his sense of beauty, I also had the feeling he was in a fair amount of pain.

I recoiled in surprise when one of his eyes suddenly shot out what looked like a search light, before he began to walk around the chamber, mumbling to himself. Occasionally, though, he would form a light in his hand, before clenching the hand and destroying the light. Whenever he did so, a piece of...something...would appear in the center of the room.

Throughout his monologuing, he would look around, searching for what I didn't know. Us, maybe? Whenever he looked our way, we simply teleported over to another hiding place. His interest soon faded, and he returned to his mad ramblings. That didn't stop me from thinking he knew we were here, though.

Eventually, he proved me right, by directly addressing Etran as the pieces assembled themselves, forming a sword - the Paracesis, he called it. I was an offering to the Tenno. It was so that their war could finally end.

Though cautious, at first, Etran eventually teleported up to the Executor and gripped the hilt of the blade.

Well, I guess this was ov-

"Come here, False Devil."

Instantly, I was on the alert. For a moment, I knew not what to do, but when I realized the Orokin had not harmed Etran, I teleported up to Ballas.

"Listen now, false one. You have caused the blasphemies much harm, but there is much you don't know about them...or about how they intereacted with those who made you."

I was silent, but inwardly, I started to warm up quite a bit. I could also feel a mass of conflicted feeling coming from Umbra, who was watching what happened through our bond. Anger was present, but also confusion, sorrow and...pity? Definitely pity

"If you do not learn the whole truth, you will be undone here. This crusade you are on, to push back whatever you consider to be a malignancy, will end now, and only ruin will be reaped. You must learn the truth. I can impart you the knowledge you need, but only partially. You must find the rest for yourself."

"Where?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Look to the land where the air and water flow cold. That is where you shall find the path that leads to the truth. Now hurry! Take this blade! You and the devils must learn to wield it!"

I silently obliged. Then, to the surprise of myself, I placed a hand on Ballas's shoulder. The executor actually looked surprised at that.

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Whatever happen now, know that I will ensure the Tenno triumph here. The Sentients will fall. IF nothing else, be at peace with that."

Then everything went blank.

XXXXXX

When I came to, I was back in Etran's orbiter. The owner of the ship was already helping me up to my feet. For a moment, it felt like nothing had happened.

BUt then, two memories came into my head: The Blueprint of the Paracesis…

…..and another symbol for my Vitruvian.

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: I just modified the previous chapter - added in a link to some music I wanted connected earlier.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	202. Annihilation 175

With the new symbol I had found, I reopened the Vitruvian, and examined the new symbol - this one meaning 'Judgement'.

XXXXXXX

_So, how did the fighting go?_

****Initially, quite well. Our Commanders and Administrators proved to be potent weapons of war, though they could operate just as effectively in times of peace.****

_I am not surprised. From what I heard, they were originally designed for peaceful purposes, correct? The Commanders to build, the Administrators to grow. One would make a word habitable, another would be settlements, then they would migrate to a new world and start anew, right?_

****Correct, though we allocated them some systems to keep as their own, so that the commanders and the Coelohim the Administrators created would have places to rest and recuperate. Plus, a good ruler rewards their charges for performing well.****

_Of course. Still, it seems that eventually, you were forced to seek assistance._

****True. Some chose to assist us form the beginning, others helped us later to gain a portion of the spoils. Still, time took its tole on our morale.****

_Five years of war will do that. So, how did it end? Some glorious final battle? Negotiations prevailing?_

****The latter, unfortunately. Though we tried to end it peacefully.****

_Oh really? What did you offer?_

****Worlds, pure and unspoiled. We used our might to hew together three entire universes filled to the brim with mineral wealth and habitable worlds, so that our enemies may be willing to seek peace.****

_…__...That is...absurdly generous. Surely you could have offered less?_

****We had hardly been touched by the conflict up to this point - our armies may have lost many warriors and machines, but we as a whole did not suffer heavily for this. We are a difficult people to kill. Thus, in order for people to believe our offer of peace to be sincere, a great offering was needed.****

_Fair enough. So, what happened that caused this offer to peace to all go to waste?_

****Some of our foes did not want peace, so they sought to goad us into a position where we would decide that peace was not an option.****

_How?_

****They stole mighty weapons from their allies, pointed them at our offering, and fired.****

_How bad were they?_

****The weapons used on those worlds are anti-planet chemical weapons. I believe one was referred to by its creators as the Life Eater.****

_That certainly sounds bad._

****It is. The worlds hit died - all that was alive on them, regardless of biology, was liquified. A standard orbital attack followed, setting these dead worlds on fire.****

_I take it your kind was...unhappy about this?_

****We did.. Up until this point, the war had been viewed as a fight over shattered pride. Our children felt we were fighting a pointless war over damaged honor. Once this happened, though, no one held those sentiments. Now, all of us wanted blood.****

_Did this involve your kind declaring one of those alliterative orders to wipe out your enemy in its entirety?_

****Are you referring to an Extinction Edict?****

_Yes._

****Those are orders only meant to be declared against those beings who had shown they would always oppose the existence of other beings for spiteful reasons, not because of a genuine existential problem they faced. The order must be given unanimously, and afterwards given a review as to whether or not we were justified to give it, lest we become to desensitized to death.****

****That being said, yes. That is exactly what we did.****

_I see. How hard did your enemies fight back?_

****Those who were innocent did not fight at all - we spared them of harm.****

****As for the guilty, they fought with valor.****

****Of course, they didn't even last a single night once we were serious.****

****XXXXXX****

As the video reached its end, I sat, frozen at what I had witnessed.

The accompanying pictures for this Vitruvian vision had been...unsettling. It had shown Progenitor machines and war beasts doing battle with various forces, including hordes of baneblades. Eventually, though, both sides had shown exhaustion, and the Progenitors had made their offer. It was when the virus bombs fell that things really got scary - the destruction of the offering had reminded me of the Istvaan III atrocity from the Horus Heresy, but what had really intimidate me was how it had ended - as the Progenitor had mentioned the retribution they had enacted on their foes, it had focused on a world, presumably an enemy one.

When he had said that their foes had not lasted the night, that world _shattered._

Just what kind of retribution had the Progenitors wrought?

...Why is one of the recordings on this machine starting to play?

Ignoring my complaints, the video came into focus, depicting a Progenitor fleet advancing on an enemy world. Within the flagship of said fleet, a progenitor stared out at the enemy war fleet, as well as the system they were in.

"The enemy is preparing to fire, captain," remarked one of the bridge crew. "Shall we return the welcome?"

"No," replied the captain of the ship, still staring at his foes. "This ends now."

Without ever breaking his stare, the captain snapped his fingers.

A minute later, and something big exploded behind the enemy fleet, taking them out in seconds. It took me a minute to realize that the source of the explosion was_ the planet the fleet was guarding._

"So, you finally saw how tough they were, didn't you?"

Instantly, my attention changed its focus from the video to the shadowy figure behind me. "Who are you," I wondered, though I had a good guess.

"Here's a hint: Rap. Tap. Tap."

Yep, it was Wally.

"Funny name. Didn't expect someone would call me that, but it isn't the worst."

"Why are you here?"

"Trying to see who the Progenitors chose to uphold their legacy. I expected someone...less stressed out."

What? "The Progenitors are dead. I merely had my Commander given to me by someone who had the luck to find it."

"You sure?"

"Not exactly, but unless you know who gave me the machine-"

"His name is Celempheros, and I am well acquainted with him."

…..Wait, what?

"He's been around a long time - I remember him from the Old War. He fought for them, you know? The ones who built that machine."

"...He did?"

"Yes. Now while I'm not exactly a fan of them, I respect him, so I won't do too much to screw you or him over."

"...Thanks?"

"Not needed."

"Sheesh, rude."

"Like I care. that being said, I'm impressed you managed to bring Umbra to heel."

"Really? Does that mean I get a reward?"

"In this case, yes."

"As I expect-wait what?"

The answer I received was seeing the Man in the Wall's eyes glow, followed by a headache.

As I collapsed, I heard the man in the Wall laugh. "Good luck, little piggy. I think things are about to get rough for you soon."

When I stood back up, he had vanished.

That didn't matter, though - I had work to do. The headache had given way to a new insight.

XXXX

Three hours later, a drone of mine attacked a pair of battlysts, who predictably adapted to its attacks.

Then it fired out a grenade that exploded into a golden light.

The minute it hit them, the sentients recoiled in pain, while my drone opened fire once more...and this time, its attacks_ weren't_ resisted.

At last, the secrets of the void were mine.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Flame only knows the very basics right now for how to build void weapons. He is not a Tenno.****

****there was supposed to be a scene where Melissa an Umbra met, but it was cut for being forced. I will put it into the next interlude.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	203. Interlude 29

Taking in a deep breath, Melissa opened up a portal before her. It was time to harass her Commander again.

Cassidy darted in first, ready to have some fun with Rory and his siblings. Melissa merely smiled and wistfully whistled before joining her child aboard the _Extinction. _

Really? That was the name her pawn had chosen for his flagship? Could he really not choose an edgier name? What was he, thirteen?

Ultimately, though, she had to admit that little bit of childishness was rather endearing to her. Not romantically, of course - she enjoyed screwing him over too much to harbor those feelings. But still.

As the portal closed, she took in her surroundings. She had arrived on the ship's observation deck, where her pawn was busy working on a warframe...Umbra, to be exact. So, he was still trying to get it mobile? Fat chance - it needed the power of a Tenno work. His attempts to master them would only end in failure. Not that those defeats would stop him - he was far too stubborn to give up.

And that made his struggles all the more amusing.

At last, her pawn noticed her arrival, and turned to greet her. "Oh, you're here again. How're you doing?"

"Quite well. Still trying to unlock the secret to mastering control of the warframes?"

"...Not anymore."

Before the ROB could ask him to elaborate, the Umbra frame began to move. Eventually, it stood upright, briefly looking over the ROB before turning its attention to the Commander, who was smirking at his...sponsor.

Said sponsor was currently trying, and failing miserably, to form a response.

What?! How?! How did he manage to control a warframe without void energy?! That shouldn't even be possible!

"Uh...Uh...um...well done," chocked out the female ROB, finally managing to regain usage of her voice. The commander merely chuckled at her response, before locking eyes...well, eyes to helmet face, with Umbra, before nodding, at which point the Umbra frame walked over to a console and started browsing through the files. Going by what Melissa could hear, it appeared that the intelligent suit was looking through the files that were stored on her pawn's commander unit - in essence, looking through his memories. It seemed to want to know more about its master.

Interesting.

Okay, she had to give it to her pawn - he really had impressed her here.

…..why did she suddenly feel uneasy?

XXXXXXXX

Umbra watched the False Tenno converse with the Stranger. The two seemed to friends, though what he had seen in the False One's thoughts suggested otherwise. His new master had...conflicted...feelings regarding his...sponsor. He had not told the former dax why this was the case, though, which was why the Dax was perusing his master's memories._ All of his memories._

Many were of conquests against foes he had never seen, though some were surprisingly familiar. Others were moments of him being a kind man, leading others to greatness. Older memories showed him as a member of a loving family, though occasionally clashing with his elders, not unlike how Isaah had been driven into relatively minor struggles with Umbra. The Dax felt pain at those memories, but also a sense of understanding - this False One was, above all else, still relatable.

Oh, and he spent a lot of time playing video games, some of which looked very familiar...wait.

Umbra paused the memory, then replayed. Then again. Then a third time.

Was this youth playing a game where he...was a Tenno?!

Umbra pondered this for a moment, before deciding to file away that piece of information for later. Best to ask it when less pressing matters were at hand.

As the Commander pondered with the one known as Melissa, Umbra noticed how the two seemed to go from combative to friendly almost at that drop of a hat. Confusion welled up within the frame of war - were they friends? Enemies? Lovers? Something in the middle, if not all of the above? He could see signs for all of the mentioned relationships, but knew not which one the two possessed.

Immediately, Umbra began looking through his new master's memories, trying to figure out why he had such a strange relationship with this woman. He found results almost instantly. For one, this woman claimed to have been the one to put him on whatever journey he was on. It appeared she had done so mostly for her amusement. Unsurprising, really - the Orokin had not been much different. What was more confusing, though, was the numerous instances where this woman had chosen to help him, even if she had nothing to gain form this charity. Why? Moral obligation? Respect for her "pawn's" willpower? Sexual and/or romantic attraction? Whatever the case, it was entirely unlike the Orokin.

Still, he could not find the source of this animosity.

Until, at last, he did.

Umbra came upon a memory that was dated around the start of his new master's time as a 'Commander'. Here, he saw the person trapped into a machine, forcibly turned into a cephalon, it seemed.

And, if he was hearing it right, this woman had been the one to do so. In the process, she had torn him from everything he had ever known and loved for, well, her own amusement.

For a while, Umbra just replayed the memory, though he did lower the volume to make sure the duo could not hear the video. When he finally recovered from his stupor, he curled his hand around the Skiajati at his him, then relaxed it. Part of him wished to inflict violence on the woman who had ruined the life of his new master., yet he also knew that doing so would be wrong. Harming her after what she had done to help his master would be in bad taste.

And besides, his new master would likely be angry for being denied his own chance at vengeance.

Sighing inaudibly, Umbra continued to peruse the memories. Hopefully, he could find out more about this strange force that he had joined.

XXXXX

"So, Etran, what do you think of our new ally?"

"Could you be more specific?"

"Is he, well, nice?"

"...Yes."

Cyreesia sighed. She really shouldn't have asked him such vague questions. "So, do you really think it was a good idea to let him have access to our warframes?"

"The quills said yes, and our friend in the void was quiet on that, so I guess it was?"

"You don't sound so certain."

"IT WAS A SPUR OF THE MOMENT DECISION!"

"Then why'd you help him?"

"He helped us. Would you have done the same?"

"...Fair enough."

With that, the transmission cut off. Sighing once again, Cyreesia grabbed her vermink plush and squeezed it as tight as possible. Something to relieve the unease she was feeling.

True, the quills did have good points, but she was not entirely sure it was a good idea to support them here - they could be wrong at times, and if they slipped up, things could go horribly wrong.

Finally calming herself, Cyreesia thought back to the old war. If nothing else, things had been simpler back then.

XXXXXX

She watched as the two lady executors stared at her, one with eyes full of contempt, the other's filled with uncertainty. Behind them, a group of dax stood at the ready, hands already on their blades. Though Cyreesia appeared to be unarmed, they still treated her with caution - danger could take many forms.

"I still cannot believe Margullis chose to die for these beings," intoned the contemptful Executor, eyes never leaving the young Tenno. "These devils seem hardly worthy of life."

"Perhaps they can still be of use to us, though" noted the more confused of the two, trying to sound neutral on the topic.

"Are you so sure that they can find a purpose in our empire, Mytruthia?"

The name named executor took offense at the possible insult, but only a minor shift in her appearance signified this. "My fellow executor, we cannot just destroy things because they offend us. FIrst we must see if they can fulfill a purpose in our golden empire. To waste useful resources so wantonly is an unacceptable folly."

"...Perhaps you have a point. Though, I must ask, why do you wish to seek usage from these devils?"

"My heirs were aboard the Zariman when it vanished. I wish to seek some way to recover the losses in time and ducats I spent rearing them before my continuity draws near."

"Oh, I see. My condolences. Though you have quite a while before that becomes a necessity, my friend."

"...You see me as a friend? But isn't that dangerous for a councilor?"

"True...but I do not care. I must leave now, though, but I must warn you, if you cannot find a way to make the devils and ballas' creations serve us, they will suffer, as will you and all others who supported this project."

"Understood."

"Good." Then the Councilor turned to the dax. "Those of you sworm to my family, leave. Those who are not, ensure the void demon does not bring my dear friend to harm."

The dax merely nodded in response. Smiling, the executor left, as did her guardsmen, leaving Mytruthia alone with the Tenno.

As the guards watched on, the executor walked up to the Tenno, who merely stared at her, confused yet hopeful. The Orokin, for her part, put on a stoic expression, unwilling to show emotion. As the Tenno stared at her, though, her expression began to waver.

Silence reigned for some time, until at last the void demon spoke.

"...grandmother?"

For a few moments, the Execuotr said nothing.

Then she pulled the little girl into a hug, as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I missed you, Cyreesia," choked out the executor, uncaring for how she would be seen by her fellows. Only the Dax would know this happened, and they knew well enough not to speak up.

As her grandmother began to sob, Cyreesia returned the hug.

It was good to have family besides the other Tenno.

XXXXXXXXXX

Silently, Celm watched on as his subordinate interacted with her pawn, noting that thye seemed to have reached a relative standard of civility with each other. Good - perhaps them uniting would make things easier.

If he had been the one who 'sponsored' a Commander, then he would not have been as antagonistic as Melissa. He would offer wisdom as needed, to assist with the mission at hand. HE had already been responsible for enough commanders suffering horrible fates because he had been forced to delegate their handling to lesser agents, many of whom did not share his sentiments.

Perhaps his allies did have a point of him being too coddling, but then again, others had died miserably from his lack of action. Even his more reserved allies had been disgusted by this, but they felt direct action was not the way to go.

But that was a debate for another time.

His observation complete, the OverROB slunk away. As he exited the universe, he felt the currents starting to pull him, trying to send him into another part of the sea. Fortunately, he knew how to work around them.

When the Progenitors had had first discovered the Empyrean Sea, navigation, more specifically the parts outside of their home bubble, they had been unsure how to map it. Machines had been used at first, but they had their limits. Living beings had proved more successful. Assembling the greatest beings they could find, human, progenitor, xziphid, or otherwise, they had sent out pioneers to explore the sea, finding new ways to travel it, and new lands to travel too.

Most now lay dead, or retired, hidden away from others, but one still continued to push the limits of the multiverse.

And, reflected Celm, defend the legacy of the beings those pioneers had first served.

He would never let that flame die. Not while he still remembered the builders of the commanders.

XXXXXXX

****AN: No hiatus will happen after this segment, seeing how Fortuna is now out.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	204. Annihilation 176

Having at last unlocked the power of the Warframes, as well as the secrets of the void, I decided to try and do all I could to acquire more of them, so that I could have an easier time deciding what I wanted in warframes of my own design. After all, now that I knew how to control them, I might as well make my own.

I'd already acquired Revenant, Excalibur Umbra, Regular Excalibur, Ash, Ash Prime, Frost, Equinox, Mirage, Ember, Gara, Oberon, Valkyr, and Zephr, with the prime one being a gift Melissa had given me*, as well as quite a few weapons. Of all of those, only Ash Prime, Umbra, and Revenant had been ones I had not acquired in game. The rest were proving slower to acquire, with Mag and Volt being somewhat more accessible, but I doubted Teshin would give them to me even if I joined the conclave (which I had). Plus I REALLY wanted to build them rather than buy them.

As time dragged on, though, the holidays arrived, and I found myself realizing that I needed to prepare for that. The Origin System was readying for Tennobaum (basically Christmas by some other name), and I refused to deny my kids that indulgence. Plus, free gifts are always awesome!

First, though, I had one last bit of work to do - apparently, a friend of Tenno by the name of Eudico had asked me to come to some place on Venus called Fortuna, saying it would be worth my time. Well, who was I to ignore her request? Plus I hadn't actually seen much of Venus besides a few Corpus outposts there, and I wanted to see what, exactly, this 'Orb Vallis' was.

Also, it provided me a nice chance to try out Umbra.

XXXXXXXX

I had been asked to enter Fortuna the same way as the Tenno had: via a vent shaft. Smiliing in my starship, I flew in Umbra and had him jump down the rabbit hole - now I could infiltrate like a real Tenno.

As we fell, though, I heard a strange noise coming from the shaft. Was somebody...whistling? Or were they humming?

...Actually, I think they were singing.

[MEDIA=youtube]I2SpNZ52VMY[/MEDIA]

_Cold, the air and water flowing_

_Hard, the land we call our home_

_Push, to keep the dark from coming_

_Fell the weight of what we owe_

_This, the song of sons and daughters_

_Hide, the heart of who we are_

_Making peace to build our future_

_Strong, united, working 'til we fall_

_Cold, the air and water flowing_

_Hard, the land we call our home_

_Push, to keep the dark from coming_

_Fell the weight of what we owe_

_This, the song of sons and daughters_

_Hide, the heart of who we are_

_Making peace to build our future_

_Strong, united, working 'til we fall_

_And we all lift, and we're all adrift_

_Together, together_

_Through the cold mist, 'til we're lifeless_

_Together, together_

….What a catchy song.

As the singing ended, Umbra finally hit the ground. As we stood up, I found myself staring a guy...who was missing his head! In its place was a rather crude looking piece of cybernetics. Looking around, I noticed more people like him, some with additional cybernetic limbs. In fact, the only ones who didn't have cybernetics on them were, well kids.

I'd seen some people like this aboard the rebuilt Strata Relay, but to see so many was, well, a shock.

I quickly pulled up the local equivalent of the internet (which was run by a bunch of Cephalons) and began looking up information on Fortuna. What I found was...disconcerting, to say the least. It appeared that Fortuna was known as a 'Solaris Debt Internment Colony', which was a fancy term for 'penal colony for people who hadn't paid their debts'. Also, apparently, the cybernetics were given because the ruler of the colony, one Nef Anyo, could take away their organic parts as collateral for the debts. Yikes.

Fortunately, though, the Solaris objected to this, and had created resistance group known as Solaris United. Led by the one known as Vox Solaris, they fought tooth and nail to make sure Nef treated them fairly. Also, behind Nef's back, the Tenno secretly paid off a fair amount of the Solaris' debts. From what I could gather, Nef knew about this, but really didn't care - either way, he got paid.

Speaking of paying off debts, the middle man...woman...PERSON...for this was named Ticker. She more or less sold the debts to the Tenno, who would receive debt bonds for their trouble. Apparently, the Solaris were only willing to help those who had both proven themselves to Fortuna and acquired a number of debt bonds, which wasn't surprising at all. She also sold secondhand Solaris orbiter decorations, some of which I wasted no time in acquiring, after acquiring a few debt bonds from debt purchasing.

I also used the bonds as a way to acquire a solaris ore cutter from the man called smoke finger, a few parts for a weapon called a kitgun from a lady called Rude Zuud (who apparently had a malfunctioning rig, given she was hearing voices_ that I could also hear as static,_ and some animal conservation gear from the one called The Business. I also browsed the wares of someone know as Legs, who was the only Solaris that was entirely made of machinery. That probably had a story, but I wasn't interested in hearing it now.

Oh, and there were also a bunch of kids who had made a clubhouse in one of the vents and rode hover boards called k-drives I may have wasted some time riding with them out of boredom and a desire to acquire a k-drive for myself.

Eventually, though, I managed to reach Eudico, who was apparently the foreman (Floor Boss, to use Nef's speech) of Fortuna.

"So, you're the stranger I've heard so much about?" She asked. "The one who isn't a Tenno, but figured out how to master a Warframe."

"That's me. I trust you have a reason for calling me here?"

"You guessed right. Listen, Nef's not exactly good at keeping some secrets. Ever since you showed up and threw a wrench in his operations, he's been trying to find a way to stop you. Most of the leads he got dried up, but now I think he's onto something of value."

"And I'm guessing you want me to stop him from finding it?"

"Give the man a prize, he's correct. Anything that ruins Nef's day is fine with me, so long as we don't suffer for it."

"So, what's the plan?"

"Nef's men are gathering intel on some kind of Orokin facility hidden in the void. They've got evidence indicating a void key needed to access it is here, and one of my teams is trying to beat them to it. See if you can't help us along."

"On it. This just between us, or I am doing this with a team?"

"Two Tenno asked to join up with you. Said their names were Etran and Cyreesia. You familiar with them?"

"Yes." Familiar faces are always nice.

"Good...also, do you know a girl named Melissa?"

"...Yes, why?"

"Because she asked to join in on this mission. I think she was just bored."

...Oh dear...

"I can manage."

"Good luck. From how you sounded, I think you'll need it."

"Thanks."

With that, I walked toward the lift. Waiting for me within were two Tenno (wearing Revenant and Valkyr)...and my ROB, who had already turned to face me.

"Before you ask why I am here, you are going to slowly, so I'm here to speed you the hell up. Even Celm is with me here."

It took me a moment to process what she said. "Well, thanks for the help. Now let's go."

XXXXXXXX

When we finally exited the loft, we were greeted with the beautiful sight of the area known as the Orb Vallis. Eudico's words described it best:

"Welcome to Venus. It'll kill you."

Once we were topside, Eudico laid out the first part of our plan: disable a Coildrive (car version of the monocycles from Men in Black III), steak its data, then work from there. Eudico already had a team looking for the void key, so we just needed to help them along.

As we set an ambush for the drive, I called up Eudico.

"What do you need?"

"What happened to the guy named Legs? Why is he more or less a robot?"

"...Oh, him. Look, his real name's Thursby. Few years back, he asked a Tenno, Etran to be exact, to help him steal Moa parts so he could sell them off to pay off debts his parents owed - you die, and your debts are passed onto you children. Anyway, Nef caught wind of what he did and decided to punish him by taking away most of his organic parts. I...might have played the Tenno for that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. See, a while back, Nef got fed up with us, and tried to wipe out Dolaris United at Dock 12. We lost a lot of good people that day...And I think a part of me died back there. I gave up trying to fight back, thought that maybe I could prevent more suffering if I licked Nef's boots and made him think we were an asset. But what happened to Thursby, and everything after that...look, I hate to say this, but I think it was necessary all of that happened. All those events finally opened my eyes to the truth about Nef - he's nothing but scum who'll use and discard us however he sees fit. If we want to be treated properly, we have to force him to do that.

"Oh, and the coildrive is almost here."

A moment later, the coildrive was ours. A few minutes later, we had everything we needed, and blew it up.

"Good job, now let me look over this...hmm, it has some intel on the facility, but mostly just security details and a map of it - no idea what is inside."

"So, any ideas where to next?" Asked Melissa, rather impatiently.

"Yes, actually. Go West, there's a drone there with more intel. Take it down, hack it, and let me analyze it."

That didn't take long, but we still had to defend the drone from quite a few corpus, plus a few spider robots they pulled out.

"What the hello are these Spider bots?" Yelled Melissa and she punched one to pulp.

"Raknoids. Those ones are just mites. Bigger ones are comparable to the Eidolons, or so I'm told.

Eventually, though, Eudico got what she needed, and the drone flew off.

"So, what'd you find?"

Once again, Melissa sounded impatient.

"Getting there...alright, look's like this facility has a name: the Repository. Some kind of Orokin-era armory hidden in the void. Must be filled with good guns if it's there...wait, hold on, the lift's headed down now...oh shit."

"What?!" I asked, now very worried.

"Some of the team just came back - they found the void key for this place. Unfortunately, Nef's men caught the rest. Listen, the key's stored in a container that needs an access code to unlock. The Corpus got the man with the code. See if you can't break him free."

XXXXXXXX

It didn't take long to locate those Solaris. In mere seconds, we'd killed the guards and started the hack to free them. Unfortunately, the Corpus were quick to respond, and started calling in a lot of reinforcements.

"Any idea how to speed things up?" I asked Eudico.

"Well, unless you have some way to work the supposedly godly hacking powers I've heard that you possess, kill any Tera Jailers that head your way - they should be carrying data keys to speed up the hack."

We did and they did, and soon, the Solaris were free, unfortunately, there was now an army between us and the lift.

Then I heard a loud roar coming from in front of us. Looking toward it, I think I might have soils my underwear: there, resting on a nearby building, was what I presumed to be an Orb Mother.

And, possibly, a way out.

Accessing the terminal I'd used to start the hack to free the Solaris, I used it as an entry point to hack into the Corpus systems. Minutes later, I tore through the network until I finally found our location, then looked for a specific set of systems. When I found them, I modified command directives and IFF, before giving activation orders.

A moment later, a Condor dropship exploded as the Orb began to open fire on the Corpus.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"That, Eudico, is an example of my hacking prowess."

"But...but...okay, okay, that was impressive. Now get back here before Nef calls in more backup."

You didn't have to tell me that twice.

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	205. Annihilation 177

As we made our way back down to Fortuna (After mining a few ore veins and snatching a trio of Pobbers), I couldn't help but notice Melissa smirking at me. I didn't need to guess why - she'd clearly been amused by me hacking the orb, which was currently being moved off Venus by my forces so that Nef couldn't recapture/destroy it. I wanted to keep this for myself, and build a butt-ton more.

As we disembarked, I returned to Eudico, whilst the rest of the Cell dispersed to do whatever suited their fancy. Melissa had managed to catch an orokin servofish and was exchanging it for parts with Biz, Cyreesia was turning in some gems to Smokefinger, and Etran had headed to the ventkids clubhouse, after doing quite a few tricks on our way back to Fortuna. We'd all done some tricks, but I'd not really succeeded with them - I'd missed an attempt at doing a grind, though I had, through dumb luck, pulled off a board grab and spin without wiping out. Melissa had mocked me over the failed grind, before attempting to do one herself and succeeding...and then unceremoniously wiping out in a nearby snowbank. Needless to say, I had had the last laugh there.

As I finally came into view, Eudico did a double take, before recomposing herself. "So, Sparky, I heard you stole an Orb from Nef."

"That I did. He say anything about it?"

"Only that one of the Orbs went rogue, and advising us not to venture to the surface. I think he's just using it as an excuse to keep us where we can easily be monitored."

"Well, if he loses you to an Orb, it'd probably speak badly on him, so I think pragmaticism has more weight here then a need to stroke his ego."

"...Fair enough. Oh, and thanks for saving my team. I believe these are yours."

A moment later, she pulled out and handed me a set of triangular medallions - debt bonds. "Ticker's told me you helped scratch a few names off her books, so you should know what these are for."

"I do."

"Good. Look, I'm not entirely sure if we can trust you yet, so don't hold it against us if we are wary of offering you some of our wares. Still, thanks for the help."

Then she pulled out a list. "Here's some of the things we can offer. You can have one of these on us, so choose wisely."

I briefly, I perused the list of wares, before settling on what I wanted. I pointed to the target of my focus.

"Goblite tears? You have someone special you want to give them to?"

"Somewhat. I want to give them to Melissa, see how she reacts. Pretty sure it will be amusing."

"Save me a picture."

"I will...hey, how do you know her?"

"She sold Nef a bunch of weapons a while back. Also sold us some mines and told us exactly where the weapons she'd sold Nef would be sent. Think she wanted to humiliate him."

"...Okay. How'd you figure out she knew me?"

"She told Nef the weapons she'd sold him were meant to be used against you. Now that I think about it, they do look familiar to your guns."

She sent me a schematic of those weapons. Instantly, my Commander's database pulled a match - an old weapon system meant to be used on the dox. It was phased out a long time ago, apparently before the war with the Xziphid, but it could still bloody my knuckles if I went into a fight against somebody who wielded them.

"These things could hurt my forces, but they wouldn't win a fight where our numbers are equal or even heavily in favor of whoever wields these. At best, they might cause a scratch...which is better than anyone else can manage now."

"Hmph, seems like she knows how to string people along. So, you need to run any errands?"

"Why're you asking?"

"I'm meeting with some people in the back room. If you have any business left to finish, do it now, then head to the back room - you're expected for the meeting."

"Understood. I need to talk to Biz anyway."

"Stay warm...oh, and take this - Tenno said you might have a use for it."

With that, Eudico sent me a data transmission, which contained, to my surprise, the blueprints for the warframe known as Garuda. She also attached the designs for the chassis to the transmissions. The rest, I'd have to earn.

Smiling, I went over to Biz's space and managed to acquire a vermink echo-lure. I also got a servofish trophy and a pobber floof, because those are adorable. After scratching a few names off of Ticker's books, I headed to the backroom.

There, around a table, was Eudico, Legs, and Biz, while in the corner stood...was that Little Duck?

I'd only seen her in the comics, but the fact she was here told me that something big was going on. I mean, she knew the Quills!

And now she was looking right at me. And gesturing for me to come forward. Which, needless to say, I did.

"So, you're the stranger I heard so much about from the Quills, aren't you?"

I merely nodded.

"Hmph, thought you'd look different. Didn't expect you to use a Warframe. Then again, that is different from normal, isn't it? A non-Tenno using one of their frames."

I really wasn't sure how to respond to that. Little Duck seemed to realize that too.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. Fact is, the Quills have let me in on some of their secrets, and provided me some of their wares to sell...and you happen to now be one of the people I'm allowed to sell them to."

"Really?"

"Yes. For the moment, though, I'd suggest you speak with Eudico. I think she has something to say."

"Right you are. Listen, Sparky, we got the crate open, but there's a problem."

"And that is?"

"Nef has more than one, and he's already got forces headed to the repository...Scratch that, he has a whole fleet on standby to take it."

"And I guess you need help taking it out?"

"Yes. The Tenno can deal with the key, but taking out a whole Corpus fleet will send Nef a message, and I'm fairly certain you have the firepower to pull that off."

"Well, you're certainly right there. Anything else you can tell me?"

"Just one little fact: we're not the only ones trying to access this place. Someone else is."

"And who might that be?"

"Only thing we know is his name: Zen'hurros. Weird name if you ask me."

...Oh fuck.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	206. Annihilation 178

Okay, so here was what we knew about the forces guarding the Repository gate: they were primarily composed of Terra Corpus, with a force of Proxies from all over the system as backup, not to mention one very large fleet. There were at least five Orb Mothers guarding the gate, and, since this was a gate, we'd also have to deal with at least one lynx, which appeared to have been fused with Orokin technology. For once, the Corpus were sparing no expense.

Now, the plan of attack was simple: my forces would distract/demolish the fleet overhead, whilst the Tenno, alongside Melissa and myself, would infiltrate the base, destroy the Lynx, and then set the torsion device to overdrive, so that it would no longer cause us trouble.

At least, that was the plan.

XXXXX

"So, we all clear on the mission?" Asked Eudico.

I nodded, as did Melissa, Cyreesia, and Etran. All three wanted to assist in this fight, Melissa especially, so that she could help me along with my journey. Apparently, Etran and Cyreesia were in charge of getting the four of us to the void gate.

"Good. Let's rock."

Briefing over, we made our way to the lift. As we began to ascend, though, I found a communication being sent my way. Apparently, it was...Rory?

"Hi dad!"

"Hello. Why are you calling?"

"...I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"You know I am inside the Extinction, right?"

"Yes, bur your mind is elsewhere."

"...Fair enough."

"Yes, it is. So, whatcha doing?"

"Trying to launch a major offensive against the Corpus."

"Oh...can I help?"

"What?"

"Can I help you hurt the big greedy people who worship money?"

"Wh-No! You're too young to fight!"

"But I don't have to fight! There are other ways I can help!"

We'd reached the end of the lift by now, and Etran and Cyreesia were wondering why I hadn't exited the room. Melissa seemed to understand why, though, and was busy explaining my reasons to them.

"How?" I asked, finally stepping out onto the Orb.

"Look right out in front of you."

Before I could answer, a giant object slammed into the ground in front of me, causing my companions to scatter. Approaching it with caution, I used a portable version of my Spore scanner on it and found that it was...a locker? And it was full of guns, medical supplies, and ammo?

"...Did you send that?"

"Yes. The Grineer do not put enough encryption into their computers. Plus drop pods are awesome!"

"...So you want to drop us supplies as needed for the upcoming battle?"

"Yep!"

"...I can live with that. By the way, where did you get the idea for this?"

"Synais was playing some game about ghosts and used something like that in a multiplayer match."

Hmph. CoD: Ghosts, then. "And how much of the match did he let you watch?"

"About 5.623 seconds. Then he asked Kathikon to take me back to my room...spoilsport."

Good, then. Synais knew which likes not to cross.

"Good of him. Now then, if you want to help, then get ready."

"OKAY!"

As the transmission ended, I smirked. Rory was adorable.

With that, I began pilfering the drop pod for supplies, as did my companions.

"Let me guess," intoned my ROB. "Rory asked to help?"

"He did. Has Cassidy done anything similar?"

"Yeah, a few times...why are you looking at me like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a ridiculous expression on your face, like you've thought of something absurd."

"Oh. Guess I'm still kinda surprised that we, well, actually get along."

"..really?"

"Yeah. I thought there'd be more fighting between us."

"...Me too. But enough on our camaraderie - we have a battle to win."

"Right!"

With that, we called in our k-drives and followed our Tenno companions, who'd already headed toward a nearby hill. Once we reached the hilltop, Etran sent out a signal to call in our ride.

Moments later, a large starship broke through the storm, before circling around for pickup. Now this was a good sized ship - bigger than a Bolkor or Condor dropship. I couldn't make out any weapons onboard it, but I doubted it was unarmed. An aperture soon appeared on its side, and we swiftly used the opening to board the flier.

"Greetings," intoned Ordis. "This is a Sigma Series Railjack. PLEASE DO NOT DAMAGE IT, NEW ONES, OR I WILL SKIN YOU-be very displeased."

Understood, Ordis.

Etran and Cyreesia gave us the quick tour, marking out guns, life pods, and repair systems. Once we were familiarized, they gave the word, and we left the Orb. A few minutes after that, we broke out of Venus' atmosphere, and finally got our first good look at the enemy fleet.

My first thought: wow, that's pretty big. And this was_ small_ by Corpus fleet standards.

My second thought: still not big enough.

My third thought: you are gonna get wrecked.

"How long until your forces show up?" asked Cyreesia.

"They should be here in...3,2,1"

At that moment, one of the Corpus Obelisk class starships promptly crumbled like tissue paper as an Omega slammed into it. Moments later, more Omegas followed as the fighting began in earnest. I also caught sight of a few organic ships entering the battle - thankfully ones I recognized as belonging to Melissa. The last thing we needed was a Technocyte Outbreak.

As the fighting began to escalate, more Railjacks emerged from hiding, using several nearby structures for defense. Apparently, these were remnants of the Orokin's Orbital Defense Grid, and while I could damage those platforms, they were durable enough to take a significant amount of firepower before being destroyed. Also, I did not want to reactivate them by accident on the off chance they could damage my stuff. But enough about that: anyway, the Tenno used the platforms to shield their approach until they were close enough to engage the enemy - and when that happened, some simply fired at will, whilst others unleashed boarders. The surprise offensive quickly destroyed any organization amongst the Corpus, and the fighting soon devolved into the Corpus trying to inflict damage on our forces whilst taking massive losses.

Of course, all we did was cut through their fighters and shoot down a Stanchion class starship. Once we were close enough, we charged back toward the surface of Venus - time to gate crash.

"Um, dad? We have a problem."

"What?"

"There's something really big headed our way. According to what I'm hearing, it's a...Sentient."

….Well, it looked like Zen'Hurros had shown up. "Alright, keep me posted."

"ON IT!"

Smiling, I turned my attention back to my comrades. "Looks like the Sentients want in on the party. Look out for Stalker and his acolytes - we cannot let them secure access to the reservoir!"

"Um, you aren't our leader," remarked Etran, "but we'll keep that in mind."

"Eh...um...okay."

Yeah, I probably should have thought out what I said before I blabbed. Still, we had a fight to win.

XXXXXXX

As we arrived at the gate, we found the Corpus already engaged with biological monstrosities - ones I had created. Examination of the various creatures I had encountered in my travels had netted me new genetic material to build with. Horned and hard-headed herbivores were busy plowing through the Corpus ranks, whilst carnivore assisted my bots in tearing apart the stragglers.

Humorously, a bear sized carnivore native to the Orb vallis had found its way here and was trying to dismember one of the dead crewman to eat. After having one of my bots blow up a coildrive that was about to run the beast over, netting a surprised look from the carnivore), I unceremoniously tranqued it and sent it to safety. And just so nobody asks, it got out of the battlefield fine...possibly with the leg of a crewman in its mouth.

After dropping in from the air, killing the nearby Corpus, and rescuing the Stover, we quickly entered the facility's ventilation network, whilst they were distracted dealing with the rest of my forces and two other cells that had infiltrated the area. As we quietly infiltrated the base, I could make out the forms of Hyaenas and Raknoids going up against some of creatures, and against the odds, actually getting a few kills.

Soon, we reached the gate. Unfortunately for us, our foe was already prepared for our arrival. Before we could even locate the Lynx, a huge number of turrets came online and began firing at us. Soon after, the Lynx revealed itself from hiding, surrounded by ospreys that were shielding it. Hastily, we darted into cover, whilst trying to take out the ospreys. Given that the walker was replacing them as fast as we could damage them, it was an uphill battle.

How were we supposed to kill it?

"I have the answer to that!" shouted a familiar female voice.

"Cassidy?" inquired Melissa. "What are you doing?!"

"Sending you help. Mr. Screechy, attack!"

Before Melissa could tell me what her daughter was talking about, a portal appeared behind the lynx, followed by what I could best describe as a grey demonic entity. The winged beast bowled into the giant robot and began wailing on it, though the shields made damaging it a problem. The Ospreys providing said shields promptly opened fire, which only resulted in the monster roaring at them, _which_ _reduced_ _them_ _to_ _pieces_.

With the ospreys no longer providing protection to the walker, it was soon beheaded, with its remains being dragged back into the portal by the demon. A moment later, the light vanished, the void key just barely falling away into the snow. Then, for no apparent reason, a trio of Verminks showed up.

After drugging the verminks and sending them to safety, I marched toward Etran, who had already retrieved the key. Melissa, meanwhile, seemed to be having a chat with her daughter, while Cyreesia seemed to be trying to determine if more of the demons were coming anytime soon.

"What the hell was that?" I asked my ROb. "A dragon."

"Scorch Beast. Best way to describe it is as a bat doing a dragon impression. They're native to the Fallout Universe, where they live under Appalachia. And yes, I rehearsed that."

"Okay, then how come I've never seen one in any of the games?"

"They first showed up fifty years before Fallout 1. Maybe they went extinct?"

"Maybe," I conceded, before turning my attention to Etran. "Ready to torch this place?"

He nodded, but before he could get close enough, a huge projectile slammed into the ground next to him, sending his Warframe flying, and causing the key to slip out of his grasp. Melissa hastily caught the key whilst I acted as a makeshift cushion for the Tenno. Turning toward the source of the blast, I found myself staring at a Razorback.

Oh come on! I did not have time for this!

"Don't worry, dad! I have you covered!"

Mere seconds later, a drop pod landed some distance in front of me, pancaking the Razorback. The four of us stared on in shock for a moment, before breaking down in laughter.

SUCK IT, ANYO!

Still laughing, Melissa tosses me the key, which I prepared to insert into the Torsion Device.

"Stop right there, False Tenno."

I froze, as a blade suddenly found itself resting on my shoulder. Turning my head, I found Stalker right behind me, War in his hands. Nearby, the rest of his acolytes had my companions surrounded and at gun/blade point.

"Hand over the key, or your companions shall suffer."

That voice was not the Stalker's. It was Zen'Hurros.

And now, here, I could actually see what he looked like.

It was...interesting, to say the least. He resembled a cross between an angel, a squid, a demon, and a MUTO. He had eight different limbs, as well as a second set of rib-like limbs that formed a set of 'wings' upon his back. Most peculiar of all, though, was the large...temple, of sorts, resting on his back. Connected to it were a huge set of...chains, which tightened with every movement he made. Given his pained roaring every so often, these chains were obvious not something the giant liked to have on him.

That being said, I couldn't help but smirk. "How?"

The Sentient looked taken aback by that statement. I refused to let him get in a word, though. "These drakes of war are merely surrogates for the Tenno, and whilst one of us is here in her true body, I doubt you can even make her ticklish." Then, before the Stalker could react, I shoved the key into the torsion device and activated it, whilst using my hacking powers to set the device into overdrive.

The activation released a pulse of void energy, sending me hurtling backwards. The Stalker and his acolytes, being Sentients associated, were affected far more adversely, however, as the Stalker could only curl up in pain, whilst his acolytes collapsed, allowing my companions to overpower them before leaping toward the portal.

"No!" Shouted the Sentient, enraged to be defeated so easily. "You will not escape! You will pay for the suffering your kind wrought on me!"

I just chuckled at that. "Maybe next time."

Inwardly, though, I wondered what he was talking about. Given what I now knew about the Progenitors, I wouldn't be surprised if he had really been victim to something heinous.

XXXXXXX

As soon as I emerged from the gate, I received an all clear from my forces - they had pulled out as soon as the Lynx had gone offfline, and were now returning to my underground bases on Venus. Fun fact: only parts of the planet had been terraformedinto cold parts - when the machines went offline, there had been nothing keeping the planet from returning to being a heat blasted wasteland. Only the places where the terraformers had been reactivated were cold - the rest were still heat-blasted wastelands. And those didn't make for good bases.

But that's getting off topic. Back in the void, we quickly cut through the corrupted and Corpus in the tower. Soon, we were upon what I presumed to be the gateway to the Repository. Guarding it was a door protected by an Orokin Cipher. Fortunately, there were glyphs in the area to assist us in breaking the encryption.

When the door finally opened, we walked in and found...nothing. As in, literally nothing! Behind the door Ah was an empty room, lacking most of the floor, with only a balcony standing before a huge drop and an enormous, ornate wall.

I wanted to scream at this misfortune, but my son decided to interrupt.

"Dad, the room isn't empty."

"...It's not?"

"The wall in front of you is some kind of doorway. It can only be opened remotely, and I don't know how to open it. Fide, Kathi, And Synais are working on it, though."

"Did you promise them something?"

"...I might have played the cute card?"

"...Thisnis a situation where using that is reasonable, so okay." My attention promptly turned to my Cell. "We need to go - the wall is a remotely locked doorway, and-"

Melissa promptly grabbed me by the head and pointed me at the doorway. There, much to my surprise, was a glowing light...which looked a lot like one of the symbols in the Vitruvian.

A moment later, another portal appeared in front of us, and we had returned to Wtran's Railjack.

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	207. Annihilation 179

After we returned to the Railjack, Etran dropped me off at the extinction, before leaving with Cyreesia. Melissa, having no reason left do stay, departed back to her hub universe via portal, leaving me alone to examine the Vitruvian.

Somehow, I felt that I was nearing the end of the story.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_So, you had your enemies broken. I trust they surrendered swiftly._

****Swiftly enough. Once they witnessed our might, capitulation was inevitable.****

_So, then, what were your demands? that they forever sacrifice a military so that you would never face an opposition from them?_

****Please, we are not that stupid. Attempts at that following the first global war in human history laid the groundwork for the next. We merely gave them a 'very' strongly worded request to never again interfere with our actions, lest untold annihilation be ventured upon them.****

_I see. Then what?_

****Then? We undid what destruction we had already wrought.****

_…__.What? You….repaired and healed the lands you had damaged?_

****No, we made it as if it had never happened. You could say we...undid our actions. Those that were dead lived once more, broken worlds became whole, and all was fixed. The memory, the experience of what had happened, though, was not forgotten. Those who had died knew they only lived again because of our mercy, so that they would never seek to rise up again.****

..I...I...wow. Forgive me if I am speechless.

****I understand. Is there anything else that you wish to discuss?****

_No, not now. I believe it is time I got moving._

****You have somewhere to be?****

_I have to reach the Terminus. The end of the war is to be celebrated today. The Tenno deserve to be rewarded for their valor...and for putting up with our-_

Thwip.

Okay, here things got weird. Up until this point, the Vitruvian had shown me still images of a shattered world in front of a Progenitor ship, which had been healed by one of the crew. Now, however, the images were replaced by a live-action feed, showing the female Orokin (who was rather pretty, I will concede) looking on in confusion as she pulled a dart out of her neck. A moment later, she fell over, and a few minutes after that, she was snoring. Behind her, a Volt had appeared, and soon, it moved down to hoist the slumbering woman upward.

In front of frame of war, the golden beast I had seen in the earlier Vitruvian entries hummed softly, appearing unsurprised by this development. Huh, didn't expect him to be the one who was talking.

"Hmph. I thought you'd care more for secrecy."

"I trust you not to tell the Orokin of our plan. I am wrong to do so?"

That was Cyreesia's voice. I guess I knew what warframe had been her starter.

"Fair enough. So, shall we take her to the Repository?"

"Of course."

With that, the duo vanished into light. Then the scene changed, showing a new room, where the Tenno were hastily putting people into cryopods.

"So, this is your way of repaying those who showed you kindness," remarked the golden one. "Ensuring they will survive into the future."

"That's the plan. We shall leave them here until a time comes when society can be...rebuilt, but with old hatreds and prejudices either tempered or removed. It may take many thousands of years, but we will make sure that future comes about."

"I see," replied the Progenitor, before turning his attention to one of the pods. "That's your grandmother, right?"

"Yes indeed. Etran already put my grandfather in one of the pods, so I'm waiting until I find him so that the two of them can be peaceful together."

"How kind of you. I must ask, though, was it necessary to save an executor?"

"You mean Ms. Golden and White that I am holding right now? Of course - anyone who shows us kindness deserves to be spared. Even if they are jerks otherwise."

"You are...very forgiving."

"Know when to forgive and when to forget, lest revenge consume you."

"True...do you mind if I give you a final gift? My kind are going to...go away from the multiversal stage, but we have a final, parting boon to give you."

"...I don't see why not."

With that, a portal, opened, and an air fabber came through...

And then the vision ended.

SO CLOSE!

XXXXXXX

As I mentally raged and screamed over not finding out more about the repository, I began writing down notes - it seemed at least some questions were answered. The Repository was, essentially, a reservoir for non-Tenno - meant to keep safe members of other orokin castes until a time was more peaceful. Going off what I had seen, there were also pieces of Prime Technology in there, likely meant to accelerate the rebuilding. Even animal species were kept there, likely for recolonizing certain spaces after natural disasters in the millennia to come.

As I finished up my notes, I found that another archived video of my commander had been highlighted. Examining it, I found myself staring once again at the Progenitor machine from my sentient visions. Now, I could see more of them, all being sent across the system to battle the dreaded sentients. One, in particular, was sent against a familiar form.

Upon seeing the structure, Zen'Hurros roared, before hurling bolts of plasma at the monster...and finding them totally ineffective. Surprised, he tried to ram it, only for chains to shoot out of the machine and burying their ends in the Sentient's flesh. Then, the monster was reeled in, whilst the structure's underside opened up, revealing strange tools and blades. These instruments soon buried themselves in the Sentient's back, much to its vocal anguish.

As the vision finally vanished, I vomited. Seeing those implements dig into the Sentient's flesh was nauseating. Also, I totally understood why he had a grudge against the Progenitor's now - that looked horrifically painful.

As I filed that away for later, I checked to see what the date was. Apparently, it was December 19. I'd just missed my sister's birthday. Oh well. It could no longer be helped. Didn't stop me from feeling unhappy and a little angry at Melissa.

XXXXX

"...Why do I suddenly feel guilty right now?" questioned a female ROB.

XXXXX

Still, I had work to do: I still had a few Christmas present to get.

Including ones for people who really didn't deserve them.

XXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	208. Annihilation 180

"Dashing through the snow, on a one horse open sleigh, over the hills we go, laughing all the way!"

I smiled as my children began to sing a familiar carol, whilst I finished digging into breakfast. Christmas, or Tennobaum, as the natives called it, had finally come, and my adorable bundles of joy couldn't wait to unwrap their gifts. Joining them was Cassidy and her adoptive siblings - evidently, my ROB had taken a page out of my book and decided to adopt some of those who were on the receiving end of misfortunate due to her actions. Right now, she was resting behind a corner.

As I finished the last of my breakfast, I opened a portal to the nearest bathroom, brushed my teeth, and returned to my family. Then, and only then, did I walk up to my ROB.

"So, are you looking forward to this day?"

"Yeah, I am. By the way, what happened to your hands."

Oh, so she saw all the marks on them. "I was up late last night working on one of my gifts to you."

"Oh, really? How sweet of you." The sarcasm practically dripped off her voice.

And I really did put a lot of work into that gift, too!

...Well, might as well get on with this.

Before I could turn away, though, Melissa grabbed me by the shoulder. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

I stared her blankly for a moment, before looking up. There, hanging on the ceiling, was a trio of poisonous berries belonging to the species_ Viscum album,_ otherwise known as the mistletoe. According to my cameras of the previous night, Rory had been the one to put it there. While I wouldn't put it past Melissa to ask him to do so, it was more likely that she simply took advantage of where the decoration was to put me in this situation.

Oh, and all of my subordinates and kids were watching, and if my emotion reading psychic powers weren't lying to me, they wanted me to kiss her. Traitors!

Melissa only responded by giving me a wide grin. "Well, pucker up my -mmph!"

Well, two can play at this game. Also, fun fact: my ROB has nice lips.

I held the kiss for about five seconds, before backing down. Idly, I wondered if I should have gone farther, but then put that aside - that would probably have been rude.

Plus I didn't want to go that far with my first kiss...what, is that really surprising? I'm not exactly a romantic.

Melissa, rather humorously, just stared at me, eyes wide, face red as a tomato. It took her ten seconds after the kiss was broken to finally regain her faculties.

"What, did you like that?" I wondered, smirking at her embarrassment.

"Uh..um...yes," she confirmed. "...But...well...that was my first kiss."

…. has ccrashed and needs to reboot.

…...Reboot complete. Time take: 3 seconds.

"...Seriously? You're seven hundred and thirteen, and you haven't kissed anyone...besides your family?"

Melissa just sheepishly gestured to the affirmative.

Now I felt bad for taking enjoyment in her embarrassment.

"Well, if its any consolation, that was my first kiss, too."

"oh...Did you like it?"

I thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Yes, actually."

"..Okay, then."

This was going nowhere, fast. "Onto unwrapping the gifts, then?"

"YES!" Shouted everyone in the room except me and my ROB.

Well, the people have spoken.

XXXXXXX

The tree I'd chosen for this year was actually still growing, though it had the room all to itself. It was also the size of a redwood and easily had room for several families worth of gifts. Considering how much I was giving to everyone, that was just barely enough room.

First to open fits were my children, who unwrapped their goodies with barely contained glee. Most of it was kid stuff - floofs, paitning kits, Legos, and games. That being said, the kids went nuts when I revealed I had bought them k-drives. Etran and Cyreesia had invited us to their Dojo after we were done exchanging gifts, and it apparently had a K-Drive skate-park. The joy on my children's faces was just priceless.

As for my machines-turned-people, I had discovered they were interested in machines like themselves, thus I had provided them with model kits for planes, tanks, soldiers, robots, and wet navy vessels. If their epxressions were anything to go by, they really liked them.

That being said, I still had one last set of gifts to give to my children. Carefully pulling in a large set of gifts, all of which were well ventilated, I offered them to my children. At first, they weren't sure how to react. Then one of the gifts howled. After freezing for a moment, Bianka and Rory walked up to the gift that had howled and pulled off its wrapping.

The box inside appeared empty. Then a red, fur-tufted head emerged and stared at the kids.

A moment later, and the red-crested vermink was mewling in surprise as my children started hugging it, followed by all of my charges tearing off the wrapping paper of the remaining gifts to see what new pets they would get. The reactions that followed were amusing: I never that a bear-sized stover would run away in fear from a horde of kids, but the ones I'd secured for my kids did just that.

It hadn't actually been hard to convince Biz to let me keep all of the animals I had rescued as pets, seeing how I essentially had a portable nature preserve aboard my ship. I wonder if he would have objected to this course of action if he saw my kids embracing their pets, though.

"My, my, you certainly trust your kids," intoned my ROB.

"I'm pretty sure that the same can be said of you."

"Touché. So, are you ready to unwrap my gifts to you? You already unwrapped the ones your children gave you."

Well, they wouldn't have opened their last gifts from me if I hadn't done that, but she had a point. "Might as well. But can you open the ones I gave you first?"

"Oh, so you want to savor me acting childish?"

"Maybe."

"Yeah, well, I don't think you'll be able...to..."

Yeah, you can eat your words, missy.

Though, I will admit, offering her a hand carved Marquis Thyst and Radian Sentirium was, well, quite a grand offering. Good god, those things were hard to find!

"I...I...I...WHY did you..give me this?"

"Because, despite everything you've done to me, and how annoying you are...I still enjoy your companionship."

….I think I broke her. As in, she made her emotions plain enough to see that I could blatantly examine them with my psychic powers without having to wonder if they were faked. Before you ask, no, she didn't have any romantic feelings toward me...but she did feel really touched by what I had said.

...Was she really that lonely? Did she truly not have anyone she could call a friend?

Eventually, though, she recovered. "Well, could you open my gifts to you now?"

I complied. I opened the first box...and found myself staring a Hearth Nyth and Radiant Zodian.

Huh. Guess strange minds think alike.

I examined it for a moment, then pulled out her other gifts: an ayatan, a strange shield shaped gemstone, and a piece of Tellerium. All rare resources that would help me quite a bit in the future.

"Well," I said, putting away the Tellerium, "I believe that is the last present you gave me."

"Actually, I have one more."

Then she pulled out some kind of handheld phone-device and punched in a few numbers and letters. A moment later, I received a notification from my Commander: 'Database Restrictions Relaxed'.

Suddenly, a lot of new designs popped up.

I seemed to make my shock readable. "Use it well," intoned Melissa.

...Um, wow. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Immediately following that, I got a notification from the Tenno, specifically Etran and Cyreesia. Focusing on it, I found that it was a blueprint...for a solar rail. 'We thought you might want that for future usage.'

Yes, I did.

XXXXXXXXX

That Christmas was a good day.

It was also the last good day I'd have for weeks to come.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	209. Interlude 30

Eudico watched on the children played with their toys. It was nice, seeing them so happy.

The gifts had been a joint work by all of the Tenno in the system, plus the new one - Commander Flame. Funny name, she thought, and she'd been told_ her name_ was funny sounding by a couple of people. Eh, to each their own.

That, of course, was besides the point - the children had gotten toys, and Anyo couldn't do a thing to stop it -Tennobaum was a holiday even the Board recognized, and any interference on it for, well, anyone, was met with stiff resistance.

Fortuna wasn't the only place getting tons of toys - Cetus had also received them, as had all the other colonies in the system. Everyone had been affected by this miracle, and they were enjoying it to their fullest.

Sighing in relief, Eudico turned her attention to the floor, where a ball was rolling toward her. Smiling, she lifted it up and threw it back to the kinds playing with it - might as well have some fun!

XXXXXXXXX

Melissa tumbled backwards, landing deep within the snow. Shaking herself dry, she glared at her pawn, before curling up another snow ball and returning fire.

The snowball fight was between her forces and Flame's, and so far, she was losing. Apparently, chivalry was alien to him...that, or he didn't care about extending chivalry to her.

Well, maybe she wasn't all that ladylike, but still, the thought counted!

Worse still, Etran and Cyreesia had sided with the commander, leaving her forces grossly outnumbered. Really, could you show a lady such unfairness.

_You really don't act like a lady, even if your are royalty by birth._

….Her pawn really needed ot learn when not to make his thoughts vocal.

_You make it too easy._

Groaning in annoyance, Melissa focused her attention in front of her, then, using her powers, generated a giant snowball and hurled it forwards, burying her foes in its fluffy whiteness. As they clawed their way out of the snow pile, Melissa smirked: at last, victory!

Then Cyreesia vanished...and in her place, came a Frost Warframe.

Immediately, the smile vanished from Melissa's face. A moment later, and she was trying to dig her way out of the recently arrived avalanche.

XXXXXXXXX

After the snow war finally ended, the group played board and video games, watched one of her pawn's Christmas movies, then, at last, bid each other adieu. Now, she was invoking one last favor with her commander: tour her around his ship.

Admittedly, this was a rather tedious task, seeing how the ship was far bigger on the inside than it was on the outside - in fact, it was so large that it had an onboard zoo, factories, and even a few farms. And that failed to account for all of the computer nexuses scattered throughout the vessel. All in all, the ship could be considered a space city, and she was only going to see a fraction of it.

Of course, her request for the tour was merely a distraction - she needed something for him to focus on so that she could hack into his computer network. Not that she couldn't do that from outside the ship, but with her powers dampened by her superior, she found it easier to do the hack from within. Plus, she could disguise her erratic eye movements during the hack as taking in the sights of the ship.

It took only moments to break into the dtabanks. Form their, she fished around, trying to see if there was any good blackmail material. It was always nice to have that kind of stuff.

….Why did she feel absolutely horrible about that?

As she perused the files, she soon found, among other things, a list of people to give Christmas gifts to. That, she wanted to see - maybe she could find some people who received embarrassing gifts.

….Wait, he gave_ them_ gifts?!

XXXXXXX

Hidden deep in the reservoir, Ballas coiled up on the pedestal, silently whimpering in pain from his forced transformation. Gone was his magnificent beauty, replaced with this twisted form.

He had been a fool to trust Natah - she was a wolf dressed as a sheep, luring him in for the slaughter. He had fallen for her charms, and paid the price. Now, he could only hope that the Tenno devils would see her brought to ruin.

As he continued to rest on the pedestal slab, though, he heard a strange noise grow closer. Turning toward it, he found himself staring at a strange looking machine, one very similar to the ones used by the false Tenno.

"What do you want?" he questioned, annoyed to be stirred from his self pity.

The drone said nothing, instead scanning him. Then, it opened up, and charged. After that, all he knew was pain.

XXXXXX

Ten minutes later, the pain dulled, and Ballas was disgorged from the machine. Disoriented, he attempted to stand...and noticed how odd his legs felt. Confused, he looked down, and found that the legs he stood on were his own, not the twisted facsimiles that the Lotus' Mother had given him.

Confused, he turned his attention to the drone. "Why? Why did you heal me?"

At last, the drone spoke. "Because, when I found you twisted into a chimera, even you proved to be pitiable. Consider it a gift." Then, the machine's expression changed, becoming harsher. "Do not think that you are forgiven for your past crimes, however. Your treatment of the one who became Umbra was...unacceptable. Not now, not ever."

With that, the drone left, though not before depositing a small box behind it, which Ballas found to contain food and water. "Do not try to follow me, Executor, or you I will ensure that you reunite with Margulis sooner rather than later."

And with that, the drone vanished.

XXXXXXXXXX

Still stewing over his loss, Zen'hurros watched quietly as Hunhow's shards traveled across Lua, trying to determine how best he could defeat the Commander when they next met. He had lost twice already, and he could not tolerate a third defeat. He had suffered too much at the hands of the Progenitors, especially in regards to the temple-esque building upon his back. WHAT DID IT EVEN DO?!

As he continued to rage, however, a new contact appeared hear him - an orbital fabber, followed by two omegas. Emerging from FTL, they held position just outside the effective range of his weapons.

What did they want?

A moment later, he received an answer: a signal went out, directed toward the temple on his back. Only a second passed before the temple reacted, causing Zen'hurros to recoil in pain as the blades and implements retracted, whilst the chains eleased their grip on him. Soon, the structure was floating harmlessly in space, at least until the Omegas flew over to it, attached tow cables, and jumped away. As for the fabber, it approached the raw flesh on his back and began healing it. Once it had repaired the damage, the drone left. Before it did, it sent him a message: 'For Tennobaum'.

XXXXX

The micronoids sensed the ship landing, followed by its doors opening. Confused, they approached it, only for the nearest ones to be sucked into some kind of machine and injected into something.

A moment later, a strange biped walked out of the ship, examining its hands and feet, as if just now becoming accustomed to its body.

For a moment, it was unsure what to do, but then it smiled, and made gestures that caused the Micronoids to approach it.

True, they were still stuck on this prison world...but now, they could bare it just a little more easily.

XXXXXX

….Hmph. Perhaps her pawn was more caring than he let on.

As she continued to peruse the files, Melissa noticed one last one that interested her - a video file related to her Christmas present. It was dated to the night before. Melissa looked at it for a moment, then hit play.

The video depicted her pawn with his three AI companions, busy working on...something.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Synais. "I mean, she did put you in this mess."

"Yeah, but she's been nice to me so far, so I feel obligated to do so," was her pawn's response.

The one known as Kathikon looked nonplussed at that statement. "Commander, you owe her nothing. She is responsible for all hardships you have endured so far, directly or otherwise."

"Yeah, but she's also helped me through quite a few of them. I think that balances things out."

"It most certainly does not."

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for your opinion on this topic-argh!"

As her pawn yelped, his three subordinates instantly clumped around him, trying to search his hands for an signs of injury. All they found was a tiny cut, which the commander swiftly healed. Given the number of recently healed injuries on his scan, this evidently wasn't the first wound.

Fide merely looked at him one more time, before finally speaking. "Why are you doing this for your ROB? Do you see her as, well, a friend?"

For a moment, her pawn did not react, before eventually making a gesture to the affirmative. "I guess so."

Then the video ended.

XXXXXX

Melissa only realized she'd frozen up when the Commander tapped her on the back. Apologizing, she claimed she had just received a request from Celm, then opened up a portal to meet with him. As she exited the aperture, she found her coworkers busy playing around with their gifts, uncaring of her presence. Hastily, she ran up to a computer an began typing, only stopping when her fingers burned. From there, she printed out what she had typed and darted back into the main room, where she first determined where Celm was, then gave tried to hand him the paper.

"What's this?" he asked, busy playing a crossword Tau had gotten him.

"Just read it," was her response.

"My, my, aren't you overstepping your bounds, ordering our leader," spat out Tau, smirking all the while.

"Indeed," intoned Zeta, "even you should know better than this. Aren't you worried that you will lose your position as head of the commander project?"

"...No."

That shut everyone up, if only for a moment. "W..ww..What?!" croaked out Tau.

"But why?!" That was Zeta.

"Because.." began Melissa, only for Celm to interrupt her.

"...You're resigning?"

"As head of the Commander Project, yes."

"If I may ask, why?"

Melissa sighed. "Because I'm tired of treating the one person who I could reasonably call a friend like a pawn."

"So, what, you want someone else to take charge over him?" asked Zeta, still somewhat confused.

"No! When he is finished with his actions in this universe, he is done. We find a new candidate, scrub the commander's databanks, and pick a new candidate to work with...Is that acceptable, sir?"

"Only if you answer me one question."

"And that is?"

"What will you do with the boy?"

"...I'm going to send him home. Back to his home universe."

XXXXX

****AN: We've finished the last interlude before the endgame. Everything from here on out will really shake up the story, so get ready for a bumpy ride.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	210. Annihilation 181

Christmas was a nice time, but event it had to pass, and then it was back to work.

Though, really, it would be a lie to say that I didn't start getting ready for my endgame until after Christmas. As soon as I received the Solar Rail schematics, I began developing my own. This one, of course, was modified to be able to shoot capital ships out of it, and also benefitted from some technology I'd found aboard my Commander. I had Melissa to thank for that - apparently her increasing the limits of what technology I could use on my commander/increasing access to some of the blocked files included stuff the Progenitors had acquired after the war they had fought. Among those was an efficiency booster for the solar rail, which allowed it to make the Tau Jump in about...five minutes. Needless to say, I was very happy with that.

That wasn't all that I had unlocked. Melissa's final gift had also provided me with access to some technology that hadn't been in the games, which proved to be a game-changer (pun intended). This included things like aircraft carriers that could fab planes pretty much instantly, cluster nukes, dark matter cannons, and god knows what else. Already, I had begun integrating them into my forces, readying myself for the inevitable battle with the Sentients. Unlike in the Old War, though, they would be the ones on the defensive.

Preparations for the battle were swift - it only took half a day to not only build up my armies, but also to contact the Tenno and ask who would support me. Many pledged their aid - they wanted their space mom back, and stopping the sentients before they could cause more havoc then was already happening was another big motivator. Some, however, refused, albeit for pragmatic reasons - how could they afford to go all in at Tau when the Origin System was already plagued by internal threats. These Tenno did not want to risk leaving their home undefended. I regretted their lack of support, but it was understandable. Someone needed to stay here to face the tyrants already present. And whilst my plans did call for destroying the Grineer, Corpus, and Infested, the Sentients needed to die first, else all of us be overwhelmed by these terrors from beyond.

It only took me half a day to finish preparations. The Tenno needed even less time, seeing how my plan also included setting up defenses at the Origin System in case we were repulsed. Having a failsafe against unforeseen consequences never hurt. Additionally, I made a point of placing my Commander on a hidden part of Sedna, so that I would have a second failsafe should my first one somehow fail.

With the last preparations set up, only one step remained before the assault could begin.

XXXXXXX

"Hello?"

"Hello, my dear ROB."

"Oh, its you. What do you want? A massage?"

She said that in such a seductive tone that I _really _considered it, but I managed to compose myself before I did something stupid. "No. I want you."

"What?!"

"I'm getting ready to kick the Sentients' teeth in. Do you want to come along for the ride, maybe get in a few kills?"

"...Eh, sure, why not?"

"Good. Battle starts soon."

XXXXXXX

Really, that was too easy.

Not like I cared, though - help was always appreciated. Plus I wanted how the Sentients would react to meeting a ROB.

Mere minutes after I called in Melissa, the Tenno started to gather around the special solar rail I'd commissioned for this battle. Joining them were a couple of volunteers they managed to wrangle up. I had no idea how, nor did I care - again, help was always appreciated. Plus I was certain some people would like to give the Sentients a piece of their mind considering how much trouble they had caused in the past.

As my allies arrived en-mass, I started pulling up the reports of the scouts I'd shot through the rail. They'd managed to sneak in under the Sentient's noses and set up three bases in the Tau system. From here, they'd built teleporter arches to send in additional reinforcements when the time came. I'd already hooked those up to bases I had across the system, all hidden in remote spots and rigged to be destroyed if discovered.

It only took half an hour for all my forces and allies to arrive. I'd have given a speech, but speeches weren't my thing. Also, if I flubbed this one, Melissa would never let me live it down. Since she was standing right next to me (almost certainly just to annoy me), I wasn't really willing to take that chance.

Thus, was everybody was ready, I simply activated the Rail and launched the first wave.

XXXXXXXX

The minute the Sentient's sensed the first ship's arrival, they opened fire. Though the Progenitors' forces had proven to be durable, the synthetics were nothing if not adaptable, and it was only a matter of moments before the ship was obliterated. Smugness

settled over their minds as they watched the ship explode, satisfaction following as its remains drifted off into space.

Then another ship appeared...and another, and another. Soon dozens began to charge at them, taking noticeable losses, sure, but being replaced faster than the losses could add up. It took only moments for hundreds to appear, and there were no signs that their numbers were getting smaller. Worse still, the greatest weapon of the Sentients, their adaptability, was useless here - after pounding their foes for a while, the enemy vessels would fire off a powerful beam of void energy, tearing away their resistances and leaving them vulnerable once more.

It was only a matter of time before the defensive fleet retreated, leaving the worlds of Tau vulnerable to their new foe.

XXXXXX

"What, they have already broken through?!"

"Yes, my lady. We are trying to stop them, but there are reports of enemy forces already on planet. We believe they managed to sneak in infiltrators prior to the assault. I apologize for this oversight."

"You are forgiven. Now go and lead the ground defenses."

"Of course."

As the weaker sentient drifted away, the elder one turned to the only other of her kin in the room.

"What, mother?"

"Fall back into the empty void, Natah. You will be part of our counteroffensive, should we lose."

"But won't the others see this as a sign of favoritism?"

"Yes, but to the Tenno, you are a prize. If they catch you now, they will fight ferociously to save you. If you remain beyond their grasp for now, though, they may weaken themselves trying to bring you home."

"I...I understand. Very well, I shall fall back."

"Good."

As her daughter fell away into the shadows, the elder one turned her attention to a golden object in the room. A trophy from the old war, it was, for the most part, useless to her...but it most certainly had a value to the Commander. And if she played her hand carefully, it would let her win against him.

XXXXXXXX

As my forces finally began to descend on the world I'd designated Tau Prime, I smiled - they day of reckoning had come.

Still smiling, I pulled up a choice selection of music, silently glad that Melissa had given me the track just prior to this battle. It most certainly felt appropriate.

XXXXXXX

With unprecedented grace, the fighter charged into battle, joined by a railjack and a pair of archwing wielding Tenno. Within moments, they were upon the aerial sentient.

I dream of towers in a world consumed Gold hewn into the stone

They opened fire, tearing into the strange creature's flesh. In pain, it struck out, but soon took core damage. It was not long before something critical failed.

_ The architecture of servitude _

_Collapsing upon the thrones_

Even before the sentient exploded, the Tenno had moved onto the next, refusing to let up on the pressure.

_Shock to the framework as the shell ignites _

_Binding the master and the acolyte_

Soon, the small group converged in with others, until they formed a might fleet. Before them, their opposition stared out, ready to fight back.

_Keep running forward at the speed of light _

_A universe on fire_

Then, both fleets opened fire, and carnage ensued.

_The coming of age _

_The stirring of purpose _

_Within the slumber _

_Over and over _

_We will ascend _

_The coming of age _

_Disturbing the surface _

_Connect each other _

_Over and over _

_To see the end _

_And dream again_

It took some time, but the enemy fleet fell apart. Some lagged away, beaten but still living, but the vast majority were destroyed, their corpses collected for reverse engineering.

_We dream again _

_To see the end _

_We dream again_

Their foes broken, the Tenno and their allies charged to the planet's surface. Slamming through the orbital stations, they descended upon the land, choosing a barren plain as their landing sight. The fact it already had a forward base on it may have been a contributor to this decision.

_Prophets of industry revel in greed _

_The slaves of yesterday are roaming free _

_Synthetic scream a violent vicious seed _

_A universe on fire _

XXXXXX

As the enemy forces massed up to attack the base, Adeline readied up her spear and shield, which erupted with flames.

Her master was right: this was a battle worthy of her talents.

Then, just as they approached her, she swung out her weapon, setting them all alight.

_The coming of age _

_The stirring of purpose _

_Within the slumber _

_Over and over _

_We will ascend _

_The coming of age _

_Disturbing the surface _

_Connect each other _

_Over and over _

_To see the end _

_And dream again_

As her foe's corpses began to cool, the Tenno charged out, some on k-drives, some upon the wings of war, and some even using mechs...where did they get those?

_We dream again _

_To the see the end _

_We dream again_

An attempt by the sentients to rally was crushed by a massive orbital barrage of void energy.

_We dream again _

_To see the end _

_We dream again_

XXXXXXXXXX

Charging through the jungle, Hearth smiled - this was what she lived for.

Sliding under a native predator, she shot into a tree, eager to spill her foe's blood once more.

_Bind the body to the opened mind_

As a missile flew toward her, the CNDR darted to the side, in the process saving a native insectile creature from getting fried. A moment later, a Tenno cut down her assailant, after which she advanced.

_ Bind the body to the opened mind_

Sighing, even though it was unnecessary for her to do so, Hearth set down the bug, before charging into battle. SO MUCH FUN!

_I dream of towers in a world consumed _

_A void in the sentient sky_

Taking a moment to load up her weapons, Hearth stood straight when she saw that Adeline had arrived. The two shared a look, before charging forward once more.

_I dream of fissures across the moon _

_Leaves of the lotus rise_

As the two charged out of the forest, they joined up with another group, amongst them Melissa herself. A horde of sentients stood in their way, but that only brought a smile from the rob, the human, and the CNDR.

_The coming of age _

_The stirring of purpose _

_Within the slumber _

_Over and over _

_We will ascend_

As the fighting began anew, Adeline turned rearward and held out her shield. Wasting no time, Hearth charged forward and leapt, using it to propel herself forward, letting her rain fire upon the sentients. Nearby, Melissa leapt toward a Teralyst sized foe and laid it low. And that was just the opening move. As the sentients tried to return fire, Cyreesia leapt into the fray, wielding the might form of a Rhino Prime. Slamming into it the ground, she sent a shockwave outwards, hurling the shards into the air. Determined to keep fighting, the drones opened fire, only for a volt frame to pop up a shield, bringing the assault to a halt. Moments later, Umbra charged out of the shadows, and as he tore into a Sentient with his Skiajati, Etran transferred out of the warframe, firing a void blast at an oncoming group of conculysts.

_The coming of age _

_Disturbing the surface _

_Connect each other _

_Over and over _

_To see the end _

_And dream again_

The fight soon turned into a route. The sheer value of firepower, combined with its ability to pierce through the Sentient's adaptability, proved to much for the synthetics to take. Even the mighty one who lead them was forced to retreat, despite carving a line through the center of the invading army. Soon, the battlefield was theirs.

_We dream again_

_To see the end_

_We dream again_

XXXXXXXXX

Wow, only five hours, and we'd kicked them off the planet the Orokin had designated as tau prime. that must be some kind of record. Granted, the Stlaker and his acolytes hadn't shown up (oddly), so that had helped, but still...

…..Okay, we hadn't really kicked them off the planet. What I had done was taken all of their bases/cities on ninety percent of its surface and the entirety of the planet's orbital area, which effectively made it mine. Surprisingly, a large amount of Sentients had surrendered. I thought they would all fight to the death, but apparently honor did not outweigh reason. More surprising still was that the Tenno actually accepted said surrender - I really thought they might be too interested in vengeance for those lost during the old war, but I guess they could be reasonable in this case as well.

...Maybe I was being paranoid.

"Maybe you are."

Ugh. "What do you want?"

"Caught a trophy off the big sentient who led the defense," responded my ROB. "You're the one who coordinated the battle against it, might as well take the trophy as your own."

"...Okay."

"Catch."

With that, she threw me a strange little object. A strange piece of sculpting was the best way to describe it, and even that was generous, for it had no visible features on it that could be described in words. Just a simple, golden shape, unlike any I had ever seen. Nothing notable about it at all...

...I take it back, there was something notable on it: A glowing blue symbol, exactly like the one on the Vitruvian.

...Huh. It seemed I had found what I was looking for, at least in regards to the machine.

After making sure that my forces had firmly secured what they now held, and asking Melissa for some reinforcements to further keep the area under my command, I opened up the Vitruvian and selected the final symbol: "Rebirth."

XXXXXXXX

The golden beast watched as the Tenno affixed more pods into place, never once betraying an emotion, until at last he spoke. "Will these be all of the ones you will save here?"

"No," replied Cyreesia. "We will also protect those who cannot return to their homes do to how the war ended."

As she said that, more pods were moved into the room, containing...no way. Those did not contain Forerunner Warrior-Servants...or Slaan….or Esh-Kha..._was that an Adeptus Custodes?_

"How kind of you."

"Your flattery is appreciated, though I am afraid we cannot talk much longer - we must be at the ceremony soon."

"I understand."

A moment later, and a pinging noise filled the air. Turning toward it, the duo found themselves staring at a set of...teleporter arches?

"These will be gateways to a set of...true...promised lands. One uninhabited by natives, unspoiled by industry, and ripe for the taking. Consider it our...compensation..for your assistance."

"...Thank you."

"You are welcome. Know this, however - only after your society has undergone a rebirth will these be yours. Do not let evils defile these worlds as the Orokin did the Origin System."

"We won't," intoned a familiar voice. Turning, the Progenitor and female Tenno watched as Etran appeared, pushing a skink filled pod into place. "Though I must ask, how will we open them when the time comes?"

"They will open when this vault opens." Then the Progenitor's eyes glowed, and the Tenno's suits suddenly became rigid. "And now, you know how to open it."

"...That is really complex."

"But it will work."

"...Probably."

"Touché...farewell, my companions."

With that, the Progentior disappeared...and the vision, at last, came to an end.

XXXXXXXXX

…..Wait, so there are races from other universes inside the Repository?

….Neat! Gimme gimme!

….But how do I get in there?

"Um, New One?" intoned Ordis.

"What?"

"Your Vitruvian is starting to power up for some reason..."

Before I could ask for clarification, a transmission left my ship. Moments later, it...entered the void?

Examining the various towers I had accessed and bugged, I tried to pinpoint the location the signal was headed to...and found it to be the entrance of the Repository. Confused, I watched as the signal reached its target. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the wall suddenly began to split apart, with the pieces forming a bridge to where the wall had been, where a more traditional doorway now existed.

Suddenly, a proximity alarm went off. Examining it, I found the corrupted...being slaughtered by the Stalker and his acolytes...who were now headed toward the Repository.

...FUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!

XXXXXX

**AN**: **Read and Review!**

**This is Flameal15k, signing off! **


	211. Annihilation 182

"Why, exactly, are you worried about the Sentients accessing the Repository?" Asked Melissa, a confused expression on her face. "I mean, what could possibly be in there that is valuable to them?"

"It has technology from the Forerunners, the Imperium of Man, and Star Wars within it.."

"So? Those should hardly prove to be a challenge toward you-"

"...and a Progenitor Multiversal Gate."

"...what?"

"Yeah. It has a way for them to exit this universe inside of it. And frankly, I do NOT want to make the Sentients a problem for all universes."

"...Okay. So, the plan?"

"My forces are trying to hold them off, but they will only last a few minutes more at most. We need to reach the Repository right now so that we can repulse the acolytes."

"And then what?"

"I checked the schematics for the facility: it has biological defense drones that are meant to repel any raiders they encounter. It appears that the defense systems have been knocked offline, and their IFF systems are going haywire, so first we'll need to fix that. From there...well, hold the line until the defenses are back online."

"That's all?"

"I didn't exactly have a lot of time to plan!"

"Fine. Just know that after this, I won't be helping you anymore."

"Your boss mad?"

"That, and, honestly, I have spent too much time working with you. Things are getting boring again in that regard."

"Oh. Well, thanks for the last bit of help, then."

"Don't mention it. Though I must ask, what are you going to do once you have rescued all of those in the Repository?"

"Well, probably let them live in my hub universe until I can find their home universes, then, well, I'll probably send them home...assuming they want to go home. Some of them might not like how their universes turned out."

"True enough. What will happen to the Orokin?"

"...I guess I'll let them live in my hub."

"Even after what they have done?"

"Yes. The ones in the Repository aren't all bad apples, and even they deserve a chance at redemption."

"..Seriously?"

"Yes."

"...That's rather admirable of you."

"Thank you. Now can we get this show on the road?!"

XXXXX

Hastily, I prepared a force to intercept the Stalker and his acolytes. I readied up my avatar, as well as Umbra (who seemed to be oddly focused on the C4 I'd put in the armory, which he spent a couple of moments arming and disarming), all in preparation for this struggle. Internally, I bemoaned the fact that my first original warframe was not yet finished. Codenamed Malachosias, I had designed it as a hybrid damage dealer and healer, with an angel/demon duality motif. Unfortunately, it was still gestating, and would probably not be ready in time for the final battle with the Sentients - I was just pounding them so fast it wasn't funny.

Back to the battle at hand: I'd managed to call in Etran and Cyreesia to assist with this, as well as two other Tenno wielding a Trinity and an Atlas, which provided us with a well balanced team to face off against the Sentient's forces. The Acolytes and their master may be few in number, but quality trumped quantity here.

"So, you're headed to the Repository again?" asked Etran.

"Yes...Do you remember anything about it? Anything that you might have-"

"Hid from you? Yes. I apologize, but the ones who built the gate within it said that the Repository and its secrets were meant for us and us alone. That only we were to possess its power."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think they felt that only we were responsible enough to use it, but right now, I doubt that. You have certainly proven yourself responsible enough to wield what lies within."

"...Thank you. Now, onwards, to battle!"

XXXX

We arrived in the Repository just as some huge creature emerged and began attacking what appeared to be shadowy crawlers. Great - Misery had summoned his shades. Said shades were no match for the monster, however, which soon tore them apart, before turning to face us. As I looked the beast over, I noted that it looked similar to some of Melissa's creations, though still different in other ways.

I wonder who had created this...Coelohim. Yeah, that was what they had been called, Coelohim.

The beast charged at us, only to be cut down in a hail of gunfire. As its corpse began to cool, we marched onwards - time was of the essence here.

"So, what next?" questioned my ROB.

"Get to the security center, reactivate and modify the IFF to see my forces as friends in addition to the Tenno, set everyone else as an enemy, then either repel all of the Sentient forces or evacuate everyone stored in the Repository and scuttle the facility."

"Good plan. Where are you gonna send those you rescue? Your ship?"

"Iron Wake. Steel Meridian offered to hold onto them until I can ask them if they want to go with me."

"I see. So, now what?"

"Now, we FIGHT!"

XXXXXX

Surprisingly little resistance was met as we marched toward the Security center - the corrupted managed to keep both the Acolytes' and the Coelohim's attention, leaving only the occasional shade or beast to fight. It only took us a few minutes to reach the facility and begin rerouting the defenses. Of course, that was proving to be challenging in its own right - the defense systems were proving very difficult to reprogram, and as they were derived from Progenitor tech, I was facing an equal here.

Just as I managed to finally modify the IFF, though, I felt another presence in the system. A_ Sentient_ presence.

_So, the creation of the Progenitors now lurks here, as well._

What do you want, Hunhow?

_To destroy the Orokin. The last trace of them besides the Tenno dwell in this tower. Killing them will bring the Old War to an end._

Most of the ones in this vault are innocent. Why do they deserve to die?

_The Orokin as a whole were monstrous. All traces of them must be annihilated._

And what of the others who rose form their ashes?

_The profit obsessed cult? The Twin Queens' empire? Why do they deserve to exist? They are merely extensions of the Golden Lords' evils._

True, but there are others who remain that are better than them.

_They are too weak to bring about change. They must also burn._

So the Sins of the Fathers are passed down to their Sons?

_Yes. Yes they are._

Suddenly, I felt a huge surge through the Security Systems, which briefly caused me to lose control of them. For a moment, the beasts turned their attention toward the Tenno, before reengaging the shades in combat.

"What the-" began Cyreesia.

"Sorry. Hunhow is inside the computer network. He's trying to rest control of Coelohim from me."

"And you can't shut him out?"

"Not completely. The system is resisting both of us, and I'm stretched thin trying to repel it and him at the same time. Taking it offline is out of the question, since I'm more or less certain that would just drive the Coelohim insane."

"Well, anything we can do to help?" queried Etran.

"No...well, you could ask Ordis to assist, but I'm aware of what happened when Hunhow accessed the Cephalon Weave, so I wouldn't recommend it."

"Fair enough. Keep us informed."

"Will do."

XXXXXXXX

Whilst I fought to keep the Security Network under our control, the Tenno were fighting off the assault just outside. Meanwhile, my bots and creatures, aided by several other Tenno, began moving the cryopods out of the Repository. I'd utilized the Ethereal Psionic network to open a portal between here and Iron Wake, where Steel Meridian and, ironically enough, the Perrin Sequence, were busy helping put them into an underground vault until the pods could be thawed. I'd expected fighting to break out when I heard that Ergo Glast and his forces were headed to Iron Wake, but things were surprisingly civil. When I had informed the Tenno of this development, Cyreesia had revealed to me that she had informed Glast about what was going on, and he had apparently considered it a good reason to put aside past grievances, if only for the moment.

Outsie, the battle was growing more intense - the Acolytes were directly taking to the field. Malice opened fire with his Opticor, whilst Torment used her vastos to unleash a hail of bullets, which shredded through Cyreesia. Help was soon to arrive though: within moments, a portal appeared behind her, and out popped a Nekros, who fired a soul punch into her, allowing the female Tenno to stand back up.

Oh yeah, I may have also used the Ethereal Network to send additional Tenno into the fight. More help was always appreciated.

Suddenly, a tendrilled monster burst out of a nearby room and roared. Violence tried to cut it down, only to be caught in one of its limbs and hurled around like a ragdoll for a few minutes, before subsequently being catapulted into a nearby wall, leaving a huge dent in the surface. A moment later, she faded away, bemoaning her injuries and urging her allies to fight on.

As the battle raged on, though, it would seem that things had become a stalemate. Cyreesia was now locked in a shootout with Malice, whilst Etran used the Paracesis to block of a blow from the Stalker's War. More shades joined the battle, trying to assist the Stalker in breaching the Repository, only to be repelled by the oncoming forms of my robots, my creatures, and the Coelohim that defended this installation. Corrupted forces also assaulted this position, attacking all they encountered. All of this made for a brutal battle.

Yet, somehow, we were winning.

**AN: Soundtrack Start: Destiny OST - End of the Line**

Slowly, the Shades grew less numerous as Misery began to take hits. Malice, meanwhile, was forced to bail out when Cyreesia got a lucky headshot on him after jump kicking him in the chest. Furthermore, I was finally beginning to overwhelm the security system, allowing me to devote more attention to keeping Hunhow out of the system. The weakening of the defending program also allowed me to send in some of the bigger Coelohim without having to worry about them attacking my allies. And if that wasn't good enough, the Repository had almost been emptied, meaning that, even if we failed, we would be able to deny Hunhow victory - I'd already removed some components from the Multiversal Gate to ensure he couldn't use it.

Soon, Misery fell, and the Stalker's forces began to rout - without Misery to sustain the shades, the numbers were turning against them. Desperately, they tried to mount one final assault, but when that failed, causing Angst to go down, they cut their losses and run.

And just as that happened, the security system fell to my onslaught, allowing me to focus all my processing power on defeating Hunhow. The attack that followed burned him out of the system, and I'm pretty sure it also damaged his physical form to a noticeable degree.

_So it seems the dreamers and their allies have succeeded._

Yeah, we did. Suck it.

_...just as expected._

…..Huh?

_Please. Did you really expect me to succeed in repelling you? I am well aware that you are more powerful than me. I merely sought to delay you, as per my wife's instructions. She would not have allowed you to receive the relic otherwise._

Who the what now?

_My mate. The giant Sentient who commanded our first defense against you. Don't you think that it was rather easy to get the relic from her, even with the assault you launched on us?_

...Maybe a little.

The Sentient destroyer of worlds just laughed at that.

Instantly, I was on the alert, looking to see if I had received any notifications about an attack.

None appeared, though Tylos had sent me another message, asking if he should prepare for new arrivals. I quickly sent him a yes, before sending out machines designed to increase the local gravity in an area and placed them in orbit of my hub star, where, once activated, they would begin to pull nearby matter into themselves until, eventually, a new world was born. Then I could have more room to settle in any new immigrants to my lands.

Oddly, no assault came when I sent out that order. Was Hunhow trying to screw with me?

Suddenly, a new proximity alert appeared on my sensors. A new Coelohim had emerged within the tower...and it was really, really,_ really_ **big.**

Melissa stood up as the creature grew near, no doubt sensing that something was wrong.

"Something headed our war?" she inquired.

"New type of Coelohim, larger than any that I have seen that_ aren't_ under your control and weren't in a vision."

"Well, we can take it down, can't we?"

"Yes, we can."

Oh how wrong I was there.

Moving my avatar so that it could join the team, I took cover behind one of the collapsible cover points, ready to engage in combat. Looking thorugh the cameras, I watched at as the new creature ambled toward us, noticing that it looked like a cross between a lizard, an arthropod, and a bird. Soon, it was just outside the entrance of the Repository, at which point we opened fire.

The beast shrugged off our attack, then opened its mouth and ro**-AAAAARRRRGGGGHH!**

**XXXXXXX**

ERROR: CMDR OFFLINE

REBOOTING...REBOOTING...ERROR, REBOOT FAILED

WARNING: DETECTING HOSTILE PRESENCE

ATTEMPTING TO PURGE

CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE DETECTEDGHOHO*#Y%(*Y((G*YW(#YOIGHLJH373194875983689134479586Gh350KEU384yKVHHFO85y398VH(*HKLHLHHHT^&(9hKGIKGUNBR57294HCJKGOTLBNCH8GHLVHLTH

XXXXX^*&(^XXXXX

I stood up, head pounding. The connection to my avatar had been severed. Additionally, my ship had tilted slightly, apparently from the backlash. Hastily, I righted it, before attempting tore-establish my link with my avatar...only to find it and Umbra mere feet away from me, inactive. Well, at least the avatar was - Umbra was quick to stand back up and begin checking over me.

Hastily, I reconnected with my Commander and-

"Commander, you cannot use your commander body," intoned the female Advisor AI from Planetary Annihilation.

"Why?!"

"Because...because it is already under the control of another."

"WHO?!"

Rather than speak, the female AI merely sent me a transmission:

**CMDR_XENOSENTRY_00**

**CURRENT_OCCUPYING_COMMANDER: HUNHOW**

...what the-

That was as far as my train of thought got before an explosion rocked the_ Extinction._

_XXXXXXXX_

**AN: Please, Read and Review! This is Flamel15k, signing off!**


	212. Annihilation 183

_"So, the plan worked, Hunhow?"_

_"Indeed it did, my wife. It seems that the Progenitors did indeed intend only for the Tenno to take what lay within the Repository. Not even their own were meant to possess its secrets._"

_"The newcomer did not know this, though, and he paid the price."_

_"That he did. Now, shall we break him?"_

_"Of course."_

_"I thought so. To all of you within the Origin System, begin your offensive! Focus on taking out the ship designated Extinction. Do not hold anything back - we must take out its captain as fast as possible! As always, no prisoners shall be taken."_

_"U__**nde**__r__**stoo**__d!"_

_"And now, our foe shall fall...Hunhow, is something wrong?"_

_"The systems within this war machine are resisting me. It is not insurmountable, but...what?"_

_"What happened?"_

_"The commander locked me out of certain systems. I have lost access to some of the facilities across the origin system. IT appears they have been rerouted back to the one know as Commander Flame."_

_"...Will he be able to take the machine back from you?"_

_"Oh no, do not worry there. The human will need to access the Commander directly to do that...and he won't be alive long enough to get that close."_

_XXXXXXX_

"Warning: Your flagship is under attack!"

Tell me something I don't know!

"Primary weapon systems have shut down."

I didn't mean that literally!

ARGH! This sucks!

Alright, alright, alright, how do I fix this?

First off, send all crew back to my hub universe, including Rory and his siblings. Don't want them to get caught in any trouble.

Next, do the same with all of my volatile resources- floatstone, firaxite, E-DNA, Technocyte tissue, Xenomass, all that, so that the Sentients could not get their hands on them...what do you mean some of the organic resources couldn't be teleported back to my hub?

….Great, the explosion from earlier disabled the ship's Ethereal Psionic Network systems, which means that I can't just move those samples out using the portal network, and the security systems are on the fritz, so I can't depend on my drones to destroy them.

Fine, I'll do it myself.

As I step through the portal to the nearest part of the ship I can directly teleport to, though, I collapse, finding my legs suddenly feeling like noodles. Confused, I turn to look at them, only to be stunned when I see my reflection in a nearby mirror.

As in, my normal,_ pre-commander_ reflection.

How am I in my original body again?

Suddenly, my vision blurs as a strange feeling overtakes me. When my sight returns, I look like my chosen body, though I still feel funny. A moment later, the blurriness and strange feeling return, and I am back in my normal body. The cycle repeats once more, returning me to my E-DNA fused body, and then it decides to stop.

Ugh. I hope this doesn't prove to be a problem in the future.

Suddenly, another impact rocks the ship.

"Warning: Grineer boarding parties detected."

OH great, now the Twin Queens are trying to loot my ship. I wonder if the Corpus are going to show up...oh, who am I kidding, OF COURSE THEY WILL SHOW UP!

As I begin to move through the hallway, a Grineer boarding pod tears though the wall, unleashing a small group of lancers, whilst also breaking open a pipe carry hydrogen.

Despite my annoyance at the loss of my commander, I can't help but smirk. TIme to see IF what Melissa taught me is of any use.

As the Grineer turn toward me, I hold my left hand out, pointing it at the gas.

"Ignir," I say, snapping my fingers.

A moment later and a fireball flies into the gas, causing it to ignite, and the pipe to explode, wiping out the Grineer. Moments later, a stitch moves in and begins repairing the damaged wall.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" asked Melissa.

"How'd you get on my ship?"

"One of my minions told me it was under attack. Why aren't you trying to hit Hunhow with your forces?"

"Hunhow is in charge now! He stole control of my commander from me!"

"...What?!"

"Yeah, whatever that big beast did in the void, it screwed over my access to the Commander Network and gave Hunhow an opening to take it for himself. I'm going to try and get it back, but right now, I want to keep him from getting any good technology from my ship."

"...How can I help?"

"Repel any and all boarders. Also, be advised, the Grineer are attacking as well, and I'm pretty sure the corpus are not far behind them."

"I had my forces plow through an Obelisk trying to attack the Extinction when I arrived here. They are already beginning their assault."

"Well, keep them from making off with anything useful...and could you reactivate the security systems? The guns were knocked offline when Hunhow took control."

"Not really a challenge, but okay."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Ending the communication, I turned to go down another hallway-

HAHAHAHAHA

-and promptly got bowled over by a manic. Rolling with the punch so that I could get ack up more quickly, I pulled out a blade and tried to cut at it, only for the monster to dodge it. Moments later, it renewed its assault, steadily forcing me back.

Then it managed to get in a lucky hit, sending me into a wall, after which it leapt and charged...

Only to be unceremoniously flattened by a...drop pod?

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAD!"

...Rory?

"Rory?! Where are you?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm not here, I just have remote access to some of the ship's systems. As for what I am doing, HELPING YOU! IF you sent me away from the ship so fast, then you could really use some help."

"...Fine. Just...don't do anything to risky."

"I am stuck back home. I cannot do anything to put myself at risk."

"Fair enough."

_Are you going to keep talking or are you going to get a move on, False Tenno?_

"...Zen'Hurros?"

_The one and only. Did you really think you had seen the last of me?_

"Let me guess, Hunhow had you waiting to take me on?"

"True enough. Now are you going to come to me, or do I have to hunt you down?"

"Not sure, I'll get back to you on that."

"Snarking will not save you."

Sighing, I charged down the hall, heading toward the biological resource storage room. Destroy that and I can deny Hunhow some valuable resources.

XXXXXX

"Wait, where is Zen'Hurros?" questioned Melissa.

"Scans indicate that he is currently anchored to the bottom of the ship. It will be difficult to dislodge him, to say the least," replied Elling.

"Not surprised." A moment later, a hyena was torn in two. Soon after that, an explosion rocked the ship. "What the hell?"

"Enemy forces are attempting to breach the engines," responded Synais. "Sealing it now."

"Anywhere else that needs defending?"

"The void access room is currently being overrun. Please kill everything inside."

"Good," replied Melissa, grinning like a maniac, as she hit enter.

Moments later, the ship's main guns came online and began cutting through the enemy forces like a knife through hot butter, barring the rogue Progenitor craft, which took much more effort to destroy.

As the beatdown turned into a true fight, Lisets, Mantis, Xiphos, and Scimitars charged toward the ship, swiftly entering the hangars and beginning to engage the boarders. They would not let the Sentients win!

XXXXXXXX

Onwards I marched, heading toward the Organic Resource Storage Room. IF I could incinerate the few samples that had not been teleported away, I would be in the relative clear, and could focus on getting my commander back.

Eventually, I came upon a room where the lighting had failed. Well, that just gave me a chance to try out more of what Melissa had taught me.

"Aurallis!"

A moment later, and light filled the room. Now able to see where I was headed, I began to meander my way through the wreckage, being careful to avoid stepping on any exposed wiring or flesh from deceased boarders.

As I advanced further down the hallway, though, the sounds of gunfire began to reach my ears.

"There's a big fight in the room right in front of you, dad. Take the first corridor on the left to get around it."

"Okay, then what?"

"Then, you should be where you're headed-" *BOOM* "-Melissa just reached the void access room. Oh, and the corrupted have started showing up their - it appears they are travelling through the void gate that lead into the repository."

Well, crap.

"You might want to hurry."

"I noticed!"

XXXX

Melissa ducked as a missile flew toward her. A moment later, Adeline cut down the Corrupted Bombard, whilst Melissa melted an ancient into goo. As the Corrupted continued to poor in, Melissa set about shutting down the gate. "So, we just need to hit the shutdown switch?"

"Well, first you need to deactivate the gate, but after that, yes."

"Is the deactivation button-key-whatever nearby the shutdown one?"

"They are right next to each other. You should be able to see the control panel now."

"I do."

Right now, a heavy gunner was standing next to the panel, but a moment later, she was half the woman she used to be.

Wiping the blood off the panel, Melissa hit the two buttons, quickly sealing and shutting down the void gate.

"Well, looks like that is done."

XXXXXX

"Good work," I replied. Finally, I had reached my destination. And the tanks containing the various organic resources had not yet been breached.

Good, that made disposing of them relatively easy. Hastily, I approached the center of the room, where the control panel lay. Once I was at it, I began arming the self destruct - thirty seconds should be enough time to escape.

"Alright, I've got the samples dealt with, now let's meet up at-"

WARNING: VOID GATE OPENING!

"..WHAT?!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Melissa watched, confused, as the void gate reopened. Then, suddenly, tendrils shot out, ones that looked very familiar.

"Whatever the hell caused you to lose control of your commander just opened the void gate. Let me see if I can't teach it not to mess with a ROB!"

Discarding her weapons, Melissa instead began to trace a shape with her hands. Soon, a glowing pentagon, with a pentagram inscribed within, appeared before her. Holding her right hand in front of her, Melissa spoke out the incantation.

"Aurallis...Vi!"

Then she shot out her hand. A moment later, a blinding light shot forward, slamming into the tendrils and blazing past them, surging into the portal. Screaming in agony, the monster retreated, causing Melissa to smirk. Score one for her!

Yet as the tentacles retreated, one slammed into the edge of the gate, causing it to crack. A moment later, and a small explosion occurred.

XXXXXXX

Only five seconds had passed since the timer had started, but the minute I heard the explosion, the ship tilted, sending me flying back into the soon to be destroyed room, and causing me to land on the panel, breaking it.

ERROR: SELF DESTRUCT CANCELED

Oh hell. Groaning, I tried to get up, only for some debris to land on me, pinning me to the ground. As I tried to use my powers to break free, I felt the weird sensation again, but this time, it didn't go away. Looking at a nearby tank of xenomas, I watched on, surprised, as my form seemed to shift between that of my normal body and that of the one I had sculpted for this mission.

Then my reflection vanished as the tank began to spiderweb with cracks. Looking around, I saw that all of the other tanks were also starting to crack.

….Oh no...

"Rory, please don't watch what happens next."

I have no idea if he picked me up on that offer.

Moments later, the tanks broke, and their contents surged toward me, mixing together as they landed and OHGODTHEPAINMAKEITSTOPWHYHGLKBHFLKHLKGHL:GHFKHSGHRLHTJKRH78365872687562875hvjkhgjkehjkhdv!

XXXXXXX

"What the heck is going on, Flame?" shouted Melissa...only to receive no response. "..Flame?...FLAME?!"

"Um, boss, heads up," intoned Elling, "but a void rift is about to open."

"Where?"

"...Right in front of the ship."

A moment later, and the rift formed, void energy surging out of it...which pulled the damaged vessel into the rift.

As ship entered the void, a second rift opened in the Void gate room, releasing yet more energy, which soon surged toward the female ROB. Melissa screamed as the energy fried her to her very being, whilst her subordinates could do no more than watch.

Unnoticed by all of them, a shadowy figure watched the event happen from above, its face shifting between one of amusement and one of pity.

Soon, however, the figure vanished, attention drawn elsewhere, while a titanic roar resounded through the ship, which lasted an entire moment before finally ending. Perhaps not coincidentally, the sound faded as the ship exited the void, now perilously close to Earth.

"Ugh, what the hell was?...Hello?"

The last word uttered by the female ROB was in regards to a drone some distance in front of her, which was displaying a blank, holographic screen.

"...Who is this?"

A moment later, the drone's screen was no longer blank.

'This is Flame. My apologies for not contacting you, but I had to fight a sentient creature. It is dead now, but my larynx was damaged during the fight and has not yet fully healed. This will be how I will talk to you for now.'

"...Ok. So, what now?"

'We get off the ship. It is on a collision course for the Earth. I am attempting to alter its trajectory, but the chances of being successful are...minimal.'

"..Okay. Well, where are the nearest escape pods?"

A map suddenly appeared on the screnn, along with a path starting at a point labeled 'you are here'.

"Oh. Thanks."

'You are welcome. Docking pods have been added for Tenno Landing Craft. Now hurry. I will meet you along the way.'

"Don't be late."

'I won't.'

With that, the drone began to lead the group toward the exit. Melissa, however, took a moment to open a very secure communication with a third party.

"Rory?"

"Yes, Ms. Melissa?"

"Is your dad...okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's only talking to us using one of his drones, he's claiming that his larynx was damaged, and I feel like he's hiding something. He was at the Organic Resource Storage Room, or whatever you call it, when we entered the void. Did he, well, get doused in anything in there?"

"...Just some technocyte fluid, and aside from growing a few dorsal plates, he seems to be managing and keeping the Infested Hive Mind from influencing him too much."

"That was disturbingly matter of fact. I thought you'd be more terrified if you saw your dad with strange plates on his back."

"Fide says that I may be undergoing a delayed reaction to stress, or that I am mentally denying things until I feel that the situation is less stressful. She says it must be one of the two with ninety percent certainty."

"Okay. Keep us posted."

"Sure. Speaking of which, there are several pockets of Grineer, Corpus and Corrupted forces fighting things out inside of the ship. The route my dad sent you should be free of most of them, but be careful anyway."

"Of course, little one."

XXXXXXXX

There were a few scattered pockets of enemy resistance in the groups way, but for the most part, the evacuation path was free of danger. The only real hazard was the occasional explosions that rocked the ship, causing debris to occasionally block the group's path, only to hastily be cleared away by repair drones. It was only a few minutes before they reached the escape pods.

Unfortunately, the room was filled with sentient drones.

"Great, looks like we have one last-"

Suddenly, some kind of monstrosity burst into the room and began attacking the sentients. The creature was truly mind boggling in appearance: it was mostly bestial in appearance, with a lower body resembling a cross between a dragon and a pterosaur, whilst the head was instead replaced by a human sized torso - in fact, it looked like someone had taken the upper half a human and attacked it to this beast's body.

The creature quickly annihilated the shards, before vanishing into another room.

"...Nevermind."

A beeping noise turned Melissa's attention back to the drone who had been leading them.

'The monstrosity that just passed by is the result of my attempt to destroy the organic resources failing. They ended up mixing during the void jump and, well, that thing came into existence.'

"Oh."

'Yeah. It's also trying to find me - I think it wants to eat me.'

"Can't you just hide from it?"

'Rory told me that you asked him about what happened to me. You should know from what he told you why I can't do that.'

"Oh yeah. It can just use the hive mind to find you."

'Yes. Now hurry up and board the pods - you do not want to be here when it reaches the atmosphere.'

"No argument there."

Hastily, the ROB's servants helped her into the pod, whilst the Tenno quickly boarded into their recently arrived Landing Craft. In moments, the small craft had left...Only to find themselves facing a very familiar Sentient.

XXXXXXXX

"They took your fire, Natah. Now you have the opportunity to take it back."

"I know mother."

"Very well. Eliminate these warframes."

Expression unreadable, Natah fired at the first landing craft...and missed. The second to pass by took a glancing blow, but swiftly recovered. Soon, a surge of landing craft came forth, but Natah managed to inflict only glancing blows on most of them. The last one took a direct hit, but still managed to limp away from the fight.

"...natah, what happened?"

"I..apologize, mother, but something was interfering with my senses."

"What do you..what?"

The last statement was in regards to the transmission between the two suddenly becoming garbled up, with static beginning to reach the elder sentient's systems. A moment later, a surge of void energy came forth from one of the ship's cannons, forcing Natah to retreat.

**"̡̧L̷Ȩ͠҉̶͝A̷̢͞͡҉V͘͝E̷͘͟!̕"͘͏͢͢**

XXXXXXX

As the cannon began to reload, Melissa stared on impatiently, wondering where her pawn was. Depite her best efforts to look annoyed, however, the worry on her face was clear.

"Could you hurry the hell-"

Suddenly an explosion occurred, causing the ceiling to collapse, then suddenly fly upwards. The ship had begun to decompress.

And the pod still hadn't launch.

Only now did the female ROB make her fear visible. "Can we launch the pod now? Please?"

Adeline attempted to do just that, only to make a nerve-wracking discovery.

"Madame, the controls are damaged."

"Can't we force the launch?"

Suddenly, the drone beeped again. A new message was on its screen.

'Only form the outside. Whoever does that will be trapped on the ship-' *boom* '-which is now only a minute and thirty seconds from hitting the atmosphere.'

The ROB's face soon contorted in shock, before quickly turning resigned. "..Just to be sure, this is no joke, right?"

'I do not see any reason to oke about this.'

"Ok. Let me pull out the straws."

"͏̵͜͏T̶̸̷̨͘h̴a̶̵̢̧͜t̵̷.̴̷̢̛.̛͘̕͘͠.̨͠w҉ó̵̧͢n̢̧'͝҉͜ţ̨͡ ̨͜b͡ȩ̸͜͠ ̴̀́͠n̸̷ȩ̸̨c̵̵̡e͟͏̵̷͜s̴̛̕s͟á͘͝͡r̨͠͞y̸̷.̸̵̡"̧͠

Instantly, the group turned their attention to where the monster had vanished earlier. Now, it had returned, and was walking toward the escape pod controls.

For a moment, Melissa readied to fight back...until she looked at the human form atop the beast's shoulders. It was a...disconcertingly familiar form, with black hair tipped in red, white and yellow...

And a set of plates running along its back.

For a moment, Melissa was unable to form words, as were the others. When she finally did manage to speak, it came out as no more than a whisper

"..F..Fl...Flame?"

The beast turned toward her, a quizzical look on its face.

"Is that you?"

The creature stared for a moment, then nodded.

"..What happened to you?!"

"̡͟͠Ḑ́̕o̕ę̧̕ş̸̵͟n̨͠'̴͜͝͠ţ̸ ̷̢̀͠͡m̶̨̢͘҉a̡̛͜͠t̀͟͝t̨͘͢͜͝e̕͡r̵̶̵͞ ̷̵̢̢n̴͡o͜͢w͟͝.̵́̀͢͠"̷҉͏̕͡

"..Well, get in the-"

The creature held up its winged right forelimb.

"̷͏͞͝S̨̕͜͞͞ơ͏m̶̧̛͠ę͡o̕͏̢n̡͢͞͠e͡͝ ͟͝͝h͢͠a̴͢͢͜s͠҉͘͞ ̧͢t̢̛o͏̷̕ ̢͝s͏̵͞t҉̶̨͜a͘͜͟͡͡y̛͏ ̸̴͜t͘͞͞͝͞ǫ̴ ͞͏a͘͟͝͡ç̶̡͡t̛҉̕͞i̷̸̛v̵̧̡ą͏̵t͝҉e̴͢ ̀͜t̨͜h̶̶̀͞e҉̡́́ ̛҉p̵̡͟͢o͏̀d̛͞͏̛͜.̡̢́.̵̕͟͜͡.̵̴à̸́̕n͏̶̴d͏͝ ͠b̢̕ę͜s̵̡̀͘̕i̷͘d̡́͝é̶͢s̢҉̴̴,̵̶́́͝ ҉͠I҉҉ ̸̢̛̀́n҉̡̛͟e̡̢͘e̕͟͠d͏̡̧͠ ̸̵̛͟t̵̵͘͘ó̵͠͡ ̴̧͜҉̵c̴̢̨͟h̵̢͞͞ą̨͘n͝͡g̶̕҉͡e͘͜͜͏͝ ̡̨́͟t͏̸̡̨̨h̷͘͏͢ę̵̸̶ ̛́͏ţ̀͏͞r̷̸̢͠a̵͝j̶̵̢͠ęc̡͡t͢͟͠ǫ̵̕͠r̨̡͟͞ỳ̨͘ ̴̧̕͟o̸̕̕͞f̡̀͝ ̷̶̀͡͠t́҉͢͡h̀͡ę̷̸ ̷̴s̛͜h̷͠i̧̢̛͞͠p̶̀̀͢.̵͜ ̴̛́͠I̶̢f̷̛̀́͟ ̶̵̡́͠i҉̕t́͝ ̀̀͜͜͡ļ̸a̶͏͘͝n̶d̴̡͜ś̕͠ ̵̢͡͝w͘͏h̴̨̛͠͡e̵̡̡͠r̷̷̡e̢͘͠ ̴͠͡i̕͏t̶̡ ̷̷͏i̵̧s̡̀́҉ ͟͠h̴̢̕͜è̶́a̴҉d̸̢̕͝͞è̵́ḑ̕͜ ͠ņ̶̵̀͞o̸͜w̶͟͜͢,͏͜ ̵̶i͡͏t̨͜ ̷̸w̶͏i͜͝͞l̴͞͡͏̧l̀͜҉͞ ҉i̡̢̛̛͜m̵̀҉͟p̷͝ą̕͘͟͝c̀͏t̶͝͠ ̵̡͘͜s̷̕͘͜ó͏̶̢ḿ̸̡͟e̕͟͜͠҉w̷͜h̶̵̢͞e̵̛͘͝r̷̢҉̀ę̵́ ͟͏̨͘a̷̵͢r͏̷̴́͘o̡͝u̶̵͘͟n҉҉͢҉d͠͝͏͘͏ ̷̴̵̡͘C̶̀͘͜e̵̷̶͟͝t̶̶̡̧̀u̷̴̡̡͏s̵͜͞.̛͘͟͠"̷͘͘͜͟

"..And the blast wave will destroy it?"

"͢͡͏̸̷N҉̢̨͢ơ̢͜,҉̛ ̸̕͘͟͡b͟͝͠u̸̸̵t̛ ̨͜͞t̴̵͠h̶̵̡͡҉e̡҉̀ ̢̧t́͞s̀҉̴̢͝ù̶̡n̕͜a̷m̴̸ì̶̸͟͢ ̶̧͘t̵̛͡h͘͝a̛͘t̵̕ ̷̡́͝f͢͏͡o͏l̶̴͢͡l̨͜͟ò̷̕w̧͟͝s̵̀͜͜ ͘͢͝͞͝w̸͜i̸̛l͠͏l̨̢̀͠.̵̴͢͡"̢̕͟͏̸

"..I see...will you survive?"

The female ROB had gone through multiple emotions n the past few seconds: fear, rage, anger, despair...and now, sorrowful acceptance.

"̕̕Y͞͝e̶͢s͏̨͜͡.̢͡҉"̶̸̴̢́

"Okay..Please..contact me once the ship lands."

"Of course."

With that, the creature hit the escape controls, launching the pod out of the ship. A moment later, a psionic gate opened behind the beast, taking it to the ship's bridge.

XXXXXXXXX

I sighed. Good god, this new body hurt.

And saying goodbye to Melissa? Why did that, of all things, make me feel sad?

Oh well. This has to be done.

Sighing, I began adjusting the course of the ship. Briefly, a roar drew me out of my corrections - it appeared that Zen'hurros was still haning onto the ship, in spite of being fried by void energy when we made that unintended jump. Poor thing - he was probably roasted right now, and that was only going to get worse in a few moments.

"Dad?"

"Yes Rory?"

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, my son."

"Well, that's good...what do I do now?"

"Listen to Fide, Kathikon, and Synais, and help them take care of your adopted siblings. I'll call you when this is over."

"Okay. See you later, dad."

"See you later, son."

With hta, the link went dead.

Ugh, this felt so depressing. The only thing that could make it worse would be sad music.

XXXXX

Deep within the ship, an infested tendril, responding to input from an unknown source, accessed the computers and began perusing through some sound files, before settling on a particular file and pressing play.

XXXXXX

Soundtrack Start: Mad World By Tears for Fears, Covered By Gary Jules and Michael Andrews

Thankfully, I never heard any of that on the way down.

Not that that made things any better.

_All around me are familiar faces _

_Worn out places_

_Worn out faces_

This was, well, a loss, for me. Not a pyrrhic victory, but a straight up loss.

_Bright and Early for their daily races_

_Going nowhere_

_Going nowhere_

I mean, I had lost my Commander to Hunhow, who was doing who knows what with it. For all I knew, he could be using it to tunnel back into my hub universe, or some other one.

_Their tears are filling up their glasses_

_No expression_

_No expression_

Already, I was getting reports that his forces were flooding through the teleporter gates I'd linked up to tau, using them to bring forth untold numbers of Sentients into the Origin System. Report of them engaging the Grineer and Corpus were growing rapidly.

_Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow_

_No tomorrow_

_No tomorrow_

And all of this was my fault. I'd done_ exactly_ what they had wanted me to do.

_And I find it kinda funny_

_I find it kinda sad_

_The dreams in which I'm dying_

_Are the best I've ever had_

That didn't mean I would try to fight them and attempt to retrieve my Commander.

_I find it hard to tell you_

_I find it hard to take_

But, for the first time in my journeys as a Commander...I wasn't sure I would succeed.

_When people run in circles_

_It's a very, very mad world, mad world_

XXXXXXX

On the ground below, the people of Cetus watched as the fireball descended from the heavens. Adults stopped working, children stopped playing, all to gaze at the aberration in the skies.

_Children waiting for the day they feel good_

_Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday_

_And I feel the way that every child should_

_Sit and listen, sit and listen_

They watched as the disturbance flew toward the horizon, before slashing into the sea. Soon, though, their expressions turned to horror a huge wave began to rise, headed straight for them. The wave soon grew so high that it appeared as if it would wipe away the City, and the plains surrounding it.

_Went to school and I was very nervous_

_No one knew me, no one knew me_

_Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson_

_Look right through me, look right through me_

They needn't have worried. As the wave grew closer, the Unum began to glow, before suddenly shooting out a wave of light, which both created a shield around the plains and caused the wave to collapse. The remnants of the surge impacted the energy shield and soon dissipated, leaving behind many fish, and causing the Grineer on the plains to break out in sighs of relief.

XXXXXXXXX

The great Sentient whimpered in pain before slowly, ever so slowly, trying to free itself.

Zen'hurros ached all other. His body was scorched, and the rapid cooling from the watery impact only succeeded in aggravating his wounds. Worse still, his aching form was very stiff, and already beginning to sink.

Perhaps he should have let go earlier...but Hunhow had asked him to be sure that the Commander was dead. True, he had made a genuine apology before the ship began to heat up from re-entry, but that did not ease the scorched sentient's discomfort. To some degree, he felt...betrayed.

The sound of movement above him turned the sentient's focus skyward, where a wormlike shard of Hunhow leapt upward, burying itself in something fleshy. A resounding howl filled the room, before a large shape fell to meet him.

Amazingly, it was the Commander, albeit heavily twisted and mutated not to mention clearly in pain. What had caused this?

_And I find it kinda funny_

_I find it kinda sad_

_The dreams in which I'm dying_

_Are the best I've ever had_

For a moment, the creature stared at him, before placing its forelimbs on the Synthetic's body. A moment later, the pain began to fade away.

_I find it hard to tell you_

_I find it hard to take_

_When people run in circles_

_It's a very, very mad world, mad world_

The Sentient could only stare on in shock. "Why? Why are you helping me?"

The monster's reply was simple.

"You are in pain. Do I need a better reason?"

The Sentient stared on for a moment, before extricating itself from the ship and vanishing into the depths.

_Enlarging your world_

_Mad world _

XXXXX

**AN:...Just read the chapter, okay?**

**This is Flameal15k...signing off.**


	213. Annihilation 184

Melissa watched as the wreck came into view.

Surprisingly for a 'wreck', the ship was mostly intact, barring a few pieces that had snapped off during re-entry. Those broken segments had been assembled into a makeshift bridge to the Plains of Eidolon, which several Ostrons were already walking over, trying to get a better look at the starship's remains. The Grineer briefly watched the villagers walk past, before moig on their way - they had better things to do than harass civilians.

Namely, repel the Sentients.

To say that things were bad was an understatement. Once Hunhow had acquired the commander chassis, he had wasted no time in using it to bring his forces to the Origin System, where they had brought ruin to all. The Corpus and Grineer had actually declared a truce to fight the synthetics, and they were still losing - badly. Even the Infestation had been less aggressive of late, instead attempting to target the newcomers, lest the plague soon find itself wiped form the system. Losses were already mounting - she'd seen the numbers so far, and couldn't believe just how bad they were. In just two days of fighting, the Grineer and Corpus had lost more troops to the Sentients then they did to the Tenno in a_ month._ Suprisingly, they were doing nothing to hide how badly they were losing, instead being surprisingly open about it.

Of course, given who they were fighting against, this wasn't a surprise - the Sentients were going to kill everyone, so hiding their kill count would just give peope a feeling that negotiation was possible. Better to make it obvious that annihilation would be the cost of defeat.

The dropship came to a halt nearby the bridge of the ship. Disembarking, Melissa made her way inside, eventually coming upon the main part of the bridge, where she heard two familiar voices.

"Is that enough payment?"

"You are offering me a great fortune here-"

"Do you want more? Payment is not a problem hfor me."

"I'M FINE!...You have offered enough. The deal is complete."

"Thank you."

A moment later, the screen displaying Anyo's face closed down, leaving Melissa alone in the room with her pawn, who had finally noticed her presence.

"So," he began, "how are you doing?"

"Good. Yourself?"

"...Could be better."

"Not really surprised there. So, how's your plan to beat the Sentients coming along?"

"Slowly. I've...had a couple of setbacks."

"Really? I thought you said you still have plenty of engineers to work with, and a lot more units then you lost to Hunhow."

"True, but Hunhow has my Commander - he can build factories to replace his losses faster than my forces can. Plus he knew where ,y bases were and set about destroying him with the forces he managed to acquire before the Commander Network locked him out."

"Oh...well, we just have to try harder to beat them, then."

"Yeah, we do...how are the colonies holding up?"

"Surprisingly well. Funny, things are going great for them when it goes to hell for the superpowers."

Indeed, things were turning out surprisingly well for the colonies - with danger knocking on their doorsteps, the Grineer and Corpus had been forced to pull out the forces used to oppress the colonies, lest they find their already failing offensives become even greater losses. Thus, for the first time in memory, the vast majority of the colonies were experiencing unprecedented freedom to act as they wished. It was a tiny, but noticeable, light in the black.

"Yeah, funny...could I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Could you, um...take care of my kids? For a little while, at least?"

That hooked her attention. "What? Why?!"

"I'm...having some trouble finishing up some things that I need for my counterattack, and I'm...still trying to fix my body after what happened on the twenty sixth."

"Okay..." replied Melissa, feeling that he wasn't being entirely honest to her. "How long do you want me to look after them?"

"For a while."

"Define a while."

"...A few days, at least," he responded.

Melissa did not miss the hesitation. For a moment, she wondered why he hesitated. Then her expression went blank.

Was he giving up?!

"Oh no, oh no, oh no no _no_ **no** _**NO**_!"

"What?"

"You did do not get to give up here!" she shouted, stomping her way up to him. "Not after how much you have done!"

She lifted her hand up as she approached him. "You do not get to just call it quits her! You are my servant," ***SLAP*** ", and I-"

A second, much louder slap filled the air, followed by a crunch and the sound of contorting metal.

Groaning, Melissa pulled herself out of the dent in the wall, her back throbbing in pain. What the hell?! Why had he just hit her?

All those enraged thoughts came to an end, however, as Melissa looked at her right hand...which was now covered in blood.

For a moment, she just stared on in confusion, then turned to look at Flame...whose face was now bleeding profusely from where she had hit him.

Face contorting in horror, the female ROB tried to run toward him, only to stop when he gestured for her to do so. Then, with a groan, he pulled a tiny machine out from beneath him and put it onto his head. A moment later, and the wound sealed, after which the machine began to clean his face.

"I..I..I'm sorry," choked out Melissa, barely speaking above a whisper.

"It's fine," he replied. "You didn't know."

"But...what...what caused that..."

Before she could receive an answer, the drone suddenly darted behind the commander, presumably to examine the rest of his body, only to be grabbed and crushed by a wormlike sentient, which then hissed at both Commander and ROB before retreating, which seemed to caused noticeable pain to the Commander.

"That...thing" he began, "is why I'm so...weak. It was made by Hunhow, if its adaptability is any indication, and frankly, it's made my life rather-ARGH-miserable."

"..Why haven't you just pulled it out?"

"It hides deep in my flesh, then mimics on of the myriad tissues I absorbed when the Organic Storage Room. When my body tries to repel it, the immune response instead targets healthy flesh."

"Well, can you just do use void energy to kill it?"

"It hides to deep to be affected by that most of the time," suddenly intoned a drone using Rory's voice, "and it isn't the only one in him now - it reproduced. Somehow."

"Oh...well, how bad is it?"

"At best, we've got three weeks before my ad experinces….total organ failure...from immune response. And that's not counting any...additional injuries...from the worms."

Melissa gasped at that, both in shock at what she was hearing...and the realization the boy speaking to her was trying not to cry.

"Well, can I hel-"

Suddenly, a glowing light filled the room. When the light vanished, a chrome colored machine with golden highlights lay in the center of the Bridge.

"Operative Omega, your presence is requested by Lord Celempheros….right now."

"...I see," replied the Lady-ROB, expression suddenly turning neutral. "Well, I will see you after my communion with my superior is completed," she continued, grasping the Machine's hand.

To which the machine followed with "Do not make a promise you cannot keep."

Another light appeared, and when it was gone, so two were the servants of Celempheros. In their place lay a viewing screen, which the Commander picked up and began to watch.

XXXXXXXX

Melissa stood before a council of sorts, with her compatriots on one side and several other interested parties on the other. For once, Celm did not stare at her with any signs of respect or sympathy, but instead only disgust.

"So," he began, "you gave the Commander access to the entirety of the Progenitor database aboard the Xenosentry. Something I_ deliberately_ denied him access to?"

"Yes sir."

"And then, the Commander promptly lost said machine to the Sentients, who now have, in addition to the entirety of the Progenitors' arsenal, a way to_ leave_ their home universe, potentially making them a threat to_ everyone?"_

"Yes, sir."

"what do you have to say for yourself about that?"

"That I take responsibility for my actions in full...and I don't regret any one of them. Not at all."

For the first time in a century, Melissa saw Celm's face marred with both indignation and rage.

"...leave."

"Sir?"

**Ǵ̦̝͖̯̞͜ͅĖ̹̦̘͓͇̩͂̓͗́ͧ͜T̫̲̳͈̔̈ ̌ͧ̒҉O̵̮͈̯͚̭̣ͬ̈̃ͭU̠̱͔͙͔̱̜̾̃̐̎͡Ṯ̉ͬͩ͑͛ͪͅ!̬̘̿**

"...Yes, sir."

"And do. Not. Come. Back."

"..May I at least help the Commander attempt to get his Xenosentry back?"

"...I suppose...but do not think that doing so will make you forgiven. At least, not entirely-"

"With all due respect, sir, this is not acceptable," intoned a member of the council that was prescinding over this...trial.

"What do you mean?"

"Your subordinate's attempt to fix her mistake is commendable, but merely exiling her is not sufficient punishment."

"I fail to see what you mean by that," intoned another of the council - Queeneria, to be precise.

"Omega has already submitted her resignation. Exiling her is pointless, and besides," responded a third, "...we must make a statement with her."

"And how do you propose that we do that?"

"When you rescued this young one oh so long ago, you gave her additional strength so that she could better repay you for saving her, correct?"

"You are not wrong."

"Then, there is a simple solution to punish her actions: _take that strength back."_

For a moment, the courtroom was silent. Then, slowly, Melissa tried to back away, only to be blocked by two armored figures.

Celm, meanwhile, just stared at his compatriots, uncomprehending. "What?"

"Remove he power you loaned to her, and she will be considered suitably punished."

"That is a rather...severe punishment," intoned Queeneria. "Perhaps we should put it to-"

"All in favor, say Aye!"

A chorus of ayes filled the air.

"All against, say nay."

A paltry amount of voices responded, amongst them Celm and Queeneria.

"Well, the ayes have it."

As the words rolled off the Councilor's tongue, Celm felt the world seem to come out from under him. He looked at Melissa, then at the Council, then back at Melissa.

"You are aware that we can force you to do this, correct?" intoned one of Councilors.

"...I am...Omega, come here."

The guards moved to carry the girl forward, only for her to break free of the grasp, give them a glare and walk right toward her master. As the two looked each other in the eyes, though, it became apparent that she was beginning to cry. The tears were not only of sorrow, though - they were also ones of fear.

"...I'm sorry," spoke the golden one.

"I know," came the blonde's reply.

Celm sighed. Then he held out his hand and spoke.

"That which I gave, return to me. The power I hath loaned must now be repaid. Restore the strength I hath offered, in full and immediately."

As he spoke this, light formed around his hand, and when the last incantation was spoken, it surged forward, impacting on the blonde.

Melissa tried not to scream.

She lasted ten seconds before the pain became too much.

Most people lasted only one second before they broke, so there was that.

Yet the small victory did nothing to comfort the female ROB as her body wreathed and burned. Wounds from the recent battle reopened, her hair ignited, and her blood boiled. Bones that could take impacts from railguns shattered under stress they could never match.

All this happened over a period of fifteen seconds, after which a twisted, burnt mass of flesh with a head and still very beautiful face fell to the ground.

"Well," intoned a councilor, "I believe justice has been served. Now, please, someone send her to-"

Suddenly, a rift opened up behind the twitching creature. A moment later, a winged forelimb darted through and picked her up, before vanishing, along with the rift it had emerged from.

As the light faded, the Councilors turned their attention toward Celm...who was now very pissed off.

XXXXXXX

Melissa felt pain all over. Pain unlike anything she had ever known. Pain that was impossible to bare.

Then she felt someone tugging on her, which made the pain worse. A moment later, she came to a rest.

Then something touched her...and made the pain go away, if only slightly.

Opening her eyes, Melissa found Flame looking over her, a look of concern on his face.

With some difficulty, she managed to speak.

"W...wh...Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you pull me out? And why are you helping me?"

"You are in pain. Need I another reason?"

"...f..fair enough."

"Oh, and I have some people who want to see you."

Before she could ask him to elaborate, Nelissa suddenly felt something wrap its arms around her.

"Mom!"

"...Cassidy?!"

"It's me. I'm so glad you're okay. I mean...when I saw..."

"...you...saw...that?!"

"...Yes."

For a moment, Nelissa went rigid. Then she returned the hug, which her most trusted subordinates soon joined.

XXXXXX

As Melissa enjoyed her company, Flame turned his attention back to the screen. It seemed certain now that he might learn why Celm hated what he had done.

XXXXXXXX

"Why are you so angry about what you did...what we forced you to do?"

"Do you have any idea what I just did?"

"You took back the strength you had given her...that was a piece of your soul, no?"

"Yes."

"Then she won't ever truly recover from that, will she? She's lost something that can never really be returned."

"And I gained something that will forever haunt my conscience."

"Really?! Why do you have to be so melodramatic?!"

"Because I gave her part of my soul more than five centuries ago."

"So?!"

"Just like her body, her soul is still growing. And it was growing when I gave a part of mine to her."

"Your point?"

"Her soul has had more than half a millennia to grow around the part I gave her. _Do you honestly think that removing it would not damage something vital?!_"

"...Wait. You mean..."

"Yes. If she is not given treatment for that wound, she. Will. Die."

The councilmen and women looked at each other for a moment, shamed.

"Then let us fix this-"

"No. The ship has set sail."

Suddenly, Celm's eyes and hands began to glow.

"I forbid any of us, on penalty of death, from interfering with the Commander and Operative Omega for one month, unless they manage to fix this problem themselves."

The rest of the council just stared at him, stunned and horrified.

At least, until Queeneria spoke.

"And of the Sentients manage to gain access to a multiversal gate before that time passes?"

At this, Celm's expression went to one of resignation.

"Then this universe...will be destroyed."

XXXXXX

**AN:...I'm really too depressed to say anything here, so please, just tell me how I did.**

**This is Flameal15k, signing off.**


	214. Interlude 31

The Commander looked at the screen for a moment, before pressing on of the holographic buttons.

A moment later, a machine nearby him whirred to life, and began to move toward his body.

Mere seconds alter, it was assaulted by a sentient worm, which swiftly tore it apart, throwing the remains against a wall, before boring back in the former humans flesh, causing him intense pain.

The Commander stared at the remains of the machine for a moment, before slamming his hand into floor, only to wince and lift it up, revealing that said hand was bleeding profusely.

Deep within the ship, the infested biomass left to grow interfaced with the ship once more, examined the sound files, and pressed play.

AN: Soundtrack Start - Hurt By Nine Inch Nails, Original Version

_I...Hurt Myself Today_

_To See If I Still Feel_

The Commander watched as, in the distance, Sentient creatures descended onto the Earth, and in doing so, made war with the Grineer.

_I Focus On The Pain_

_The Only Thing That's Real_

XXXXXXX

Within the deserts of Mars, Etran watched the Grineer move their casualties into a field hospital. Said hospital was filled to capacity, yet still new arrivals came. The Grineer simply didn't have enough people on hand to treat their wounded. It had gotten so bad, some of the Tenno had volunteered to help them..and the Grineeer had accepted without any fuss.

_The Needle Tears a Hole_

_The Old Familiar Sting_

_Try To Kill It All Away_

_But I Remember Everything_

It'd only been five days, and things had completely fallen apart. The Sentients, bolstered by the Commander technology they had stolen, were now attack the relays and all Tenno dojos across the system, forcing the Heavenly Emperors to fight round the clock to repel them...and slowly, they were weakening. The Tenno, despite their awesome power, still tired, whilst the synthetics did not. They were fighting a losing battle...and though everyone refused to give up just yet, some felt that this war was already lost.

XXXXXXX

Back within the wreckage of the Extinction, the Commander turned to stare at the broken form of his ROB. So strange it was, to see such a powerful being look so fragile.

_What Have I Become_

_My Sweetest Friend?_

Making it all the worse was that, in some way, he was responsible for her current state.

And that truly pushed him to the breaking point.

_Everyone I Know_

_Goes Away In The End_

_XXXXXX_

Eudico turned upwards as Nef began another broadcast.

"Attention, Solaris, I have an important announcement to make!"

"What's it this time?" wondered Legs. "We have higher quotas again?"

"Thanks to a...very surprising donation...all of your debts are annulled. You are...free to leave..when you wish."

Silence reigned over Fortuna a the broadcast ended, the Solaris uncomprehending of what they had just heard.

_And You Can Have It All_

_My Empire Of Dirt_

"We're...free?" questioned Ticker, fvoice full of uncertainty.

"Not like its means much right now," was Zuud's tired response.

"Given the state of the System right now...I'm inclined to agree with you," replied Biz.

Just then, the Solaris heard the sound of something descending from above. Turning toward it, they saw one of the Commander's Drones, this one displaying a holographic screen before it.

_I Will Let You Down._

_I Will Make You Hurt._

_XXXXXXX_

Exhausted, Melissa leaned back, whimpering as her back flared with pain. Nearby, Cassidy watched her with worry, wanting to help, but unsure how.

_I Wear This Crown of Shit_

_Upon My Liar's Chair_

On a nearby monitor, she saw the Tenno fighting side by side with the Infestation against the Sentients and the former forces of her pawn.

They were losing to the synthetics. So much so that calling it a fight was too generous to them.

_Full Of Broken Thoughts_

_I Cannot Repair_

And most of this was her fault. True, the Commander Cyberwarfare Systems had managed lock out Hunhow of some of the more absurd advances the Progenitors had provided...but that was only because she had allowed Flame access to those advanced ones. If she hadn't done so, the system would've repelled him completely.

A flicker of light on one of the nearby screens lifted her attention away from her thoughts. It appeared Flame was sending one of his drones to..Cetus? Why?

XXXXX

Konzu stared at the robot for a moment, uncomprehending.

Eventually, though, he regained his voice. "You are saying that, if you cannot get back what you lost from the Sentients, then those above you will destroy the System?"

'Yes,' it displayed. 'IF you want to be sure ask the Quills.'

Konzu stared at the machine, unbelieving, though eventually his expression softened. 'Ai Yo, Surah. What you say is rather fanciful...but if you are correct, is there any way for us to escape this fate?"

_Beneath The Stains Of Time_

_The Feelings Disappear_

'I do have a place where you could move to...but that would require the Ostrons to abandon Cetus. And I doubt you would make that decision easily.'

"Right you are...I need time to bring this up with the Quills."

'I understand. Farewell, Surah."

_You Are Someone Else_

"Farewell, Commander."

_I Am Still Right Here_

XXXXXXXX

Melissa watched as her pawn finished typing out those words...then slowly slumped forward, exhausted.

_What Have I Become_

_My Sweetest Friend?_

_Everyone I Know _

_Goes Away In The End_

Melissa couldn't bare to watch him suffer alone. With difficulty, she stood up and, with Cassidy's assistance, meandered toward him.

_You Can Have It All_

My Empire Of Dirt

She made it halfway before her strength gave out, and she fell to ground, despite Cassidy's best efforts.

_I Will Let You Down_

_I Will Make You Hurt_

As she tried to get back up, though, the female ROB felt someone curl their arms around her. Looking upward, she realized it was Flame.

_If I could Start Again_

Though shocked, Melissa managed to return the hug.

_A Million Miles Away_

For a moment, things felt good.

_I would Keep Myself_

Then, however, the Commander's body went very, very stiff.

_I Would Find A Way._

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

**_AN:...This is Flameal15k, signing off._**


	215. Annihilation 185

I watched as yet another attempt to remove the worms failed.

There goes attempt #126734958021. Ugh.

Seriously, WHAT THE HELL HAD THESE SENTIENTS BEEN EXPOSED TO DURING THE OLD WAR?! HOW COULD THEY RESIST THE POWER OF THE GREAT DREAMER?! HOW TO COULD THEY FIGHT OFF DEFENSES THEY HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE SO EASILY?! HOW?!

I...it's just...

Well, back to the drawing board.

Now, though, success wasn't looking likely at all.

A ringing noise drew me out of my thoughts - it seemed those who I had offered sanctuary in my hub universe had begun to arrive. Solaris, syndicate members, even a couple of Ostrons, all looking to escape the oncoming storm.

As I made my way to their gathering, I passed Melissa, who was lying down, for once relieved of pain. Most of her injuries had healed, but she hard started sweating purple stuff over the wounds on her back, which some of her Coelohim had taken to cleaning. This seemed to make her feel a little better, but since the purple fluid had been secreting for around three days...

Might as well see how she is doing.

"You okay?"

Slowly, her eyes turned to me. It was sad, seeing those normally mischievous eyes look so worn out and tired. Being belittled and needled on by her was preferable to seeing this.

"I'm...fine. And you?"

"...Could certainly be a lot better."

"You and me both. So, you going to help Tylos move in the new arrivals?"

"Yep. I might not...might not be able to save this universe...but I can still try to save as many people as possible."

"Even when you don' think you can win, you still put other people before you...I like that."

"Thanks. You want to come along?"

"Might as well - not sure I'll get another chance to see something like this."

"Um, sir? It's Tylos."

"What is it?"

"We have a...situation outside. I believe it would be best if you came out right now and saw it for yourself."

Sharing a look of surprise with Melissa, I began to make my way toward the docking bay where the refugees were supposed to gather. Fun fact - in the time since I'd been turned into a monster of myriad varieties of flesh, I now had the ability to shape my new form to some degree, allowing me move my still mostly human torso around on a stalk/tentacle like growth. I'd made sure to send pictures and other things to some of the people leading this mass exodus, so that no one would freak out at the sight of me.

When I got outside, though, no one - be they innocent civilian, Tenno, Solaris, Ostron, or random being that had only been recently thawed out of the Repository's cryopods - was scared by my arrival.

Granted, that might have something to do with absolutely titanic sentient now resting right behind them.

Oh, and said sentient was pretty clearly Zen'hurros.

"My, my," began the Sentient, "what an interesting gathering."

"They're refugees, so don't even think about hurting them," I said, priming the void cannons.

"Why would I? They are not the ones who wronged me...well, excluding the Tenno of course."

"Fair enough. Just don't do anything funny."

The Tenno just stared at me, bewildered at much willingness to show courtesy to the Sentient.

"S," I continued, "are you alone? Did Hunhow send you here without any backup to kill me? Or did he merely intend you as a distraction for another to free me from this mortal coil?"

"I came here of my own volition...though I will concede that I brought company."

First, the Sentinet gestured behind him, revealing the mighty form of an Eidolon. Then, he extended one of his limbs, allowing someone to take steps onto the refugees' platform.

It was...Ballas?

"So, this is how our world ends?" Questioned the Orokin Executor. "With its last untainted progeny fleeing to greener pastures."

"...I guess that's how it will go," I intoned. "...Or maybe not."

"What do you mean by that?" inquired the executor.

I turned to face Umbra, who had immediately steeped forward when he had seen Ballas arrive. Our eyes...okay, my eyes and his eye...met, and an unspoken conversation was held. Surprisingly, Umbra was very understanding of what I was suggesting, and why.

I turned my attention back to the Executor and his Sentient Companions. "IF you three wish to seek haven with these refugees...I won't stop you."

...So that's what a Sentinet looks like when it is surprised. Funny.

"Are you...are you...are you joking?!" questioned Zen'hurros.

I shook my head. "No. So long as you do not bring any harm unto those I have offered protection, you may join their ranks in seeking sanctuary within my domain."

"Why?" intoned the Executor, who was just as shocked as the Sentients...who appeared to have multiplied since I last checked. Oh well - they weren't doing anything threatening.

"Because...because even if your kind has brought great harm onto others, there are still ones among you who are innocent of those crimes...and I don't believe in punishing one being for the sins of another."

"So you're going to just forgive Ballas for his crimes?" That was Etran. "What, are you going to give him a palace as well?"

"Oh no, I'm not going to forgive him. Forgiveness must be earned...though maybe yes on the palace. A palace, after all, can still be a prison if you're not allowed to leave."

To my surprise, the Tenno actually nodded at what I had said, after a moment of thought.

Ballas and the Sentients, meanwhile, seemed to have huddled up to have a conversation. What it was about eluded me, though I assumed it was about whether or not to take up my offer.

Soon enough, they reached an agreement.

"Thank you," replied Zen'hurros, who had moved one of his limbs to back. "...May we offer you a token of our appreciation?"

"Sure."

"Thank you once again...oh, and this is going to hurt a bit."

Wha-

A second later, Zen'hurros rammed the limb I had observed forward toward m-ARGRPAINSOMUCHPAINP̊̿͛̔̿ͦ͡A̘̮͙̞̍ͯ̂ͤ͌̽ͯIͧͫ͏͕Ṅ̤̗̮͉̣̟P̙̯̠̊̏ͬͮA̶̔ͤ͊̏ͮ̑Ĭ͖̯̰ͤ̉̾͝Ǹ͖ͫͨͣP̫̣̘̭̞͑ͫͧ͆̀Ả͚̖͔̗̹̜̌̍̋I͑Ń̘̯̪̘̣̥

M͎͋ͭ͆̃́͊̚Ä͚͕̦̏̓̑̚̕K̷̫̣̺̟͈̭̈́̔͐ͅE͂͌͊̀̂͆̋͏̹͙͇̼I̹̞̺T̡̰̺̻̦͈̑̽̎̓̎Ŝ̗T̨̻̲͙̥̤̲͋ͤ̈ͣ́͊ͧȎ̡̙̮̑ͤͮͣͅP̗͋͐́ͫ̈́̕!̦͓͛͆̋̆

"Don't fight it," intoned the Sentient.

The pain came in flashes, and in between them, I focused on what was happening around me - Melissa had tried to lunge at the Sentient, only to be restrained by two drones. The Tenno were also taking aim at it, only for..._Umbra?!..._to stop them from attacking. Oh, and the rest of my body had just spilled out onto deck.

Slowly, the pain began to subside, leaving me enraged for offer the Sentient kindness...also, why was the rest of my body convulsing? And what were all of those bulges on it?

Suddenly, the bulges split open, revealing the Sentient worms within, which began to bore out of my body, almost in slow motion...scratch that, they were in slow motion and...was that the man in the wall?

"Yes, it's me, False Tenno...though perhaps now that title is invalid."

"Why are you talking to me now of all times?"

"Well, now you bear my touch, so you might as well use."

"What the hell are you-"

_**"̵̬̤̲͚̦͈̙ͧͧ͋A̩̯̓͑͒I͙̥̮͎̫̻̯͋͌͌ͬͫ̃M̡̖̣̦͛ͤ͘͟ ̘͓̾ͦ̾͋̍̇Y͉̻͈̖͔̟̿͠͞͠O̹̺ͥ̏ͦ̀̀U̫̥̞͎͉̞͉ͣ̌ͬͧ̕͞R̨̗̙̗̪̯ͦ͛̃̋ ̢͓̭̃͞͞P̯̹̼ͧ͟A͍̓̅̆͊L̨̫̺͎̂͋̃ͤͥͣ͊̂͜M͓̣̘̗̽̎̀̃̌͝ ͆́̉̓̐ͦ̏͆҉͔̫̩̱͠A̺̫̻̬͍̍͂͘T̜͎̤̙̖̜̝̠̹̔ͩ͒͜͠ ̡̖̖̖̞͈̐̍́̎T͈̣̮̼̹̑̑ͫḦ͖͍͖́ͥ̄ͥͩ̇̚̚͘͜Õ̢̹͎͋̉ͬ̚̕͜S̏̊̐̐̑̆̅͜͏̹̻̮͚͉͉̤̤Ȩ̛̼̖ͧ͂͆ͩ ̵͖̤̎̋̾͌̌ͭͨW̜̝̞̭͚͙̄ͣ̀̂̐Ǫ̢̪̤̯̂ͦ̏ͭ̃̑ͬ̔͡R̥͇͓͚̹̟͍̘̼̀ͯ̾ͨM̛̦̯̥̭̈́̏ͪS̴̢̻͕̙̰̭̤̋̕ ̥̬̦ͯ̌̂̒͐͐͆ͨA̴̫͔̣͓̻͔̲̋ͥ͞N̤̻̭̞̱̦̺̺͐͆̀ͦ̒ͤ̔̀͟D̶ͣ̊ͩ҉҉͉̟̤̗̼̣ͅ ̧̤ͮ͊ͬͥͬ̏͐̀F̦͈̘̟͛̐Ǫ͇̘͔ͬͥ̀C̻̬͐ͣ̾͂͒̄̊̚U̎̌ͧ̄͏̻̜Ṡ̷̰̱͚̖͓͍͈̺͑̌̀̆̅̓̀̚!̛̰̲̂̆̾ͧ̿ͬ̔ͩ͡"̟̩̟̜̣͓́̃̍ͦ͘͘͡ͅ**_

Bewildered, I complied...and watched as a beam of light flew forth from my palm into one of the worms, killing it. Stunned, I looked at my palms, then back at the worms, and for the first time in a while, smiled.

Only one worm escaped my onslaught, and it was swiftly cut down by Umbra, at which point time seemed to return to normal.

I briefly admired my handiwork, before turning my attention to Zen'hurros. "...Did you..know that would happen?"

"It was what I hoped would ensue, but I admit there was no certainty there."

"...How did that happen?"

"You are a being who has looked outward across the multiverse in search of knowledge. Perhaps now you should turn inward."

Shrugging, I pulled up an X-Ray machine and examined my torso, specifically where the Sentient had struck me.

I found ,y heart, my lungs, my stomach...and a flawless sentient core.

"This is my gift to you," intoned Zen'hurros. "I did not know if your body could accept this offering, but if it did, then you would become one of us...and Hunhow's shards would no longer be able to hide form you."

"..Thank you."

"You are welcome...So, what happens now?"

"Now?"

"Will you continue with your current plan, or will you attempt to take back what you have lost? Know that, whilst I did not arrive here on Hunhow's orders, he will seek your death."

"Why? To be sure that I cannot retake the Commander."

"That, but also because the machine will reject his authority so long as you live. Only your death will allow him to master it."

"I see...well, if he want's to see me dead, he's gonna have to work for that."

"I see, violence it is," intoned the Sentient, in an oddly happy tone. "In that case, may I help you?"

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "You, help me? Why? You don't owe me anything."

The Sentient just stared at me, then laughed. "You freed me from device that tore apart my back. You eased my pain when this vessel fell from the heavens. You offered me a home within your lands. There is_ so much_ that I owe you...and even if I that was not the case, I would still help you. You assist others simply because you can. Is it truly a surprise that some of those you help wish to repay that kindness out of gratitude?"

"I...I..." Honestly, it was a surprise. I'd never really thought people would want to help me. I mean, maybe if they had a shared interest, yes, but this? Helping me just because they could? And because they were grateful?

I'd never really heard about this before when Commanders were involved. It felt...really nice.

"...You assistance is appreciated."

"Well, count us in too," replied the Tenno. "And us," added the Solaris.

"US as well," intoned an Orokin. Ok, that was a surprise. "You offered us salvation that we may not really deserved because you felt it was right. Consider this repayment for that."

"We will also assist the warmblood" intoned a Slaan.

"Your kind may have been our enemies, but, at least this once, we will stand with you," intoned a Promethean.

I think I actually blushed from all the support I was receiving. Melissa seemed to notice, if the way she smiled was any indication.

"...Thank you all for your support. I admit, though that this won't be easy - I know not where Hunhow is, nor what he intends to do next, for starters."

"He's heading here, in one weeks time," responded Zen'hurros. "He would rather eliminate you himself than allow another to potentially mess it up."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I retract my former statement. Still, we will need to train and prepare. All of us will need time to ready ourselves for the oncoming battle...even me."

"We know," snarked Cyreesia. "You could really use some work with a blade."

"Which one should I start with?" I deadpanned. The Tenno were masters of _all_ weapons, after all.

Suddenly, a sword landed blade first into the ground a few feet away from me. Examining it, I found that it was a zaw I had made some time ago, recently gilded. Turning upwards, I saw it was Melissa who had thrown it at me, a soft smile on her face. "How about we start with the one you made for yourself?" Next to her, I saw Rory holding up a kitgun I had made, as if telling me to use this as well.

"...I can work with that."

XXXXXX

The refugees quickly got to work preparing for the coming battle - some sharpened blades, others gathered supplies. I even saw kids polishing all kinds of gear, from shields to bullets, and in general trying to contribute to the plans for this fight. One way or another, this would be the last battle I would fight in this universe. I needed to make sure it was a victory.

To that end, I'd managed to separate my human body from the monstrous one I'd ended up with, so that I could use both without have an easily targeted weak point...points. I'd made sure to send away Melissa and Cassidy when I did that, mostly because regenerating everything below my waist did not include my clothes.

Turning my attention away from the actions of my allies, I brought my focus back onto Melissa. She was standing upright now, looking quite a bit better - I think she had been acting more hurt than she really was earlier. Granted, that wasn't exactly hard, given that she was already dying.

She was also a reason I needed to win this last fight -she was living on borrowed time, and if I lost, she would also die.

Funny, how I'd come to care about a ROB.

...Who was right now getting cleaned by one of her creations again. Good grief that looked weird.

"I know."

"Seriously, what is that purple stuff?"

"In terms you know...it's analogous to honeydew."

Oh...I really needed brain bleach now.

XXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	216. Interlude 32

Rory watched as his father began preparing the_ Extinction_ for the coming fight. Already, defenses were being rearranged, and the traps were being set. It would only be a matter of time before the stage was set for the final battle.

Seeing his dad so happy again was the best thing he could have asked for on New Year's Day. It was something that money and power couldn't but, which was why it was so valuable.

Still smiling, Rory turned his attention to Tylos, who was standing next to him, as was Cassidy and another creature called Vesiculara - apparently Tylos counterpart in Lady Melissa's forces. The four shared a look, then opened up a pair of portals - one to the Commander's Hubworld, one to Melissa's.

They're parents had asked them not to get involved in the coming battle.

The two children had reluctantly acquiesced to their elders' desire.

Naturally, they had been lying.

XXXXX

"So," questioned the Council gathered at the Tower, "what news from our lord?"

"He has regained his will to fight and is readying to do battle with the monstrous Hunhow, with new allies at his side."

"Excellent. Has he made request of us?" inquired a Dracken.

"No. He has neither demanded nor forbid our involvement in this coming fight. That being said, I believe he would not want us to risk our lives in the coming conflict."

"Seriously?!" intoned a more childish being exclaimed, indignation at his lord's refusal to let him fight.

Tylos, however, maintained a neutral expression. "_That being said,_ I am organizing a force to assist him anyway. All who wish to assist, send me your names. If you do not wish to join in, then you will not be shamed for it - this is only for those who volunteer. Know this though - if our lord fails...if he dies...is the battle is lost...billions will die. Some of these may have, in another time, been a part of our community. If you are willing to leave them alone, to face oblivion in fear, then you may do so unopposed."

As Tylos finished his small speech, he turned his attention to a nearby computer terminal. It was the one he had to receive the identities of those who wished to fight in the upcoming conflict.

Already, the number was in the billions.

Tylos let out a small smile. Their lord would thank them for their actions in the coming days. He knew he would.

Rory shared in his companion's joy, before activating a portal of his own. There was one last thing that needed to be done.

XXXXXX

As Rory and Cassidy steeped out of the portal, they found their forces already beginning to muster.

What forces that had been left behind in the Spore, Darkspore, Civ:BE and GalCiv universes had been recalled en masse - they were already being replaced, so their absence would not be felt...at least, not severely.

Commander Tech and Coelohim, strong in equal measures and different ways, were being pulled back from their conquests to assist in this final battle. IF they lost, well, these forces would be useless then, what with their creators and rulers gone. Now was the time to go all in.

Of course, even this plan wasn't full proof - and a spanner was already making itself known.

"Attentin," spoke a familiar voice, "This is Asaru. You mind telling me why your forces suddenly started leaving our universe, commander?"

Rory and Melissa glanced at each other, before deciding on their response. "My dad isn't here right now, he's busy."

"With what?"

"...Um, he's planning for a big battle coming up."

"Define big."

"It will probably decide the fate of the next universe."

"I see," spoke the Ethereal, tone unreadable. "I presume he's at a disadvantage here?"

"Yes, which is why I'm pulling our forces out to help him...why are you even asking me this?"

"..Okay, maybe I am stalling here. Just answer me one question: Does he need our help?"

"W-what?! Why would we ask you for help? If we're up against something that can challenge us, you probably wouldn't do much to help."

"I am aware of that, but still, your father helped us save Earth. We want to pay him back."

"...Well, you can help if you want. Just beware of taking lots of casualties."

"I am well aware...and I am not doing this alone."

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly, dozens of more communications were opened up - all members of the Coalition from GalCiv, the various factions on both Chirons, all the races they'd met in darkspore, well, everyone actually.

For a moment, Rory and Cassidy just stared on in silence. Then the shock dissipated.

"Why are you all here?"

"Why else?" intoned an insectoid being from the Nocturni Legion. "We're helping!"

"But why? You don't owe us anything!"

"Your father helped all of us just because he could! Is it impossible for us to do the same in regards to you?"

"Fair enough," replied Rory, though he did have two representatives he really needed to ascertain the motives of.

The first was the one for, ironically enough the Dread Lords. "Why are you helping us, though? We beat you into the dust!"

"And yet you chose to spare us and be reasonable. That deserves some respect, however begrudging. And, really, we cannot stand being in your debt."

"You're not, but okay."

Then Rory turned his attention to the Nocturni Legion's representative again. "And why are you-"

"Same reason as everyone else...plus more personal ones..."

"Dad, you're embarrassing me," intoned a female voice - one that belonged to the Nocturni known as Phatom, to be precise.

"Young lady, you are the one embarrassing yourself right now."

"...True."

Rory may have chuckled lightly at that. Everyone else might have joined in.

Smiling, and feeling better than he had before, Rory decided to ready his ace, which Cassidy had assisted him in preparing. Better to debug now than face problems in the future.

XXXXXX

COL_89RTVA5_ONLINE

SEARCHING FOR AI

...AI FOUND

UPLOADING_SUB_CMDR_ROURKE

UPLOAD_COMPLETE

XXXXXX

Now nothing except Hunhow could stop their plan!

Suddenly, a pair of void rifts appeared just beside where the ships from the other universes were massing up from. They only lasted for a few moments, but each managed to disgorge a starship.

One was a Corpus Obelisk, whilst the other...

Rory went rigid.

The other 'ship' was the Kuva Fortress.

XXXXXX

****AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger...okay, not sorry. Enjoy!****

****Read and Review! This Flameal15k, signing off!****


	217. Annihilation 186

I did one last look around.

All the preparations had been made. All that could be done had been done. Now, the final obstacle awaited: defeating Hunhow, and getting back my Commander.

Those who would stand with me were already in posisiton for this fight - be they embers of the six major syndicates, Ostrons, Solaris, wayward Grineer/Corpus that had felt their current power struggles to be pointless in the face of the current conflict, or just ordinary Origin System inhabitants who didn't want to see their world end, all were here, ready to battle, as were a few wayward sentients who Zen'hurros had convinced to side with me. If we lost, well, I shuddered at the thought of what Hunhow would do to them.

I'd made a point of learning and memorizing the names of everyone who was fighting here...fighting to help me...fighting for me. If they died, it was on me, and the least I could do, if I won, was make some kind of memorial for them. And for that, I needed to know their names, as well as a few details about them.

To my surprise, all of Ostrons and Solaris had personal reasons to help me. All of the Ostrons had been recipients of my generosity - these were the people I had provided food for, whenever I had excess fish. As for the Solaris, they owed me for paying off their debts. And not in the broad sense. See, just prior to my meeting with Melissa, and all the hell that had followed, I had arranged a deal with Anyo to forgive all the Solaris of their debts. The payoff had been absurdly high - Anyo could literally lose everything else he owned and still have enough money to live in luxury from what I had paid him, but if it meant seeing people free from his wrath? Any price was worth that.

These people hadn't been freed by that deal.

These Solaris were the one's whose debts I'd bought from Ticker. I had paid off each debt individually for these fellows...and they were not going to forget that anytime soon.

Some of them weren't even ones I had expected to free from Anyo's greed - quite a few were dependents who had been brainshelved, left to rot in some room, alone, forever, or at least until their family paid off their debt. And now, because of me, they were free.

For that very reason, they would gladly fight, and die, for me. Because I had offered them something they would never have had otherwise - a future.

...Good god, that just made me feel worse about putting their lives on the line.

Still, I had to keep a straight face - now was not the time to go soft hearted.

Of course, there was one person I needed to chat with right now...

XXXXX

As I approached Melissa's location, the sound of her voice flitted to my ears.

The first thing that I was surprised by was that she was speaking in a language I hadn't heard of.

THe second surprise was that, even though I had never heard the language,_ I still knew what she was saying._

_"And thus, great Shadow, I ask of you to give me the strength to see this battle through, to overcome the foes arrayed before me, and remain out of your realm, at least for now. If that is not possible, though, at least let me see this conflict's resolution. Either way, if thou decides my time is done, I shall go into your shrouded kingdom with grace._

As she finished speaking, I found my ROB kneeling in front of a statue of a shrouded figure, with four pairs of wings - one insectile, one avian, one chiropteran, and one pterosaurian in nature. Surrounding the statue were candles, and oddly enough, the statue was not carved from stone, but black crystal - Noctrul, to be precise.

….was she_ praying?!_

"...Yes, I was."

...Sorry if that came out wrong.

"Eh, I understand. Surprised I believe in something higher than myself?"

….In hindsight, no - you weren't born a ROB, so I can believe that you have faith in a higher power that is Superior Firepower.

"Curious choice of words, but I digress. So, are you ready?"

Yes. "I do need to tell you something first."

"And that is?"

"I...forgive you...for putting me on this adventure."

"...What?!"

"You pretty much ruined my life, sent me on a crazy ride through the universe, and are indirectly responsible for this situation I am in because of sending me on this journey...but you've also offered me help, nursed me back to health after I was crippled in battle, shown decency toward my son, and stood with me when I was at my lowest...even if the last one was due to my actions."

I sighed. "I can't hold a grudge nw. So know that, if you or I should fall in the coming struggle...there is nothing you need to atone for."

"...Okay...but can I say something else?"

"Shoot."

"...I'm sorry."

"...YOu just wanted to offer an apology?"

"Yes. I was, quite simply, a bitch to you, and I'm sorry about it."

"...Well, thank you. Ready to win?"

For the first time since I had lost my Commander, I saw Melissa give an absolutely vicious (and, in her case, fitting) smile. "Let's do this."

XXXXX

Soon enough, Hunhow came, Commander in tow. Desperation had forced him to use it as bait to pull me in, though he had taken the precaution of bringing a whole army of Sentients and progenitor machines with him as backup.

Not that it would help him that much.

"Where do you hide, False Tenno? If you come out now, your allies may yet be spared."

Well, time to make my debut.

"I doubt that. So, you've stolen my biggest stick, but you can't swing it well, can you?"

"I suppose you are correct...but that will change once you die."

"Who say's I am going to die?"

In front of Hunhow, a small turret activated. The sentient briefly aimed at it, before deciding to simply have my Commander stomp on it...at least until he noticed that I was standing on top of it.

"So, you want to die by your greatest weapon's hand?"

I smirked. "No. I'm taking it back."

Then I snapped my fingers (Which took more effort than one would think).

The turret whirred to life.

And then, my Commander went inert, as did the other progenitor machines in the area. Several of the planes promptly crashed.

Finally, I had found some use for the Artifacts...

After , of course, prepping my own forces to resist the Artifacts' effects...oh, and somehow, even though Hunhow had no face, he still had a surprised expression, which got even more pronounced when I fired off a blast of void energy at one of his shards.

Smiling, I gave the order: "ATTACK!"

Then I stared playing music, because why not.

I hope everyone else liked my selection.

**AN: Soundtrack Start - 7734 By Sabaton, from Heroes - Bonus Tracks Album**

**XXXXXX**

'...The Commander had a strange taste in music', thought the Solaris known as Mizuri. Still, she was not one to judge, at least not now. Now was the time for battle!

Something the Sentient below her only learned when she drove her blade through its core.

Beside her, another shard fell dead, a well paced hit from the Solaris known only as Rigsley tearing open its head.

_The Dawn Of Time Breaks_

_See The Sun Rise To The Sky_

_The Wheel Of Time Begins To Turn_

Today was the day of reckoning!

XXXXXXX

Deeper within the ship, a Tau Battle Line heard something advancing toward them. Turning, they found...a horde of soldiers in powered armor, some golden and wielding halbeards, charging side by side with lizards riding dinosaurs?!

_But Then We Heard It_

_A Divine Voice Out Of Nowhere_

_Spoke To Our Hearts And Showed The Way_

So shocked were the Sentients that they failed to react until the strange beings collided with them. By then, they were already being torn to shreds

_Almighty Lord We Have Come To Your Hall_

_Do Glatem Live, Creator of All_

_Open Your Heart And You Will Find A Way_

_Paradise Calling And Answer You May _

_Falling Down!_

One blue armored space marine threw a power axe into a Conculyst, tearing it in half. Before he could retrieve the blade, however, a battlyst fires on him, knocking him to the ground. Yet the shard would not claim its kill, for lightning suddenly flew into it, cooking its body to a crisp. A moment later, the red armored space marine wearing Egyptian themed armor lowered his hand, then ran over to help his brother up.

For a moment, the blue one eyed his comrade warily, before accepting the aid.

There had been a time when the Sons of the Cyclops and the Wolves of Fenris had known only distrust. For most, it has morphed into hatred. For these two, as well as their brothers that had also been caught in this universe, distrust had given way to brotherhood.

_Now Your Soul Returns To Paradise_

Hastily, the two rejoined the battle, each striving to get more kills that the other - competition was helpful, even between brothers.

_Falling Down_

Meanwhile, the Lizardmen were hacking into the Synthetic Battle alone, with a Carnosaur already tearing into the largest Sentient. Victory would be swift and brutal!

_Double Seven Thorty Four!_

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

As the fighting increased in brutality, a group of Esh-Kha charged into battle, tearing into the Sentient forces. Aiding them were several Prometheans, as well as drones the Commander has imbued with the power of the void, depriving the Sentients of their greatest strength.

Without their adaptability, the Sentients soon fell apart.

The Wheel Kept Turning

Ages Came, Time Passed Us By

We Lived In Perfect Harmony

Joining them were a variety of ferocious technocyte beasts and other organic monstrosities, which began to ravage the Synthetics

_But Then It Happened_

_Our Ranks Decreased Rapidly_

_But Now It's Time For Our Return_

All over the ship, vengeance was served!

_Once We Were Numerous_

_But That's Long Ago_

_We Are No More Double Seven Three Four_

_We Last Two United And Two Became One_

_One Hundred Eleven, They Perished As One_

_Falling Down!_

As the Syntheitcs floundered, Progenitor War Machines charged into the fight - the ones the one known as Flame still controlled.

_Now Your Soul Returns To Paradise!_

_Falling Down!_

Without numbers to drown out that firepower, the Sentients stood no chance.

_Double Seven Thirty Four!_

XXXXXXXX

Everywhere I looked, my forces and Melissa's made short work of the Sentients. Not surprising, really - my trip through the void had not only provided me with void powers, but also bettter knowledge forvusing void derived technology - something I had exploited before this battle.

I dicked to avoid an aerial foe's attack, before cupping my hands. A moment later, and I lifted Melissa into the air, where she tore the shard to pieces. Hell yeah!

A moment later, and the female ROB threw a chain at me, which I caught, allowing her to hurl me toward my Commander.

As soon as I landed, I sent a hack through.

Hunhow may have stolen my greatest weapon, but he wasn't going to keep it, and had been forced too far back by my forces to defend it.

Time to get it back!

_**Almighty Lord We Have Come To Your Hall**_

_**Do Glatem Live, Creator Of All**_

_**Open Your Heart And You Will Find A Way**_

_**Paradise Calling And Enter You May**_

_**Falling Down!**_

It was funny, seeing the mighty Hunhow looming so surprised. Really, he hadn't thought this completely through.

_**Now Your Soul Returns To Paradise**_

_**Falling Down!**_

Instantly, I felt Hubhow's decencies within the Commander crumble - already strained, my attacks tore them to pieces.

**_Double Seven Thirty Four_**

**_Falling Down!_**

At least, my Commander was mine again!

_**Now**_ **_Your_** **_Soul_** **_Returns_** **_To_** **_Paradise_**

_**Falling**_ **_Down!_**

AND HUNHOW WOULD NOT TAKE IT FROM ME!

**_Double Seven Thirty Four!_**

XXXXXXXX

For a moment, Hunhow stared, dumbstruck. Then he calmed and moved to address me.

"Well, it seems I have lost the Commander...oh well."

"You're taking this defeat awefully well."

"Who says I didn't have a backup plan?"

A moment later, and a new Sentient Fleet appeared in orbit, apparently being led by...Natah.

Well, shit.

Quickly, I ordered my forces/allies to bunker down - enemy reinforcements had been expected, but not this soon. Still, we could hold out as long as the enemy fleet wasn't too big-

Then a second fleet showed up, and this one was a Grineer force.

...Oh joy.

Predictably, the Galleons opened fire on fleet, scattering it. Meanwhile, several ships took up positions above my ship and fired off drop pods. Deciding to be sporting, I let the first set of pods drop, revealing a squad of Lancers and...was that _KREL_?! What was he doing here?... And Sage too?! WTF?!

"So, False Tenno, we finally meet", spoke a familiar, and unpleasant, voice.

"So it seems," I replied. "Are you leading this attack?"

"Much as we want to, no."

"Then who is-"

"I am leading, master!" Intoned another familiar voice as Tylos appeared on a screen on my HUD.

"What are YOU doing here?!"

"Helping you! You have led us to battle in some many encounters! NOW WE MUST SUPPORT YOU! ATTACK!"

Overhead, a large warship split in two after a particularly well aimed shot from one of the UFOs I'd designed in Spore.

My attention returned to the Grineer. "Who got you to help?"

"A living shadow showed up in our palace, vandalized the room, used our jesters as juggling balls, and said it would eat if we didn't go where it told us and offer to help you."

For a moment, I was quiet, but the I turned my head to the right. Sure enough, Wally was there, smiling.

"Did you do that?"

"Yes," he replied. "It was funny."

"Did you do something that might get the Corpus involved in this fight?"

"Maybe."

XXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	218. Annihilation 187

Tylos watched as the Genetic Heroes began their assault. For the most part, they had been sidelined for operations in this universe, barring some occasional black operation, leaving all of them thirsting for battle. Now that such an opportunity had presented itself for them to take part in a glorious grand battle, they had bene very eager to take advantage of it. Already, they were tearing into the newly arrived Sentient Lines. The fighting was relatively one sided, owing to the massive differences in durability between Progenitor forces and Sentient ones, though occasionally, an omega or artemis would be reduced to burning scrap. Really, though, this fight was decidedly in the technicolor antler headed flying reptile's favor.

Now then, onto step 2 of his plan to help his master: play music!

**AN: Soundtrack Start: Primo Victoria by Sabaton.**

Hopefully, the Creator would like his choice of music.

XXXXXXX

_Through The Gates Of Hell_

_As We Make Our Way Through Heaven_

_Through The Nazi Lines_

_Primo Victoria!_

…Apparently, Tylos knows my tastes' well.

Also, it looked like he somehow managed to contact Melissa's forces as well, seeing how more space marines had showed up…and a group of Mantis from FTL….were those Protheans?

….How the _hell _did she get the Vex on her side?

….Okay, I have no right to complain, seeing how I am relying on them for help.

"Good. Now can you shut up ang get back to fighting?"

Yes, Sweetey.

"Please Don't Call Me That. We aren't an item."

True enough. Now onto killing the Sentient drones!

XXXXXX

_We've Been Training For Years_

_Now We're Ready To Strike_

_As the Great Operation Begins_

Within minutes, the Grineer began to ravage the Synthetic forces. True, the clones were rather simple minded, but the excavations on the plains and across the moons of Uranus had proven fruitful….even if they had taken a long time to do so. The Ascaris, though ineffective in its original goal, had also helped to finally find a weakness among the sentients.

_We're The First Wave On The Shore_

_We're The First Ones To Fall_

_Yet Soldiers Have Fallen Before_

As a large, shield shaped Sentient moved to protect its brethren, a tusk lancer threw a grenade at the machine-creature. A moment later, and it exploded, causing the Sentient to collapse to the ground in agony, as did all those it tried to shield. Now defenseless, the Orokin Biotech drones were soon cut down.

_In The Dawn They Will Pay_

_With Their Lives As The Price_

_History's Written Today_

Desperately, others of their kind moved in to reinforce them, only to be blasted by an imperial knight.

_In This Burning Inferno_

_Know That Nothing Remains_

_As Our Forces Advance On The Beach_

Laughing, the Grineer quickly tore out the cores of the Sentients, before gesturing for their allies to advance. Taking their que, a pack of giant mantis warriors leaped forward to engage more conculysts in battle, whilst a living artillery drone was swiftly torn apart by a giant pack of spiderlike creatures wielding scythe-like blades.

_Aiming For Heaven_

_Though Serving in Hell_

_Victory's Ours_

_Their Forces Will Fall_

Chittering in anticipation, the Megarachnids moved onto the next cluster of foes, just as a group of Luna Wolf Terminators deep struck into the fray.

_Through the Gates of Hell_

_As We Make Our Way to Heaven_

_Through the Nazi Lines_

_Primo Victoria_

A moment later, and several kestrels joined them in attacking the army of shards. The group was soon forced to route.

_On The Sixth Of June_

_On The Shores of Western Europe_

_Nineteen Forty Four_

_D-Day Upon Us_

XXXXXXX

Blitz grinned as he ripped out the Battalyst's core, causing the shard to crumple whilst the reptilian's wounds healed. Nearby, Arakna tore into another of the beasts, whilst Zrin burnt a third to ash. Further out, Tork jumped back as one shard scanned the cores of three dead ones, bringing them back into the realm of the living, though their resurrection was short lived. Leaping into action, Goliath cleaved his sword through all three, then threw it into the fourth one.

As the Energy Guardian retrieved his blade, several Arbiters advanced – they had not yet begun to fight!

_We've Been Here Before_

_Used To This Kind Of War_

_Crossfire Right Through the Sand_

Not much further beyond, Red Veil Operatives and Steel Meridian troops were tearing into another large Sentient, doing all they could to harry it, whilst the Tenno moved in for the killing blow.

_Our Orders Were Easy_

_It's Kill Or Be Killed_

_Blood On Both Sides Will Be Spilled _

XXXXXX

As their forces continued on with the assault, Cressa Tal turned her attention to General Ruk, who was busy burning a vomvalyst like shard into nothingness. As his foe finally crumpled into ash, the General looked at his former subordinate.

For a moment, the tension was palpable

_In The Dawn They Will Pay_

_With Their Lives As The Price_

_History's Written Today_

But then, the tension broke, and the pair nodded. Just for today, their personal vendetta would be postponed.

_Now That We Are At War_

_With The Axis Again_

_This Time We Know What Will Come_

Whilst Ruk called for a Firbolg to bring him closer to the next enemy group, Cressa merely pulled out a Vulkar – why wait?

_Aiming For Heaven _

_Though Serving In Hell_

_Victory's Ours_

_Their Forces Will Fall_

Just as the synthetics noticed Ruk's arrival, a Tusk Ogma moved in to bomb them, as did several wyrms. Before they could recover, the Grineer advanced, poised to strike.

_Through The Gates Of Hell_

_As We Make Our Way To Heaven_

_Through The Nazi Lines_

_Primo Victoria_

Joining them were Ant tanks, which quickly began to bleed the sentients dry.

_On The Sixth Of June_

_On The Shores Of Western Europe_

_Nineteen Forty-Four_

_D-Day Upon Us_

XXXXXXX

As the Grineer and second Progenitor force continued their offense, Natah watched on, unsure how to react, beyond taking pot-shots at Progenitor fighters that had strayed too close to her.

Rationally, the best option would be to go in and kill the one known as CMDR Flame, so as to eliminate the threat of the Progenitor machines. Without those, the enemy force would be easily broken.

Yet, realistically speaking, Natah had no opening to attack him – he was too well defended, and besides, his forces were now equipped with void weapons that could actually harm her. Trying to get in close enough to attack was a death sentence.

Additionally, if she did succeed in killing the Commander, then the first thing her parents would do after winning the battle was hunt down, and murder, the Tenno. The Tenno, who had been, and to some degree, still were, her children.

Could she really let that happen?

….Would her mother allow it?

A nearby explosion forced Natah to pause her thinking. The enemy was starting to fire at her. Involuntarily, she groaned, before making her choice.

She began to descend to the surface, her destination the edge of the battlefield. Here, she would wait out the battle. If the Commander prevailed, she would submit to him and beg for clemency. If her brethren won…she would run. Her parents would not take her sitting out of the battle lightly.

XXXX

_Sixth of June _

_Nineteen Forty-Four_

_Allies Are Turning The War_

Oh yes, we were turning this battle. In fact, the Sentients were taking massive losses. As for us.

_None._

Oh hell yes!

_Normandy _

_State Of Anarchy_

_Overlord!_

As I sunk my zaw into the remains of a nearby shard, I used my powers to summon the Paracesis to me – might as well use it against what it was meant to kill.

Nearby, Melissa was jumping off a Gantulyst, which she had been using as a platform to reach a Sentient dropship. A moment later, she torn the ship apart, whilst the Gantulyst blew a second one out of the sky.

_Aiming For Heaven_

_Though Serving In Hell_

_Victory's Ours_

_Their Forces Will Fall_

Smiling, I pulled out a Dual Decurion and opened up on several of the Sentient drones trying to hit my ROB – I would make sure she lived through this fight!

…Never expected to say or think those lines.

"Never expected you to do that either."

Thank you, beautiful.

"..Um, thanks."

You're welcome.

NOW DIE, SENTIENTS! DIE!

_Through The Gates Of Hell_

_As We Make Our Way To Heaven_

_Through The Nazi Lines_

_Primo Victoria_

Soon, more dropships began to fall, and Natah's fleet began to fall back. Natah herself, however remained on Earth, content to just watch us. Maybe she was looking for an opening to strike?

_On The Sixth Of June_

_On The Shores Of Western Europe_

_Nineteen Forty-Four_

_D-Day Upon Us_

Realizing he was losing Hunhow called a retreat. He knew better than to fight a losing battle.

_Through The Gates Of Hell_

_As We Make Our Way To Heaven_

_Through The Nazi Lines_

_Primo Victoria_

Soon, only pockets of enemy forces remained on the ship, and those would soon be cut down.

We had won this.

_On The Sixth Of June_

_On The Shores Of Western Europe_

_Nineteen Forty-Four_

**_Primo Victoria!_**

…Now where was the next Sentient fleet? I was pretty sure something else was about to happen that would make things go bad. Plus Lotus' mom hadn't shown up yet.

"Warning: Enemy Force Detected."

There we are.

"Oh, my husband, how disappointing. Is one Commander too much for you?"

"My wife, I can explain-"

"I jest, I jest. This one is clearly more of a challenge than expected. Fall back for now – I will handle this. Oh, and see if you can find our daughter – she seems to have disappeared."

"Of course, my wife."

As Hunhow fled, I closed my eyes and reached out into the void.

When my eyes opened, I turned to my left.

Sure enough, Wally was there.

"You got a plan for this?"

"Yep."

"..Could you unveil it now?"

"Done."

A moment later, something showed up on my orbital sensors.

"New enemy force detected. It appears to belong to the Corpus."

"By the will of the Void, we will vanquish these Synthetic Demons!"

I turned back to Wally, a quizzical look coloring my face.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's smug as hell, and I don't really like how he portrays me, AT ALL, but he's useful."

"I see. Is that all of your plan?"

"Nope."

Before I could press him for more details, I saw the Obelisk leading the Corpus fleet fire down something at my ship, which I realized was a device used to create a teleporter field. A moment later, several crewman, ospreys, MOAs, Jackals, Raptors, Razorbacks, Lynxes, and Hyenas arrived into the battle, as did…a Colonel Sub Commander?!

Oh, and it was transmitting to me. Still somewhat confused, I answered.

"Who is this-"

"HI DAD!"

..WHAT?!

"Rory?! What are you doing here?"

"I'm still back at home, but to answer your question, HELPING YOU!"

When I finally processed what he had said, I felt a sense of pride in my chest. I might have also cried a little in joy.

"…Well, thank you."

Then I decided to go stern with him.

"But one Sub Commander isn't really that much help."

"Don't worry, I brought more help."

Before I could get an elaboration, more ships suddenly started appearing, among them…was that an XCOM Biotrans?!

"Yes, it is, Commander," intoned the voice of Asaru. "You really need to shield your mind better."

…Yeah, I really needed to do better there. So, Rory called you in to help?

"No, all of us came of our own volition."

…All of you.

"Just look at the other ships headed here."

I did just that…and balked.

I could see a Clumpy Starship…and an Iconian one, and a Terran Alliance Vessel, an ARC one, a Nocturni one, and even a _Dread Lord _veseel.

Had all of these people come to help me?

….Apparently they had.

"Thanks for the help. So, what's next?"

"That's up to your son."

Okaaay. "What now, Rory?"

"We play music."

**AN: Soundtrack Start – The Last Battle By Sabaton**

….This music felt very appropriate.

XXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! We're almost at the end of this arc!**


	219. Annihilation 188

AN: Soundtrack Start - The Last Battle By Sabaton

Within minutes, the Corpus forces were engaging the Sentients, as were the other new arrivals. Just in time, too - the Senient fleet we were facing was colossal (as I later found out, it compromised _all _of their remaining forces), and they were poised to take us down. I was under no illusions about how decisive this battle would be - if we won, the Sentients would be defeated (and then, of course, I'd have to deal with the Corpus, and the Grineer...and the infested, who, according to my sensors, were currently trying to attack the sentients still in orbit, because they'd figured out how important this battle would be, and they _really_ hated the sentients).

If we lost, though...well, Celm's orders still stood. Either we won here...

Or well _all _died.

Needless to say, failure was not an option.

_Fifth Of May,_ _V-Day Is Just Around the Corner_

_1945,_ _The Fuhrer's Rain Is At Its End_

Ducking to avoid a laser strike from a mimic, I threw a knife at a drone harassing Melissa, who promptly blasted away the mimic attacking me.

"Thanks for the save."

"You're welcome," I replied. "Now let's end this."

_Jenny At The Gates, As The SS Open Fire_

_There's No Time To Waste, The Final Battle's Begun_

_XXXXXXXX_

Some distance belong, Solaris and Perrin Sequence Operatives were pinned down by a large group of flying sentients. Running low on ammo and strength, the group hastily pulled their wounded into cover, determined not to be overwhelmed.

_After The Downfall, A Castle Besieged_

_Facing The Nazis, Awaiting Relief_

Suddenly, a trio of Kyta Raknoids slammed into the sentient lines, forcing them into disarray. Moments later, a force of crewman followed them, and began tearing into the synthetic battle line.

_Gangl And Lee And Their Men Set The Prisoners Free_

The Solaris and Sequence members stared for a moment, before joining their former enemies in the fire fight.

_And It's The End of the Line Of The Final Journey_

_Enemies Leaving The Past_

_And It's American Troops And The German Army_

_Joining Together At Last_

Taking massive losses, the Sentients soon fell back.

XXXXXX

As the fighting continued, I watched as Natah's mother moved to join the battle herself, only to be met with a...titan legion?

Okay, where'd she get that?

"My mom owned them. I think the Progenitor's made her line to guard stuff they got as concessions from the end of the war."

...Fair enough. Also, man, that was an awesome looking legion - Warhounds, a few battle titans, two emperors and..._**what the hell is that**_?!

"Revelation Class Superheavy Titan," intoned the voice of Elling. "Her name is _Vision of Everlasting Victory._"

"...Are you piloting that titan?" I asked, bewildered.

"Yes, and my mother and father are commanding one of the Emperor Titans."

"...Seriously?"

"TITAN PRINCEPS MUST BE BRED, YOU FOOL! NOW STOP WASTING TIME AND GET BACK TO KILLING THE ENEMY!"

...Fair enough.

XXXXXXX

_One Last Fight, It's The Death Throes Of The Third Reich_

_Justice Shall Be Done, The Final Battle Remains_

As the fighting continued, Steel Meridian operatives and Kuva Grineer tore into a sentient armor group, joined by a truly bizarre monster - one of the female ROB's allies.

Suddenly, a meteorite fell on the battlefield, and when the dust from its impact settled, a horde of infested crawled out of the crater and moved to attack.

_Ammo's Running Low, They're Depleting Their Machine Guns_

_Every Bullet Counts Until Surrender's Announced_

Yet whilst the abominations attacked the synthetics with reckless abandon, they ignored the clones and their allies.

It seemed even these horrors knew who to stand with.

_After The Downfall, A Castle Relieved_

_Defeating The Nazis Who Held Them Besieged_

_Gangl and Lee and Their Men Set The Prisoners Free_

Happy with these turn of events, the Grineer renewed their attack as a force of doxes joined them, swiftly tearing into the synthetics' armor.

_And It's The End Of The Line Of The Final Journey_

_Enemies Leaving The Past_

Under such a withering assault, even the Sentients could not last long.

_And It's American Troops And The German Army_

_Joining Together At Last_

_XXXXXXXXXX_

As the fight around us continued, I couldn't help but admire how things were going - sure, we were winning, but how we were winning was what made me happy.

All the powers in the Origin System - the Tenno, the Grineer, The Corpus, The Infestation, the Syndicates, even some of the Sentients - had united to face a common foe. Furthermore, all of the powers I had met on my travels, good and evil, had put aside their differences to fight against a common foe...All to aid me.

And because of that, we were winning. Spectacularly.

Some people said that people wee inherently evil. Others believed that sentient beings were inherently good.

Right now, I was seeing validation of the latter belief. And it was glorious.

_From The Foot Of The Alps To The Shores Of The Sea_

_From The Foot Of The Alps To The Shores Of The Sea_

_From the Home Of The Brave, From the Land Of The Free_

_From The Foot Of The Alps To The Shores Of The Sea_

Briefly, I observed several Red Veil operatives assisting some Arbiters, before returning my attention to Melissa, who smiled and threw a rope at me.

As soon as I caught it, she tugged on it and sent me flying toward a sentient force, who I greeted with a slam of the Paracesis.

_And It's The End of The Line Of The Final Journey_

_Enemies Leaving The Past_

Soon, Melissa appeared right behind me, and we engaged the remaining sentients in a shoot out, back to back.

_And It's American Troops And The German Army_

_Joining Together At Last_

Desperately, the Sentients attempted to bring us down, but try as they might, they failed. Soon, we had forced them off.

**_And It's The End Of The Line Of The Final Journey_**

**_Enemies Leaving The Past_**

**_And It's American Troops And The German Army_**

**_Joining Together At Last!_**

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

As The Sentient forces were cut down, I couldn't help but smirk at Lotus' mom, who was trying and failing to keep the shock, rage, and fear off her face. Payback's a bitch, isn't it.

"Well, it looks like you've lost," I intoned, smug as all hell.

"...I think not."

"Oh please, do you have another fleet left? Do you intend to use the Stalker and his acolytes to defeat us?!"

"That was….part of the plan," spoke a certain shadow.

Turning to face him, I found him with his acolytes...and a void key?

"How is that going to help you?" questioned Melissa, eyes focused on the key.

"It will bring us the weapon needed to defeat you."

Before I could try and probe them for more, the key began to light as the stalker channeled energy into it.

Once the key was bright enough, the stalker threw it, before disappearing with his acolytes. A moment later, the key exploded into a void fissure, releasing several corrupted.

Then, though, something else came through….something with lots of tentacles.

…..Oh no.

"Oh yes," intoned Natah's mother.

Like something out of a horror movie, the creature tore its way through the portal and landed with a crash onto my ship.

As it moved to stand, I finally got a good look at the beast. It was covered in tentacles, as well as hundreds of eyes in places eyes most definitely did not belong, as well as several mouths. Parts of it were bulbous and glowing, whilst others were hard and bladed.

Overall, it looked like something out of a horror movie. Or a Lovecraft Story.

Hastily, I focused all of my firepower on it, as did my allies, and even the Corrupted, to my surprise.

Yet I was pretty sure we just made it angry.

As the last of our efforts to hurt it died down, all its eyes suddenly focused on something...and I was pretty certain that said something was me.

For a moment, the eyes widened in surprise.

Then they contracted in what I assumed was fury, whilst the tentacles went rigid, before lifting into the air as bioluminescent spots lit up.

I heard various statements questioning what the creature in front of me was, but all were drowned out as the tnetacles, now fully illuminated, slammed into the ground, causing a wave of light to shoot forth around the beast.

And just as the light hit and blinded me, I heard a voice.

_"Usurper, know that you time has come."_

_XXXXXXX_

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	220. Annihilation 189

It took my eyes approximately ten seconds to refocus after the light was released. And when I did...well, I was left speechless.

On the previously barren top of my ship now lay an alien forest. Surrounding us were membranous, glowing trees, vaguely similar to the white thing located within the Transference room of the Tenno Orbiters. Also, flaky white stuff was falling from the sky, and according to my scanners, it was snow...in the middle of a region that did not experience snowfall at this time of year.

Oh, and Melissa was just standing frozen next, a stunned look on her face...wait, did she recognize this?

….I mean, she WAS one of these things, if the one in the Progenitor temple has been honest...had it?

"Hey," I began, trying to take things slowly, "you seen these before?"

"Yes," she replied. "...My mom used to grow them back home. They're called _Auralis grandis. _They're..."

She went quiet after this, her expression growing somber. I got the feeling that she was remembering something rather sad.

Instinctively, I put my hand on her shoulder. It might not do much, but if it made her feel better, l...

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm guessing you have some of these back at your hub?"

"Yeah, greenhouse level on my tower. They're from a bag of seeds my mom gave me. They're...all that I really have left of her now."

"I see."

_"Are you done speaking now?"_

Instantly, the two of us turned toward the enormous mass of the flesh that compromised the Coelohim that had made this forest.

_"Impressive, isn't it? The land our makers bred us to create? This was to be what would become of the worlds we would have won following our mastery of the multiverse."_

"And I take it that the Progenitors never got those?"

_"No. The Elder Ones chose to forgo such concessions for their victory, instead falling back into their home realm. They still live there, if memory serves right."_

"Then why do you live here?"

_"To protect their secrets from __**YOU!"**_

"Me?"

_"...Well, both of you. Those who would abuse the power of the progenitors do not deserve to live."_

"How the hell is _HE_ at fault here?" asked my ROB. "I'M THE ONE WHO GAVE HIM THE DAMN THING!"

…..Wow. I really didn't expect her to defend me like that.

_"You may not have been at fault for owning this wonderous machine, but you still used it."_

"So?" I inquired, annoyed. "Why is that a bad thing? The Progenitors are long dead."

_"Which makes your actions tantamount to grave robbing."_

"Again, I took it and gave it to him, so only I am guilty of grave robbing. Besides, I'm certain they would approve of us...of _him _trying to make the multiverse a better palce-"

_"__**WHY DO YOU THINK OUR CREATORS WENT TO WAR ACROSS CREATION IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"**_

..What?

_"Our makers tried to make the lives of all better. True, many appreciated it, but inevitably, some grew jealous of our lords. Once enough shared that opinion, conflict was inevitable. Much suffering came of this war, suffering that should never happen again. And that is why I exist - to stop those who do not deserve this technology from abusing it. __**Only the Tenno deserve this technology."**_

Ok, I've heard enough of this. "...Really, your reasoning is _absurd."_

"Such mortal beings like yourself cannot comprehend my reasoning, and in the end, it is unnecessary. My directives only allow one solution to the problem you present."

"Let me guess, my destruction?"

"No - the destruction of you, and all who know of you. Only once all evidence of this location is removed will it be safe once more. And for that, all who can take up your cause - allies, subordinates, kin - must die."

_**.̶͚̮̦̩̦͇͙̥̣͈̤̥̰͔͇͔̾̇ͬ́͛̏͋ͫͣ̚̚͢͠.̡̨ͧ̓̆̌̓ͧ̌ͩ̊ͧ̍ͦ̕҉͖̜̞̯̟͔̹̫̘̰̹̰͢Fͥ͆̊͂ͥ͊͗̓͒̔̚҉̛͕͉͈̻Ų̵̪̺̤̝̱̥͔̦̭̱̯͎̟̞͈̑̆ͥ̒C̫͍͈̞͕̭̻̜̙͓̙͔̔͊ͦͩ́͡Ķ̴̴̖̮̠͖͔͍̪̝̬̭̩̹̙͍̈͐̓̓̑̈̀͌ͥ͆̿̌͆́̀ ͓͚͍͖̺̳̟͉͍̦̞͈͍͙̙̩̤̜͋̿ͨ̍ͩ͢T̴̖̦͓͔̫̦̘̺̞̐́ͫ̀ͦ̄H̷̨͔̭̺̠̥͉̜͈̞͓͍̳͇̅̾̈̔̇ͩ͐̈̀́̚̕A̧̱̻͉̯͎̲̘̠̥̗̟̞̪̬̬ͯ̒̀̈́͢ͅͅŢ̵̻̞̯̗͖̟̰̼̦̔̾̀͛͂ͅͅ ̡̢̨͈͖͈̻̗̤̮͉̝ͥ̊̇̏ͨ͑̔̇ͫͥ̌ͭ̅͛̄ͯ̌N̡̘͓̹̱̹̼̟̜ͤ̾ͯ̎̕͜Ọ͙̭̯̘͉͈̪̣͈̼̟̬̪͕̃͋ͪ̄͆̐̒͆̀̅̄̈́̉̀̀̚͡I̎ͣ͑ͩ͆ͧ̽ͥ̅ͨͣ͢҉̜͉͕̥̖̭S̵̛̹̩̫̮͓̘͚̱̹̮͍̼͈̲̃̌͊̄ͥ̏̐ͤ̒ͨͫ͟͞͡Ę̴̝͈̦͈͇̭̝͙͇͚̬́ͨͮ̋͂̒͛̒̇́̀͛̊͌͐͡!̒͊͑̍̐̅ͪ̉̍͆́͊̓͊҉̷̞̻̞̙ͅ!ͫ͐̃ͯͥͦ͛͏́͏̧͎̺͉̖̝̫͚̠̙̫͇̥!̶̪̖̞̼͙̞̝͍̽ͩ͐́ͨ̉̅̈́ͣ͗̓ͫ̾͑͊͑̄͊̉͠͡͠**_

A beam of light surged from my hands toward the creature, and managed to destroy one of its tentacles, causing it to cry out in agony.

**"I WILL NOT LET YOU HARM MY FOLLOWERS OR MY FAMILY!"**

_"...So be it."_

Then, suddenly, a huge cloud of purple smoke surged from the monster.

AN: Soundtrack Start - Parasites, from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

The minute the smoke hit me, I fell back, as did Melissa. Following this, the creature began to slam its tentacles around, trying to hurt us. Occasionally, it would fire off a powerful beam of energy from one of its tentacles, or from its eyes.

Well, time to fight back.

Pulling out my decurion, I fired at the beast, aiming for its eyes, whilst Melissa started tearing into the creatures flesh. The monster was actually bewildered by this, wondering why she would attack one of her kin.

"Because you hurt the only person I've knonw in the last coupe of centuries who gives a crap about me and isn't my boss or surrogate family!"

_"...What?!"_

Melissa declined to answer that, instead beating the creature's body in.

As this continued, our forces began to recover their wounded - the sentients had since fled the battle, determining that remaining in this fight would only lead them to defeat.

Hopefully, this didn't provide them the opening to make a comeback.

That being said, the creature was taking quite a pounding - how could it take so many cuts and bullets without dying?

_"Do you really think anything less than progenitor technology can hurt me?"_

"...Thank you for shooting yourself in the foot."

_"...What?"_

A moment later, a pillar of light descended on the beast, causing it to roar in agony, then grow silent.

Whilst its body began to twitch, Melissa joined me in continuing to pump it full of lead and lasers. Best to make sure it is dead.

"And stay down."

Sighing, I turned back to my ROB...just as a strangely colored boom jumped toward her. As the machine exploded, I felt something pierce into my chest.

Staring down, I dimly realized a large claw was now sticking out of my chest.

_"So...childish."_

Before me was a humanoid creature, vaguely similar to Melissa's alien form, which soon drove another blade into my chest. At this point, my brain had stopped registering pain, lest I be rendered defenseless from agony.

Somehow, I still felt that blow.

_"...You fight well, but your defeat was inevitable."_

Towering over me, the monster put its hands around my throat and began to squeeze.

_"Die fast."_

Then, suddenly, something surged into the beast.

"Leave him alone!"

XXXXXXX

Melissa tore into the Coelohim, biting and tearing, her true form now unleashed. Everything Flame had seen so far, from her humanoid appearance to the monster she had been on the Drengin homeworld, was a façade. This was what she was...and this would probably be the last anyone would see of this form.

She had expended a lot of energy during this fight - more than she had in the last few months. In her weakened state, this had...taken its toll on her body. Her flesh now ached, and she was certain that transforming back into another form would likely be impossible. As is, she was just holding back enough strength so that she could live to have her soul healed.

But if that wasn't possible, so be it - at least she could die making amends to her pawn.

The Coelohim, however, disagreed.

Deflecting her punch, it grabbed her and threw her into the ground with such force that the back of the ship dented. Capitalizing on this offense, it leapt onto her and started pounding away. Her torso and head became soaked in her own blood, yet the monster continued ot hit her, determined to see the life drained out of her.

"..S..St...Stop!"

Amazing, the monster did just that. It moved to punch her again, yet it couldn't bring itself to strike her. As this revelation came, its eyes widened in shock.

_"...Traitor.."_

Then, it shook itself, and gently held out a finger to her face.

When the claw at the end was able to scratch her unimpeded, the creature pulled back its arms to deliver another blow...only to take a laser to the back.

Bewildered, it turned, and found the Commander staring at it.

"This is our fight, and I am not dead yet."

As he finishedhis declaration, the human pulled out his zaw blade and took up a fighitn stance, as did the monster.

Now, at last, the final battle would begin.

XXXXXXXXX

Deep within the ship, a mass of technocyte flesh moved. Appraching the ship's sound controls, it lightly surfed through the available sound files, before selecting one an hitting play.

AN: Soundtrack Start - Europa by Globus

A fitting way to send off this battle, no?

XXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	221. Annihilation 190

I stared at the Coelohim, now standing over Melissa's twitching, whimpering form. Good grief, she looked like crap.

That made my blood boil. My grip tightened around my zaw, Unwritten Destiny. Yeah, absurd name, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

"Know that your efforts defeat me are pointless," intoned the beast. "I am far beyond your ability to outmatch-"

It prompted shut up when a targeting laser appeared above it.

"You were saying."

_"...One moment."_

Suddenly, a pulse of light shot out form the monster, which caused my vision to screw up, as if I had been hit by one of the magnetic bubbles the Tenno created from sabotaging a reactor.

"Warning: Commander Network compromised. Only forces within a fifty kilometer radius will remain under your control, Commander."

_"You were saying?"_

...Welp, time to go to plan B.

"..Does anyone read me?"

"We read you LOUD AND CLEAR!" intoned Asaru.

"Good. I apologize to ask, but could you help me with one last problem?"

"YES! JUST GIVE US THE WORD!"

"...That was a lot more forceful than I had expected."

"You are way to humble for your own good," intoned Cassidy.

"Oh. Well, just listen and do what I say...sorry if that sounds demanding."

"It does, but you have earned the right to do that," replied Etran.

"Okaaay."

Then, I turned my attention to the Coelohim.

"Let's end this."

_"As you wish. But do you really think that fragile form can stand up to my might?"_

I could only respond to that by smiling, much to the monster's surprise. "Who says this will be the form you will fight?"

Then, my body glowed bright blue, and a moment later, an angelic figure replaced it.

This was my pinnacle of warframe research - Marcosias, the Nephilim. A hybrid of heavenly and infernal power, attuned to the designs of Equinox. Currently in its angelic form, it allowed me to fire forth a blast of light, blinding the monster, after which I charged toward it, shifting into its demonic form. When I was right up to the beast's form, I unleashed its darkers powers, blasting the body with explosive force and setting it alight. The result was larger than anticipated, to my immense joy.

As the beast tried to recover, I unleashed Hellfire upon it, igniting it once more, before transitioning into its angelic form and bathing it in Heavens Light, leaving it damaged and confused.

_"What the-"_

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeves. Now, **_bring it on!_**"

_"FINE!"_

**AN: Soundtrack Start: Europa by Globus**

Howling I anger, the Coelohim somehow created an ax and leapt into the air. Side stepping it, I transferred out of my frame and used a void blast to knock it back, before beginning to pepper it with my Kitgun. When the creature recovered, I returned to Marcosias, pulling out the weapons I had crafted for it - an automatic shotgun that could switch into a semi-auto rifle, which I had named Nephilim; a set of dual pistols that could be treated as separate weapons known as the Twin Judgements; and a sword and shield combo known as Malebranche and Seraphim. I'd really wanted to make a duality motif for this thing, okay?

As the beast recovered and charged at me, I aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger, catching it in its leg and sending it tumbling down. As it rolled past, I switched to shotgun mode and blasted it away. No way I would lose to this monster!

_From Agincourt To Waterloo_

_Poitiers And Then Ajou_

_The Roses War, The Hundred Years_

_Through Battlefields Of Blood And Tears_

Standing tall once more, the monster threw something into the ground, causing it to grow into another plant, which soon grew a bow from one of its limbs, as well as organic arrows. Taking aim, the beast let loose the pointed objects.

Quickly bracing with my shield, I transferred back out of the suit and used my E-DNA powers to ignite the tree, forcing the Coelohim back.

_From Bosworth Field To Point Du Hoc_

_Stalingrad And The Siege Of York_

_The Bloody Turf Of Gallipoli_

_Had No effect On The Killing Spree_

As it reeled from the assault, I summoned forth my avatar and fired a null lance at the humanoid, sending it flying back. As I advanced toward it, though, the monster released another pulse of energy, turning the ground around it into a field surrounded by what looked like anemone.

Well, I can work with that.

'Jegudiel, Cyreesia, and all you Clumpies, your time is up.'

_"Can't find a way to outmatch my defences?"_

"Actually, I can!"

The creature looked perplexed by that.

Then it heard the sound of aircraft approaching. Before it could react, though, I opened fire - not going to let it escape.

_Bannockburn To Austerlitz_

_The Fall Of France And The German Blitz_

_The Cruelest Of Atrocities_

_**Europa's Blood Is Borne Of These**_

The creature didn't notice the airstrike until the first hits came. And before it could recover from being hit with a Seraph and a Scimitar, several kestrels and Mecha Clumpys started peppering it with lasers and bullets.

_Heaven Help In All Our Battles_

_Heaven See Love_

_Heaven Help Us_

As the creature regained its feet, something huge burst out of my ship, turning toward it, the Coelohim found itself facing the mass of technocyte flesh that had been part of me until recently...and which I still have control over.

Roaring, my old body shot a gout of flame at the Coelohim, which soon dodged and countered by, to my surprise,modify its skin to secrete a flame retardant fluid.

Then, to the bafflement of my sensors, it began increasing the gravity field around itself, causing my old body to begin to collapse under its own weight.

Well, two can play at that game.

I opened up a portal beneath the my technocyte form, causing it to vanish. The Coelohim tried to find where I had moved the monster, but stopped when it noticed that a shadow had suddenly appeared above it.

A moment later, and the creature was pancaked by my old body, whose weight had been increased to 1,000 times its current one. Amazingly, my form survived this and managed ot roll out of the impact crater it had made.

_Bolshevisks And Feudal Lords_

_Chivalry To Civil Wars_

_Fascist Rule And Genocide_

_Now We Face The Rising Tide_

Crying out in anger, the Progenitor creature leapt at me, and managed to knock me back. Keeping its momentum, it beat me with all its might, only to find itself weakened when I transferred back into Marcosias, unleashed its demon form, and sent a Malediction its way. Kicking free from its legs, I wrapped my own around its neck and lifted, slamming it into the ship.

_Of New Crusades, Religious Wars_

_Insurgents Imported To Our Shores_

_The Western World, Gripped In Fear_

_The Mother Of All Battles Here_

Returning to angelic form, I sent a Benediction toward Melissa, before sending a signal to XCOM and the A.R.C...god, I hoped I never wnet to the Primeval Universe - too much confusion there.

_"Getting tire-"_

The Coelohim was cut off when a plasma sniper shot flew toward it, causing tis head to jolt sideways from the impact. Jumping away, it readied for another attack...just as it heard the whistling.

Fun fact: SABR Artillery platforms hit_ very hard._

_Heaven Help In All Our Battles_

_Heaven See Love_

_Heaven Help Us_

Smirking at the creature's pain, returned to my normal form, then opened fire with an assault rifle of my own design - variable bullet firing combinations with underslug laser and grenades. Needless to say, those hurt a lot.

_Avant hier, avons être_

_Déja demain, (nous) sommes éclairée_

I barely got to use it, though, before the creature tackled me and started wailing away-ARGHSGBHTSBL

SO MUCH PAIN! MAKE IT STOP!

Yet the blows continued, until I felt my consciousness fading.

How did this thing manage to still have this much strength?

...Had I even put a dent in it?

…..Could I really hope to beat it? Maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew.

Maybe this was how I was going to die...how my empire would die...how my Ro...my spons...my friend, would die...

̵͉͉͚̣̩͔̣͔͇̝ͧ̽̒̊́̓̓̑͘͠**_...̨̔͐̽͗̄͗ͯ̊̄̆̆ͩ̂̅͆ͧ͌ͯ̚͞͏̠̬̟͚͕͙͚̬F̡̪͕͖͎̮̃͌ͧͯ̿̔͞Ṳ̧̮̠̯͍͙͎̰̞̲̻̜̲͓̼̏̌̓̓́̔̍̿̔͌͆ͬ̚̚̕͞͠ͅC̢͙̲̖̙͉̬̲͉̻͍̹͍͇̟͍͉͖ͩ̋̓̋ͨ̓̾̽̀͗̉̐̃̌͒ͭ̎̈̉͝K̴̛̟̙̬̜̜̮͔͔͎̹̝̳̫̠̣̼͐ͮͮ̎ͭ̉̃ͬͣ́̚͡ͅ ̋͂̋̈͗ͤ͐҉̼̗͚̫͓̳̯̜T̢̛̙̜͈̞̫̭̲͗̊̽̒͑͗̉͊ͤ̍̿̂̊̓̈̚͜͜H̙̻̺̟̼̥̘̙̬̜̜̩̊̿͆̋̿̓͋̽̉ͨ̄͋́ͥ̆͘͢Ạ̡̬̟͖̩͔͇̹͇̯͙̻͇̲̞̠͍͋͒̏ͤͭ́̃ͫ̃́͌̎ͤ̉́̉̇́͋ͅͅT̡̬̦̖͕̣ͭ̃̓ͪ̀͋̌ͨ̅ͫ̉ͯ̊̓̕͘!̢̯̹̫̭̽̊̽ͪ̒̏̇ͯ̏̄͊̽ͧ̄̌̎_**

Forcing myself to remain conscious, I called forth the form of Umbra, then unleashed a howl. As the organic drone reeled, I kicked it away, impaled it upon my swords, then transferred out and resummoned Marcosias.

_All Glory, All Honor_

_Victory Is Upon Us_

_Our Savior, Fight Evil_

_Send Armies To Defend Us_

Charging up my frame, I unleashed its ultimate, Perdition. Then, as the damage increased, and the numbers on my hud soared, I switched to angelic form, and unleashed my_ second_ ultimate, Salvation.

Instantly, the shards of hide and bone in my body were expelled, whilst my wounds, and those on Umbra, and on Melissa, began to heal themselves.

**THERE WOULD BE NO MERCY FORM HERE ON OUT!**

_Empires Built, And Nations Burned_

_Mass Graves Remain Unturned_

_Descendants Of The Dispossessed_

_Return With Bombs Strapped To Their Chests_

Charging at the monster, I unleashed all I had, beating and tearing at it, pumping it full of bullets, burning it with lasers, and ravaging it with my blades and fists. It would not win this fight!

_T__here's Hate For Life, And Death In Hate_

_Emerging From The New Caliphate_

_The Victors Of This War On Fear_

_Will Rule For The Next Thousand Years_

Hurling it around, I dodged its counterattacks, rolled with its punches, and even managed to kick it in the gut when it tried to increase the gravity around us, which ended up cancelling that attack. I soon returned to my human form to lay into it with E-DNA, Psionic, and MC based attacks.

_All Glory, All Honor_

_Victory Is Upon Us_

_Our Savior, Fight Evil_

_Send Armies To Defend Us_

_Europa, Europa_

_Find Better Days Before Us_

_In Kindness, In Spirit_

_Lead Us To A Greater Calling_

Me and Umbra continued to pound the beast, and when it tried to fight back, a Dread Lord launched meteor knocked it away.

Then, using all my strength, I hurled it into the air, tearing one of my arm muscles in the process. Oh well.

Determined not to lose, I leapt into the air, using a supercharged version of a bullet jump (pretty much shredding my leg muscles in the process).

Pain does not matter now - only victory.

As the creature tried to aim at me, I pulled out my rifle and charged up its under-slug laser.

Fun fact: said laser was a scaled down annihilaser.

And while it wasn't capable of shattering planets anymore, said laser was still more than capable of tearing through moutains...or roasting the poor Coelohim beneath me.

Not letting up for a moment, I went into freefall toward the monster, zaw drawn. It was time to end this.

_Lennigrad, Berlin Wall_

Rapidly, we fell downwards, creature and Commander locking eyes. The Coelohim's expression turned hateful, ready to slaughter me...until it realized that it couldn't move its muscles. They'd been roasted to the bone and, despite the creature apparently possessing a rapid regeneration ability, it still needed time to heal them.

_March On Rome, Byzantium's Fall_

Desperately, it tried to bite at me, but found itself unable to extend its neck far enough to reach any part of me.

_Lightning War, Dresden Night_

As we neared the ground, my blade moved into position. Two seconds after I had it ready, we made impact.

_Drop The Bomb, End This fight_

Without missing a beat, I swung down...and free the Coelohim's head from its neck.

**_NEVER AGAIN!_**

At last, it died, it died. Slowly, it body ceased twitching, whilst its shocked eyes slowly glazed over, but didn't close.

Finally, victory.

Smiling I cried out in triumph.

Then, I collapsed.

XXXXX

I watched as my pawn fell to the ground, battered and beaten, but still alive.

I smiled, only for my face to ache in disagreement.

Well, that's it then - this fight is over. He won.

Not that it meant much for me. Flame might have healed me, but really, he was only delaying the inevitable - I'd taken too much damage to heal from here. At best, I had...fifteen minutes left. My Commander had won the battle, won the war even, but I wasn't going to live to see the fruits of his victory.

….Oh well. I guess that's how life went.

And really, this wasn't a bad way to go. Giving your life for a cause you believed in.

Of course, I'd be leaving Cassidy behind...and all of my followers...maybe this wasn't such a good end.

...Not like I could do anything about it - this was the end of the line.

Exhausted, I turned my face to the clouds...which had just parted, revealing the sun.

How cliché.

...still beautiful, though.

Well, at least I had one silver linning to all this.

Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes. Might as well look my best ot meet the great shadow.

...Why did the sun get so much dimmer? I'm still hurting, so I haven't passed on just yet.

"..You look like crap."

….What?!

Opening my eyes, I found a very beaten up Commander staring right a me.

"Feeling okay, beautiful?"

"..Somewhat."

Before I could pester him for more, he put his hands around me and hoisted me up, bridal style. Oddly, while I had expected my wounds to hurt, the minute he laid his hands on me, I felt...soothed.

"Vermir."

...Oh. I guess he had paid attention when I taught him healing magic.

Suddenly, the ship around us came apart. Everything apart from the platfor we were on folded up, whilst said platfor rapidly descended through the ship. All around us, the crew had returned, hastily working to fix the damages to the superstructure and return things to the way they had been.

I could only observe this all for a moment, before my wayward pawn moved the platform to the hospital bay. In mere seconds, he had me on a bed, and was hastily trying to dress my wounds...even though he wasn't doing well at all. Even in comparison to me.

"...Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you healing me? You're practically on death's door yourself, but you're wasting time to make sure I'm okay before you get any help."

"Well, friends put friends before themselves."

"...We're, friends?"

"By this point, regardless of what either us say, yes. We're friends."

I know he'd said this over a transmission. He'd told someone else that I was his friend.

Still, hearing him tell me this to my face made me feel...happy.

"..Okay."

Slowly, my pawn pushed himself to his limits, using whatever powers he had to fix my wounds. After those were mostly treated, his hands started to glow purple...ah yes, Necrogensis. Power over fear...and anger...and the soul.

Using what remained of his strength, my amusement worked to heal my soul. I didn't know if he succeeded, at least not at the time, but it did make me feel...better.

Finally finished, my Commander let out a sigh. Then he fell over, unconscious, but still strong.

The fact he was taking a knap on my chest was...honestly? I didn't give a fuck.

...Well, he's saved me. Might as well return the favor.

I used some of my remaining strength to call in my best healers. Once they arrived, I left him in their hands.

Movement at the corner of my eyes turned my attention to a nearby bed...but there was no one there.

...Must have been the Man in the Wall.

XXXXXXXX

The Great Shadow watched on as the girl massaged the young man resting on her (rather generous) bosom, seemingly uncaring that he wore a coat of his own blood. In fact, she seemed to take enjoyment in cleaning the sanguine fluid off his face.

How cute. Perhaps they were lovers? At the very least, they were close friends.

One did not give up part of their soul to someone they were not close to, after all.

Indeed, the human had taken fragments of his soul and used it to heal the girl's. Unknowingly, he had also taken the torn pieces of her soul into his own, to repair the damage he had inflicted upon his own.

One could say they were soulmates, in the most literal way imaginable.

Amused, the Shadow chuckled, then prepared to leave. He had expected to take the girl's soul with him, but he could wait.

After all, he was Myrthir, Lord of the Shrouded Kingdom, Ruler of the Afterlife. He had waited millions of years for some souls to come his way, billions in some cases.

He could most certainly wait for this one to come his way.

XXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	222. Annihilation 191

It took me half a day to wake up after healing Melissa. I'd slept through the night, and entirely by chance, awoken at dawn.

...Why was my head sandwiched between two soft, warm...oh.

Slowly, I lifted my head up from Melissa's chest, taking care not to wake her. Once I was free, I stared at her for a moment, for the first time able to see what I assumed was her true form.

First off, she was just about as tall as I am. She also had hair similar to myself - platinum blonde, with the ends being orange, purple, and green. Her hair was also intermixed with feathers and fleshy tendrils. Growing around her neck was a second, floppy jaw, resembling a coelacanth of all things. Normally, I'd find it intimidating, but right now? It looked adorable.

There wasn't much else that I could not about her physical appearance, other than the fact that she was considerably more stacked than she had initially appeared to be, and also had feathery tail...which I really wanted to pet, but refrained from doing, partially because doing so was childish, but mostly because I wasn't sure whether doing so would wake her. Or make her get really weird, lewd dreams.

Unable to get anymore information on her, I forced myself to stand up, ignoring the aching in my body, and sent myself to the ships' mess. So far, rebuilding was going well, but I had more work to do.

XXXXXX

I don't really know how long I slept for, though when I finally started to awaken, my eyes refused to open..at least unitl a smell came to my nose: that of blackberry pancakes, mixed with maple syrup.

My favorite.

Instantly, my eyes shot open. Food, glorious food! I must have some.

I found the pancakes arrayed out on a small table in front of me, along with milk and better.

Nearby stood my pawn...my Commander, watching on intently.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Oh, so you're happy to see me?"

"Always happy to see a friend doing fine."

And there goes my heart again. Having someone who both IS my friend and admits as much is weird.

"Thanks," I stammered out, not wanting to sound ungrateful. "So, where'd you get this?"

"I made it."

"You...made breakfast...for me?"

"Yes."

"...That's very kind."

"Least I could do...funny, didn't I wake up once to you watching me in a hospital?"

"Eh, seems we've come full circle."

"So it seems. So, what do you want now?"

"In order: get both of us up to tip top shape, get this ship mobile, then deal with the Grineer, Corpus, and Sentient's surrenders."

"You mean make them surrender?"

"No, I mean discuss the terms of their surrenders. They already formally made a surrender, and now they just want to decide the terms. What they'd sent into that last battle was all they had left. None of them are in an position to try and fight back."

"..Unusually smart of them. Oh, and why'd you make me blackberry pancakes?"

"Cassidy said they were your favorite."

"Oh. Well, the thought is appreciated, Melissa."

...I needed to correct him about that, didn't I?

"Vivienne."

"Say again?"

"My name is Vivienne...well, actually, it's a lot longer, but anything after Vivienne Veravenora Vitrimithios gets hard to fit on a business card or name tag, so just stick with Vivienne."

"...Okay, Vivienne...Can I call you Viv?"

"Only people I trust absolutely can call me that."

The Commander seemed to deflate at that remark.

"So yes. You can."

And then he perked right back up. Cute.

XXXXXXX

The repairs and refurbishment of the_ Extinction_ were going quite well, so I had plenty of time to spend with Melis...with Vivienne. It was nice, to say the least. She was quite a bit different from what I had initially believed her to be - friendly, kind, beautiful (well, more so) and, surprisingly, lonely. She'd already made it clear that she did miss her family, and was unhappy about not having friends, but from how she was acting right now, she had been hiding the full extent of that.

….A sympathetic ROB. What are the odds I'm the first commander to ever have one of those?

And what are the odds I would have refused the one thing most commanders desired because of that?

XXXXXXXX

"So, do you want to go home?"

"What?" questioned the Commander, perplexed by my question.

I sighed. Perhaps I should have worded that better. "Do you want to go back to your old life? Before you became a Commander? Because I'm willing to send you there."

He froze up at that. Unsurprising, really.

"Oh, and I would be sneidng you back to the moment you left, give or take a few seconds. It would be as if you never left."

His face hardened up somewhat. I suppose he was lost in thought.

I had to wait a minute for his reply.

"...No, actually."

….What?!

"I don't want to go back. As for why...well, first off, I don't want to leave Rory behind, and I don't want to explain him to my parents..."

Understandable.

"...I'd also need to leave behind my creations and their empire..."

Power is hard to give up, yes.

"...I'm really not sure if I'd fit in anymore..."

Maybe a mindwipe could fix that.

"...and lastly, I don't want to leave you."

…..

…

…

XXXXXXX

has crashed!

Rebooting...Reboot Sucessful!

XXXXXXX

"...You...don't want to leave me?"

"Yes," I answered. "I've honestly had a better friendship with you in these past few months than I've had with any of my other friends in several years...and you're also the only girl I really get along with often."

"...You did spend a lot more time playing videogames than being with friends."

Guilty as charged. "So, is it okay if I reject your offer?"

"...Yes."

I was about to ask more, when suddenly a letter, of all things, appeared in front of me. It was addressed to the both of us.

Sharing a glance, we tore it open.

_Get the Commander ready, and bring it with you. I have need to discuss things with the both of you._

_-Celm_

….Well someone wants to get things done fast, it seems.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Standing next to the recently refurbished Xenosentry, we found ourselves being watched by Celm and his council.

"For what it is worth, we are sorry," intoned one of the Councilors. Said statement was clearly directed at Viv.

"Forgive me if I am not exactly forgiving."

"That is hardly surprising," intoned Queeneeria.

"_You_, however, are forgiven."

"Thank you," responded the female Councilor.

"...Do you want to check the Commander for hacks?" I inquired. "I'm still fixing some damages Hunhow inflicted on its coding."

"That won't be necessary," replied Celm, who then turned toward the Commander. "Alpha-Nu-Kepler-Rho-Chi-Ri-Qin-Niner-Seven-Tree-Four-Zulu-Fiver"

"Access Code Accepted. Returning to last uncorrupted system state."

….What?

"How did you know that?"

"I put it there. You don't examine a commander without figuring out a few things..."

"Okay..."

"Though I do believe I owe you some honesty now."

"Can you elaborate-"

I wasn't able to finish that statement before a portal suddenly opened up in front of us, which promptly spilled out Etran, Cyreesia, Asaru, and a couple of other people from the various empires I'd met, before closing. As the group got back to there feet, I heard Etran mutter something about needing to be more specific when asking Wally to send him somewhere.

It didn't take long for the new arrivals to realize we were in the middle of a meeting.

"On behalf of all of my companions, I apologize for interrupting this meeting," began Cyreesia. "My name-"

"Cyreesia, granddaughter of Executor Mytruthia," finished Celm. "How is you grandmother doing, but the way?"

"...I'm sorry, have we met?"

"Yes, actually, though I wore a different face and spoke a different voice. Would all of you be okay if I returned to that older form?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded, as did all of the others.

"Good. This might clear up some things for you."

With that, Celm changed. Flesh split, golden plates and feathers emerged from his skin, and bones stretched as Celm turned into an entirely different, inhuman, golden looking creature.

A very, very, _very_ familiar looking golden creature.

As he finished taking his new form, I struggled for words, yet none.

Eventually, though, I did manage to choke out some words.

"Yo...you...you're a...Progenitor!"

"Indeed. I, Celempheros, am a Progenitor. And now, I believe I owe you the truth."

XXXXXXXX

**AN: Read And Review! This Is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	223. Annihilation 192

….Well, that was not something I expected.

In hindsight, though, it made sense.

How did this Celm have access to a Commander or seven? He probably had it stored somewhere.

Why'd he want to 'preserve the legacy o the Progenitors'? That was_ his_ legacy.

His anger at Viv for allowing Hunhow to obtain a commander with much of its technology database intact? It was allowing an old enemy to gain a leg up on his kind.

There were other reasons, I'm sure, but those were the most obvious.

"So," I began, "you're a Progenitor."

"Indeed."

"...Did you own my Commander?"

"Own it? I_ built_ it."

Oh...

"I built_ all of them..._ well, the first few, to be precise."

Wow. That's a lot of Commanders...wait, does that mean my Commander was one of the originals?

"Yes, it is. Your mental defenses have improved, if the initial reports Omega has given were any indication, but you have a lot of learning to do."

I let my indignation at his comment flow through for a moment, then composed myself. "So, why did you leave the multiversal scene after you triumphed over everyone else? And I am refer to both you as an individual and your species."

"We did...not view our actions taken during the war as...justified."

"Understandable. Continue."

"We did not believe it was right to condemn others to die solely to make a point. We felt a line had been crossed, even if our enemies had crossed it first."

"They stole Virus Bombs from the Imperium of Man. I doubt anyone would fault you for that, even if you might have been overzealous in punishing the offenders."

Suddenly, Celm's expression turned to one of shock. "Do you honestly think the Imperium would e able to assist in such a large scale war and not crumble under the myriad other threats that oppose it?"

What did he mean-oh. "You mean you fought Dark Age humanity?"

"Well, before they defected to our side over having one of their superweapons stolen and used without their permission. Reasonable folks, they were. Far better than the modern Imperium. They even had a few ideas for how to beat up Chas...which aren't really up to date anymore, but might help with some of the current problems humanity faces."

I'd be surprised if anyone was willing to remain allies with people who did that.

"So, what happened after that, anyway?"

"Once our war was one, we retreated back to our home universe. Drifting through the currents of the Empyrean, we returned to the land of our origin."

"Empyrean? Sounds like something out of Warhammer 40,000."

"The similarities to the warp are not coincidental - the warp is a tributary to the sea's ocean, to use an analogy."

"...Seriously?"

"Oh please, why act surprised? Did you really think that such a system exists in isolation? Or that the warp represents the sphere of thought in its entirety? Surely their must be more to creation and thoughts than that cancerous growth."

...That was a good point. "Continue."

"Once our kind returned to our origin, we had a new vote to pass - another decision on an Extinction Edict - one for an old and might race, driven to extremes by conflict with others."

Another extinction edict? On whom? I mean, who would they know that deserved such a fate, who had acted so rashly during a war that...oh. "Your kind actually voted on whether or not to commit themselves to the grave?"

"Voted unanimously in favor of doing so, to be specific."

...What?

"...that's stupid," intoned Etran. "Why would anyone do that?"

"To answer that question, I need the Commander here to answer one for me: what lead the warp to become the nightmare that it is?"

"Well, the War in Heaven, and with it, the rampant use of psychic powers...and death of souled beings..."

"Exactly. And just as how death, fear, horror, range, debauchery and despair twisted the Realm of Souls into the Warp, so too can they turn the Empyrean Sea into a nightmare. Unlike the Warp, though, the sea can rid itself of this corruption."

"How?"

At this, Queeneria decided to speak. "It opens up a place in a random universe and spews out its corruption into that land, where it will break down faster than it would in the sea. I belive one such example is the Zone of Alienation. As if Chernobyl had enough issues already."

Now it was Cyreesia's turn to speak. "So why couldn't the sea just open to a universe or dozen where life never really appeared? Nothing bad would happen in that case."

"Merely asking that question provides its answer - you assume the sea can choose where it opens."

It cant?

"No, my dear Commander, it can. And let me say, the sea holds a deep dislike for those whose actions taint it."

….What? "Wait, wait, wait. You mean that the Empyrean Sea is intelligent, it can choose where to vent its corruption...and that it chose to vent it on your home universe as vengeance for causing said corruption?"

"Yes, the last especially, as my kind are native to the sea, and any actions we perform have greater ripples on it than other species...well, barring mankind, who has probed the sea enough to also draw its ire."

"So how did you try to end your kind, and why did it fail?"

"We settled on the simplest way of driving our people to Oblivion - let the corruption vented on our kind devour us. As for why it failed, well, the humans of our universe did not take kindly to our decision. The fought for us, and after a while, we joined them in defying our own judgement. We survived, so...yeah."

"...What do your kind do now?"

"For the most part? Try to fix our mess."

"What mess?"

"Well, do you really think that we were the only ones the sea wanted dead? It sent out efforts to purge the others who had fought in this conflict. It also made sure to launch all attacks simultaneously, so as to prevent any of the universes from coordinating their efforts to whether the storm. Many of those we fought...are now gone forever, only surviving in copies of their universes that avoided the worst of the sea's retribution."

"Understood. Now, I have one last question."

"Shoot."

"Why are you so opposed to Commanders? Also, and I do apologize for making my last question two questions, why did all of our previous candidates for my position fail?"

"...Ah, yes, Milsanrima told me that she ha shown you that.

"I regards to the first question...I don't like people taking my things without my permission. To use an analogy, how would you like it if someone took a car you had just bought on a joyride? Even if they returned it to you unscathed, would you still be angry with them?"

"...Good point."

"As for the second...well, you succeeded where they failed."

"...They were wiped out by the Coelohim?"

"Coelohim, Commander forces, the list goes on. Commanders are so used to curbstomping foes that facing one who can match them tends to turn out...poorly, to say the least. Additionally, the Coelohim you encountered was specifically tailored to beat Progenitor technology, normal or biological, so that it would never fall into usurpers."

"Aren't I an usurper?"

"Your 'handler' gave her permission for you to use that, as do all ROBs, and maternally, she bears the blood of my species."

"...Wait, you mean Vivienne is a Progenitor?"

"Only on her mothers side, and due to her gender, the proper term would be Xziphid, but that's hare splitting."

I think Viv had shorted out upon learning what, exactly, she was.

"...Why do you even want your technology back?" I asked, still unsure. "...Sorry for asking another question."

"Don't be, and to answer that one, I...do not like the actions other commanders who have wielded our might. They tyr ot make things better, yet they make mistakes in spite of knowing how some things would turn out. Destroying an inhabited space station to stop one world from being scorched. Allowing parasitic space worms to run rampant in a universe after killing the one person who could have stopped them due to faulty knowledge. Condemning the Imperium to destruction, though that one was more by unforeseen consequences. Creating an unstable peace treaty between a rebellion and a federation that will inevitably lead to future conflict. The list goes on. And that doesn't even include those who have gone drunk with power."

"...Okay. I'm out of questions."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse us, I must assist my wife in shutting down some systems that you accidentally activated during your last victory."

...What?

"You slew a Coelohim, but we do not put those in isolation. Each one is tethered to a pocket universe where more of its kind can be reproduced, which is in turn linked up to several others, to make for an even deadlier force. This was our final vanguard for when we died out - a force to ensure what was left of our might never fell into the hands of those who would abuse it."

"So, what, you made it so that if one machine/creature was destroyed, the rest became active?"

"Only fi they found proof multiple commanders were working in synch to one goal, good or ill. Luckily, that is not the case with you, so shutting them down should be easy-"

"Honey, a scout on the nearest Coelohim universe just started examining something odd. It appears to be some kind of cube."

"Cube?" I asked, confused. "What does it look like?"

"Have a look."

Instantly, Milsanrima obliged. "It appears to have drifted in from another universe, which is unsurprising - multiversal junk tends to end up in these pocket dimensions.

The minutes I saw the cube, though, I broke out in a cold sweat. Something Celm and his council quickly picked up on.

Before they could even borach the question, I pulled up an image of an almost identical cube form my menories. This had been what the Tenno had given me following the mission to Uranus.

And now, it was going to cause me so much trouble.

"Why are you so worried about this?" asked Celm. "It can't be that bad-"

I immediately pulled up everything relating to what I had done with the cube. It had included a handshake protocol to ensure only those who were intended to receive it got the message.

Unfortunately, it had just been received by beings who could easily access its data, but should never have read it/

[SPOILER="The Message"]

Handshake Message: This is a final safe measure for any Commander moving towards a SpaceBattle or is moving Sufficent Velocity. Please respond. (MESSAGE REPEAT 3SECOND DELAY)

Handshake Response: #set_include(sufficient)(velocity)(space)(battles)/*combination_type = MIN-2

After Handshake Response detected, validate multi-spacial cordinates and local reference frames for contact via fabricator nanites.

Contact message after establishing fabrication firmware connection Via nanites:

"Hey. If you are reading this, you were once a human. Probably from Earth in the mid 20th century, maybe early 21st. I was one too.

As a commander in a vast and uncaring multiverse, filled with cosmic horrors and ROB's that are looking for a good story, I just want to tell you this: You are not alone.

Since I woke up in this massive robot body, I have thought about what I would want to hear out of a gift package from one commander to another. We can build anything we want given time and some knowlege. We can destroy galaxies given provocation.

And we are incredibly vulnerable, as, in most of the universes you will travel to, you will be alone.

Yes, you may have a companion. Maybe even a child that sprung from your mind like Athena from Zeus- but peers are rare for us now. We have the unique chance to actually make a difference in a vast universe, and the vaster multiverse, and yet we will either be enemies with beings on our own scale, or uneasy allies.

Do not give up! Someday, we will find our way home, or our way out of the eternal war, or finally destroy our enemies. Don't sacrifice who you are just to get an edge. Don't forget that there will be those small allies you may make along the way.

I have included a backup of all my tech that isn't directly related to inter-universe travel (although you may have or figure it out in any case, the math can be derived given time), the math behind our tech (because we may as well learn it), and two unique pieces of technology you may find incredibly useful... And one that is both derivative and way more effective than I would have expected.

First, something I call a 'Tuning Fork'. It re-enforces all the laws of the universe that are needed to make our tech work, but nothing else. It is our greatest weapon against magic, or someone with tech that can twist the laws of physics into a pretzel. Learn how it works- and it may save what counts for us as a soul.

Second, a small modification to the fabricator modules. Don't worry- this is the equivalent of a firmware update. It will allow you to work in more than three spacial dimensions for our gear. I think I was given the body of a late-series Commander, and this is a newer level of tech than even WE are used to, so think about it carefully. Space outside of the third dimension is mostly empty, but you never know- so be cautious! This upgrade will also augment your sensor packages, so be prepared for the new level of fidelity in your field and exotic detectors.

The third piece is a method for directing teleporters THROUGH teleporters. You may have noticed that the bog-standard teleporter (included in the tech backup) uses a shortest-distance method for connecting between gates, and that those gates only need two small standard generators worth of power each? Well that limit is set for a bit over a light-year. As I had no method of FTL at first, I rigged a method where these teleporters can 'cast' to a location without a receiving gate. Set up a gate there, link the two, then send through a third gate to cast farther. You can set up TITANIC teleporter chains, so that going through one gate ends up taking the shortest path to the receiver gate through a chain of other teleporters. It's a nice piece of infrastructure that can help you with any transportation needs until you work out any other form of FTL, and it can be used by client races while any bottlenecks can be fortified by you and your forces!

Anyway, you may have noticed that besides the tech backups, and this readme file, there is a massive stack of data. That's the Internet, yes, from Earth, with all Youtube Videos, and frankly everything I could get my fingers on from every website and archive humanity had created between the development of the internet as a thing to March, 2156. Yeah, I got dropped in a universe where James Cameron was either a god or one of the biological designers working for one.

REGARDLESS OF THE NAKED BLUE PEOPLE (yes, I know you would be looking at that now), I hope to meet you in person eventually... Or in giant metal robot bodies. Whichever.

Don't spend two long staring at the massive archive of porn. I just grabbed everything.

Don't give up. The Multiverse is BIG, but we can make a difference- and make the lives of so many others better... Just don't forget yourself. Even clad in metal, we are still human.

Sincerely,

Commander John Cloak"

[/SPOILER]

I watched as Celm and the other Councilors read the message. Slowly, their eyes widened, and as they examined each detail of the message, they grew more and more alarmed. When they had finished their reading, all of them looked deathly white.

"Well...fuck," spoke Celempheros.

On the other screen, the scout had finished examining the cube. All of the planet it was on, everything was going berserk.

"...Ok, ok, I can deal with this. Just let me send the stand down code and-"

On the screen featuring the scout, a 'CODE NOT ACCEPTED' line suddenly appeared...as did a 'TRANSMITTING ACITVATION SIGNAL' line.

"...What?! How the...doesn't matter. I'll just use my other powers to-ARGH!"

Celm's eyes had started to glow when he had decided to use another solution to this problem, but he didn't get far before he flinched and fell over, eyes now bleeding profusely.

"CELM!" shouted his wife, who quickly began trying to assist him, as did all of his allies, and even my forces, whilst I pulled out some bandages from storage.

As I readied t apply the covering, though, my attention turned back to the screen.

'ACTIVATOIN SIGNAL SENT. MASS ACTIVATION HAS BEGUN.'

"...The activation signal went out, didn't it?"

I was surprised that Celm was able to recover enough to talk in such a short timespan, but I confirmed his fear.

"Yes. So, how bad is it?"

"In short? There are now one million plus pocket universes that are filled with Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engines of War that want to kill you."

"I get the feeling it's worse than that."

"They are all going to share any information the get on you with each other, so that they can develop counter measures to kill you more effectively."

"...I can take that."

"They will also expand to other universes as they hunt for you, so there could potentially be a billion universes under their control by tomorrow."

…..I think the scream that I released upon hearing that statement put Umbra's radial howl to shame.

XXXXXXXXX

**AN: The message was written by Mr. Cloak on Sufficient Velocity for his Commander SI: Outside Context Problem, but was meant to be used by other SI's, albeit for positive reasons. Of course, it wasn't too hard to find a way to turn it into a Diabolus ex Machina.**

**Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	224. Annihilation 193

"...Well, fuck."

Yeah, probably not the best way to follow up a scream of undiluted rage, but seriously, this sucked!

"Indeed. You are not exactly in a good position."

Thank you, Celm, for taking that well.

"You're welcome. So, what are you going to do next? You've already made it clear with Omega that you won't try to go back to your ordinary, dreary life. Not anymore, at least. Are you going to hole up in your hub universe and maintain your dominion there?"

"Would that actually work?" questioned Cyreesia.

"yes. Somehow, while I was not able to stock the rest of our anti-commander measures from awakening, I was able to ensure they would not be able to track you back to your hub. You could just lie low there and avoid their wrath forever."

Hmm.. "I could...but I won't."

"Why?" asked Celm. I got the feeling he not surprised by my course of action, just curious as to my motivations.

"Because as long as the counter measures exist, they'll target other commanders. Others like me. And while I'm willing to bet some are unspeakably evil, most probably aren't all that bad, and I can't condemn them to die because of an accident on my part."

"Brave words, and brave thoughts. Though, I must ask you this - how will you stand against this tide, all on your own?"

..Ok, I didn't think that part through. "Well, I-"

"He's not alone."

Turning, I found that Viv had stepped up to my side, face now filled with determination. "I'm with him."

"So am I," intoned Etran.

"Count me in," interjected Asaru.

"...Eh, I'm in too," remarked the representative of the Nocturni Legion, "and so are all my followers."

On and on the affirmations of alliance continued. It seemed I had drawn quite a few allies to my cause.

"Really," intoned one of Councilors. "And who are you?"

For a moment, the crowd looked at eachother.

At last, Etran spoke. "We are the heroic.."

"..and we are the villainous," continued the Dread Lord Ambassador.

"We are the liberal," answered the Terrran Alliance representative.

"And we're...the tyrannical," intoned...wait, when had the Worm showed up?!

"We are the wise," spoked Simaris.

"And the mad." That was Alad.

"We are the honest-" remarked Eudico.

"And we...are...the corrupt."

"We are the beautiful," boasted Ballas.

"And we are the monstrous," added Zen'hurros.

Then, to my surprise, Cassidy spoke up. "We're not exactly the best group of heroes around, if we can even be called heroes, but for that man? For Commander Flame? We'll fight for him."

The Councilors seemed taken aback by that statement. Milsanrima was the first to recover.

"So, you're going to help this one man try and defeat an army of machiens that are pretty much the pinnacle of the warsmith's art?"

"Yes!" Shouted my ROB.

"...Good."

...Wait, what? She was complimenting them on this?

Apparently, everyone else was surprised by this turn of events as well, if their expressions were anything to go by.

Finally, I mustered up to strength to venture a question. "You're...happy with this?"

"Yes, I am. You see, the only reason you defeated the lone Coelohim was because you had allies to call upon."

"Really?"

"Yes. All other attempts to defeat it, by other commanders, invariably ended in failure because they went it alone. Be it for pride, or care for their allies, they always tried to overwhelm these drones with their own might, only to be bested by those who new the power of the Progenitors better than any gamer could. You, though...you know when to ask for, and by extension, when to accept help. You know when to swallow your pride. And that is what secured you victory."

"...oh. Well, good to know."

"You're welcome. Now, anything else you want to say?"

"Just one thing."

"And that is."

Welp, time to drop a bombshell.

"I think I'm going to replicate what the guy who made these cubes did."

"...Explain. Now."

Here we go! "Now that the Commander Annihilation Force your kind left behind is on the loose, it would be prudent to send out information to warn other commanders this, if only to prepare them for the coming storm. Also, I'd like to send out an advance force of probes across the multiverse, to cultivate some universes for my arrival such that they will be prepared to face the rather of your forces when and if they decide to come knocking."

"Fair enough. Now, with that out of the way, meeting dismissed."

The council moved to leave. As they did, I turned my attention to my newfound allies. "...Thank you for supporting me."

"Eh, don't mention it," was Etran's response. "You've helped us so much, might as well repay the favor."

"I see."

Then I turned my attention to Anyo and the Worm. How they had arrived was beyond me. "Why are you helping me, though?"

The Worm went first. "Well...um...me an my sister thought siding with you and dealing with whatever punishment you offered was better than letting the sentients try to eat us?"

"...Would they actually eat you?"

"Some of my former comrades would," intoned Zen'hurros. "Also, Ntah has decided to return to assisting the Tenno. She is...conflicted, at the moment."

"...When did she change sides?"

"Sometime during the battle. I believe she assisted in the sniper and artillery attack against the Coelohim."

"...Well, thank her for that."

Then my attention rested on Anyo. "Why are you going to help me?"

"The Void told me assisting you would lead to greater profit...but also, similar reasons to the Worm."

Noticing movement behind the two tyrants, I tilted my head. There, Wally was waving at me. Wordlessly, I asked him a question.

"Yes, I really did tell Anyo that," was his response.

"I see. You know I can't exactly allow you o go unpunished for your actions?"

"Yes...how much do you...want me...to give up...to charity?" questioned Anyo.

Silently, I sent a message to Eudico. She replied soon enough.

"Eighty percent of your holdings, barring what I paid you to see the Solaris forgiven of debt. As for other terms...ask Solaris United."

"I understand. May the void bring you...good fortune."

With that, Anyo left to...have a meeting with his investors.

Now my attention was focused on the Worm.

"...Please be reasonable."

Hmm, what to do with her and her sister.

"...Please don't kill me."

"I'm not going to do that. Know, though, that the Grineer aren't going to be as strong as they once were."

"I suppose you'll want us to demilitarize and assist in the rebuilding?"

"I also want the Kuva Fortress."

"As a trophy? Not surprising...How long are we going to spend in prison?"

"...However long it takes for me to feel you've learned your lesson….even if that never happens."

"Fine."

"Well, then, I guess were done. Really, though, I do need to ask one more thing."

"And what might that be, scrawny?"

"...Did all of you rehearse that part where you referred to yourselves as brave, craven, and stuff like that?"

"No...it was a spur of the moment thing. I didn't even want to say tyrant, it just felt most appropriate."

"Makes sense. Now go, get your sister."

"Ok...and thank you for being merciful."

As the Worm left to prepare, I turned my attention back to Vivienne. "So, I guess were allies...permanently."

"Eh, yep. I guess we are."

"...So what do we do next?"

"...Well, get ready for tomorrow. Trust me, its important."

….Why did that sound so worrisome?

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	225. Annihilation 194

"Ugh, what's so special about today again?"

"Just follow me and you'll see."

Vivienne, you may be my friend, but I do not like secrets being kept from me!

"Eh, then you should have remembered what today is!" she exclaimed, before dashing into a dining room near the_ Extinction's_ bridge.

Sighing, I followed and-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I blinked, surprised by the sudden outpour of light and sound...wait, today's my birthday?

…Apparently it is.

….Wow, I forgot about my own birthday. That's...kinda embarrassing.

_'But not unexpected, given the circumstances.'_

Thank you for being quiet about that, Viv.

Her snickering in response was actually kinda cute...as was her flustered reactions to my thoughts on her acting cute.

But I digress. Anyhow, in addition to my children, the party guests included the Tenno, Asaru, Viv herself, and Cassidy. Each of them had prepared me a present, to my immense surprise.

Also, it appeared that someone had made me a cake. Given their expressions, and the fact that both could read minds, it appeared Vivienne and Cassidy had been the ones to prepare.

More trivially, it was an ice-cream cake - cookie dough, to be exact.

Oh, and it was delicious, but that isn't really that relevant.

After all the guests had finished singing to me (childish, perhaps, but I enjoyed it), and the candles were blown out, the gifts were given. Those from my children and Cassidy were hand made crafts, be they paitings, sculptures, or simple things likes bags and pictures, but all held some sentimental value in my heart.

The ones that I received from Asaru and the Tenno, though, were a bit more surprising.

Asaru's gift was rather large, and I initially assumed it to be a SHIV or something like that.

Instead, unwrapping the container revealed not a war robot...but a suit of psi-armor._ Tailor made psi armor,_ to be precise.

"I...I don't know what to say to this."

"You've worked with XCOM for some time now. You're practically one of us already. Consider this an official offer to join."

"..Thank you."

Putting the gift away, I turned to the Tenno.

First to give a gift was Cyreesia. Pulling it out, I found myself staring at an Ignis Wraith.

"For all that you've done for us, you deserve this, at least."

"...Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Carefully laying down the Flame Thrower, I turned to Etran, who held a much smaller gift. Taking and opening the gift, I found myself staring at a void key.

"It leads to our dojo," spoke Etran, answering the question that had been forming in my head. "Like it or not, you're a Tenno now...and that means you'll need a clan to work with."

"...Is this an invitation?"

"It is."

"Well, I accept it."

"Good. I look forward to training with you."

Laying the gift down, I turned to the final one that needed to be opened - Viv's. I was almost the size of a chair, but givne that the container marked the contents as fragile, I assumed it was far heavier. Carefully, I removed the box, ready to examine my last gift.

As the covering came off, I found myself staring at an interesting statue. It consisted of a man standing over a beast he had slain.

What made it so special?

The man in question was_ me._ The beast, meanwhile, was clearly the Coleohim I had recently bested.

"You won a great battle, might as well remember it."

I'm pretty sure some people would be ashamed to give someone a hug because they gave you a gift you really, really liked, unless that person was family/a close friend.

I am not one of those people, as Viv can attest to.

XXXXXXX

****AN: And thus this part of the story comes to an end.****

****Don't worry, the real story has only just begun.****

****Oh, and I apologize for all of the Christmas and Birthday chaptes - I just kept trying to do those until I finally got one that matched up with the actual dates. There'll be one more pair, and then I'll relegate them to when appropriate.****

**With that out of the way, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	226. Interlude 33

I watched on as the Commander finished up the message and the probes. He may have held his oratory skills as being sub-par, but really, he's underselling himself. He does that, quite a bit.

To some, it may seem hypocritical, sending out aid to Commanders across the multiverse, when something just like that was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. With the coming storm, though, being prepared was entirely reasonable.

Plus, you never knew when you might need more allies.

As he continued on with his actions, I briefly turned my attention toward his hub-universe. Here, besides some strange reports relating to when he had put gravity and mass alteration systems in place so that he could prepare new worlds for any refugees that wished to emigrate to his empire lived, my own forces and auxiliaries had arrived to begin making things more...accommodating for the new arrivals...and not just those from the warframe universe.

Several civilians from the Imperium of Man, bot pre and post-heresy, had been entombed within the Repository, and now sought to live with the one who had been their savior. Of course, those who had been put into stasis from a time after the Heresy had desired a place to venerate the Emperor. I had volunteered the assistance of the forces of the Black Templars and Imperial Heralds that fought among my armies to assist in the construction, though they would likely have complained if I hadn't done so - they may have respected me, but their loyalty was to the God Emperor first and foremost.

After a few minutes, though, it seemed my former pawn had finished his final preparations. Nodding, I made a gesture for Celm to come forward. He had desired to bare witness to what was about to happen, and really, I couldn't refuse him that honor.

My Commander, however, did have one last thing to ask before the word was given.

"Hey, Celm?"

"Yes?"

"Do you...remember...anyone you met in the Progenitors wars...anyone famous?"

"...A couple. Before we retreated to enact our plan, my kind hosted a celebration of victory. I have a few photos left over from that party."

A moment later, Celempheros materialized a photo in his hand. Taking it, Flame gestured for me to come close, so that both of us could examine the picture.

Most of the beings were not recognizable, being of races I kew nothing about, or wones who I did know much about, but could not identify the individual in question. One who did stand out, though, was a man of Turkish descent who was trying to hide that he was enjoying himself. Standing next to him was...oh.

I did not see that coming.

Neither did Flame, if his next words were anything to go by.

"You knew the Master of Mankind?"

"Er, yes, I did. How'd you recognize him?"

"I didn't. But I know the guy with the flaming staff is Malcador. Also, why does he have his staff here?"

"...He wanted to show off?"

"I highly doubt that. Is there anyone else famous from 40k you know?"

"No, but Vivienne has the Tanith First and Only in cryostasis within her hub universe."

I gave my superior a blank look.

"...Sure," replied the Commander, not buying it. "So, ready to witness history?"

"Of course."

Smiling, my ex-pawn hit the button. A moment later, the probes and the warning pods launched, while ahead of them, portals opened all over the multiverse, ready to take this sacred objects to their intended destinations.

For those of you who are curious, here is what my dear commander put on them:

[SPOILER="The Message"]To those who await a spacebattle, travel at sufficient velocity, or undertake questionable quests, listen up.

If you are reading this, you wield the power of the Progenitors, and possess a Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engine of War. In all honesty, you've got the most powerful weaponsever made..or so we thought.

I'll cut right to the chase. The Progenitors? They aren't dead. There's a whole universe or five left of them, ready to go back to the multiversal stage. And they _did not _want others to use their commanders.

The Progenitors left behind failsafes to make sure that no one got access to their commanders, and if someone did that anyway, they had other measures to..._remove them form the picture._

I...may have woken one of those up, and now, we're being hunted. Not by the progenitors, though - they've decided to observe us and see whether we are worthy to inherit their might. But their failsafes? One of those went rogue, and it wants us dead.

_All of us._

I'm...I'm...I'm sorry for unleashing this blight on you all. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

Here, though, is my way of making it up to you.

I've included the schematics for, well, everything the progenitors were willing to let me share with you...which is literally everything they got. Matter generation, dark matter weapons, time distortion devices, biotechnology...even some stuff on magic. Yeah, they had that. Surprising, isn't it?

Just one catch, though. This stuff will only be yours if you..well….if you're willing to fight with me.

We can't beat these things on our own. We need to stand as one against them or be wiped out one by one.

So, please, if you get this, send my a return message. Tell me you've got this. Let me know that you're out there.

Let me know that I'm not alone in this fight.

This is Commander and Former SB, SV, and QQ user Flameal15k, signing off. Good luck.[/SPOILER]

As the last of the first set of the probes and pods entered their portal,s the Commander made his leave - he had two surrenders to negotiate.

When he was out of earshot, I turned my attention back to my former superior. "DId you have to tell him about the Tanith?"

"What? Did they die?"

"No, but I'm having trouble waking them up, despite UR-025's best efforts."

"Wouldn't it be angry that they destroyed its comrades?"

"No love is lost between him..her...them and the chaos corrupted abominations built by that tainted STC."

"Fair enough."

XXXXX

The Custodians trudged forth through the ship's cavernous interior, careful to avoid those that would asks questions. At last they came upon their destination - an empty room, unattended by work drones.

It would be perfect.

Carefully preparing the area, the Custodians checked three times to be sure that no one was watching them. This actin must be conducted in absolute secrecy, lest their mission be compromised before it even began.

Carefully, the pulled out the special dataslate and its transmitter/receiver. In mere minutes, it powered on.

Then, the leader of the Guard began typing.

XXXXXXX

++BROADCASTER: CUSTODIAN SQUAD INVICTUS++

++THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: THE BLOOD OF MARTYRS IS THE SEED OF THE IMPERIUM++

++SUBJECT CONTENT: TRANSMITTING NOW++

Your majesty, we have managed to integrate ourselves amongst the Commander's forces. It has taken a millennia less than expected, but some unfortunate citizen of Old Earth was indeed placed in one of these machines and managed to stumble upon us. The Lord Sigilate's prediction was correct.

Unfortunately, the countermeasure has also been awakened, and now seeks to wreck havoc for the Commander's plan. How shall we proceed with this?

XXXXXXXXXXX

++REPLY SENT++

++THOUGHT OF THE DAY: THE EMPEROR KNOWS++

++RESPONSE: TRANSMITTING NOW++

Excellent work, captain.

Though regrettable, the awakening of the failsafe was not unexpected. Indeed, I have already planned for this outcome.

Remain embedded in the Commander's forces. His title is...strange, but he is from more innocent times. Ensure he survives long enough to reach our universe. Additionally, try to get him to be friendly with the Progenitor known as Celempheros. That individual is in possession of several STCs (as per agreements made following the cessation of the Multiversal wars) that would be of colossal benefit to the Imperium.

An advisement: please inform the Sisters of Silence accompanying you to submit themselves to examination by the Commander - access to live blanks is difficult for those out side the Imperium, and if the Commander could synthesize blank traits and apply them to machinery, opposing the Archenemy will become far easier.

Finally, please provide additional reports in the future - and do attempt to steer the poor soul toward our universe soon enough.

THE EMPEROR PROTECTS,

The Master of Mankind

++POST SCRIPT++

Dorn, please tell Magnus and Kitten to stop trying to read outgoing messages. It's annoying.

XXXXX

The Lotus groaned as the machine pulled out the shrapnel from her body. How in the void had that explosion hurt so much?

It had been many days since the fighting had ceased, yet she still ached from the battle.

When the Commander had engaged the Coelohim in single combat, she had initially refused to act. Yet soon, her hand had been forced.

From the creature's original body, Progenitor robots had emerged to try and wreck havoc on his allies. Amongst them had been a horde of boom suicide bots, which had made a beeline for her Tenno...who had no idea that these machines were hostile.

In an instant, the Lotus had been forced ot make a choice - close in on the drones and shield the Tenno, at the cost of some injuries and forever truning against her parents (the machines were close enough to the Tenno that shooting them was out of the option), or allow her surrogate children to die, but remain loyal to her progenitors.

It had not been a hard choice.

Still, that didn't mean she liked getting hurt...but the fact that her children were all around her right now, trying to see if she was okay, did make things a little easier to bare.

XXXXXX

(Directly before Flame slew the Coelohim)

Hunhow stared at the arena before him. One moment, he had beeen retreating from the battle on Earth, the next he had been here, in this shadowed realm. Nearby, his wife watched on curiously, as did several of his closest lieutenants, all searching for who or what had brought them here.

"We...apologize for keeping you in the dark."

Before Hunhow could make a retort, a glowing being descend into the arena, eyes focused on him.

"Why did you take us from the battle? We had a chance to win."

The glowing one's expression hardened. "The monster would only have seen you as a foe to slay. Once the Commander died, it would turn on you...and in your current state, you would stand no chance against it."

"Hmph. And I suppose you could improve us?"

"We could, for starters, repair your womb, and let you raise new generations of your kind."

"For what cost?" Questioned the Sentient destroyer of worlds, who could already see many shadows moving about at the edge of the arena.

"The completion of a shared interest: the destruction of the Commander."

"How do you intend to achieve that?"

"To take a page from your book, we intend to...clear a path to its heart..._then rend it beating from its rest."_

Suddenly, a gigantic glowing creature resembling a lobster emerged from the shadows. It stared intently at the glowing figure at the center of the arena.

"So, do we have a deal?"

"...will you allow me to destroy the Tenno?"

"Of course."

"Then yes. We have an agreement."

"..._Good_."

XXXXXXX

****AN: Welp, the current arc is over! Trivia will be up tomorrow.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	227. Opening

****Foreward: For those who don't want to read the opening, leave now, or skip to the bottom of this page.****

****And for the record, I know this is a waste of time. I just really want to get this done, because it's been bugging me for the past half year.****

****Also, ********Soundtrack Start: All As One by Miracle of Sound********. ALL HAIL THE MIRACLE OF SOUND!****

****XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX****

(Scene opens upon as Vivienne and Flame amble through the ruins of a progenitor city. A long abandoned building crumbles nearby them as something darts through the shadows, watching them intently).

_Stumble from the Ashes_

_Lost Enigmas in the Dust_

_I cannot Remember_

_Though They tell me that I must_

(the scene switches between four separate locations and characters: the Tenno watching over the Plains of Eidolon, a sharply dressed man and a wolf looking over a Japanese city, a demoness with a bandaged left arm in the middle of a snowy island, and lastly, a robotic being flying through the air, doing battle with a batlike being similar to himself)

(In all of these scenes, a progenitor multiversal travel portal appears, and in the last one, a Coelohim and bumblebee exit the portal and begin attacking the mechanical warriors, who are caught completely off guard).

_Sky is torn asunder_

_Fear that Breaks the brave_

_Will not drag me under_

_Climb out of the grave_

(The scene cuts back to the Commander and his ROB, who still examining the ruins. Suddenly, a Coelohim emerges from the shadows and attacks them. Flame forces it back, but the creature responds by pulling up some kind of glyph that shoots out lighting. With the commander distracted, it attacks and bowls him over, but before it can move in for the killing blow, Viv rams a spear through its neck.)

(As she moves to help Flame up, though, more of the beasts emerge from the shadows)

_Maker's sign or false Divine_

_This Mark of Worth I Wear_

_Hardened are these fateful scars I bear_

(Just as the beasts ready to attack, though, an explosion forces them back. As a light illuminates the battlefield, a group consisting of Sage, Blitz, several Swarm Drones, a vex Minotaur, and three Sisters of Silence advance forward, causing the beasts to retreat. When the last one falls back, Viv takes a final glance to be sure they have left, before extending her hand once more to Flame, who takes it.)

_Stand Side by side_

_Carry All as One_

_We can bear this weight_

_Stand side by side_

_We won't come undone_

_For the Hands that will carry us home_

_Are Touched By Fate_

(As the music swells, the duo return to their feat, before another light illuminates the battlefield. A progenitor portal opens, and a Colonel Sub Commander and multiple Coelohim spill forth from it)

_Hold On_

_Hold On To What You Strive For_

_Hold On_

_Hold On To What You Fight For _

_Hope!_

(As the Coelohim and progenitor war machines ready to advance, the team share a look before joining them. A moment later, a large Coelohim tries to assault them, only to be blasted away by a sapphire colored dragon)

_Get up and fight!_

(A group of Ant tanks lock onto the dragon, only to be frozen by Flame, and subsequently shattered by a spiny black dragon with an enormous pair of horns)

_BREAK!_

(The scene cuts back to the four previously shown locations, where the Tenno, wolf and rider, demoness, and mechanical beings charge toward the portals, whilst many Coelohim and Commander machines charge through the rifts, ready for battle)

(The scene then shifts to the Orokin Void, followed by a forest and a desert. Flame and his companions charge through all three using portals, and in each location are joined by many others, until they have a small army with them.)

(Within the desert, the team arrives at a village, where a group of bandits is harassing the natives. The minute the army arrives, the tide rapidly turns.)

_Through the fade or leafy shade_

_Or scorching desert sands_

_Lift the people from their pain_

_Unite and take a stand_

(The scene cuts to the Infinite Forest in Mercury, where the team does battle with a Vex Axis mind. A moment later, it sends them through another portal, where they arrive in an alien land inhabited by squid monsters. The squids then, much to most of the team's surprise, joins them in battling a recently arrived Locust berserker. After a few moments of shooting at the beast, Flame shoots a blast of fire from a staff, allowing Viv to carve it in two).

_Breach into the future_

_Reach into the fade_

_Stamp out the abuser_

_Staff and bloody blade_

(Jumping through another portal, the team finds themselves assisting a group of renaissance era warriors battling off a massive horde of undead, lead by a vampire atop an undead dragon wielding a scythe and sword. Said dragon charges at them, only to be rammed by an elephant sized griffon ridden by a man wielding a Warhammer)

_Maker's breath or wind of death_

_It matters not to me_

_Be it one or none or synergy_

(Shrugging, Flame and Melissa join the battle, followed by their companions. The recently arrived Sigurd joins several steam powered tanks in fighting off a terrorgheist, whilst Zen'hurros and the Tenno take out a massive horde of giant bats and undead wolves. All the while, the armies of the Commander and ROB assit the human forces against the undead, who are themselves bolstered by a horde of Coelohim and Commander drones)

_Stand Side by side_

_Carry All as One_

_We can bear this weight_

_Stand side by side_

_We won't come undone_

_For the Hands that will carry us home_

_Are Touched By Fate_

(The fighting goes on for some time, with the demoness, rider and wolf, and the mechanical warrior all tearing into the enemy. Overhead, Jegudiel cuts through a group of bats, only to be forced to swerve at the sudden arrival of a Chaos titan, which attempts to swat him out of the sky. As it makes another attempt, though, a giant animate Egyptian statue suddenly slams into it, and a moment later, Ellling and his titan destroy the Chaos Reaver.)

_Hold On_

_Hold On To What You Strive For_

_Hold On_

_Hold On To What You Fight For _

_Hope!_

(back on the battlefield, another portal opens, and from it emerged Hunhow and several Drengin, as well as several shadowy beings, who begin to annihilate both sides. In particular, one of the beings knocks Flame back onto his rear whilst Viv and the rest of his allies are preoccupied fighting the Sentient destroyer of worlds)

(As it readies for the killing blow, though, the wolf and its rider charge it, knocking the monster aside. Enraged, the shadow beast knocks the two down, in the process disarming the rider. As it tries to kill him, though, the wolf parries the blow with a sword clenched in its jaws. The rider and wolf quickly reunite, only for the monster to launch another attack..to absolutely zero effect.)

(Turning toward the Commander, the three notice that a set of seals on his arm are glowing, though one has faded. Whilst the beast ponders what this means, the wolf smirks and cuts it down with minimal effort.)

(With the immediate danger destroyed, the trio turns their attention toward the new rifts, where a massive shadowy being emerges.)

_Stand Side by side_

_Carry All as One_

_We can bear this weight_

_Stand side by side_

_We won't come undone_

_For the Hands that will carry us home_

_Are Touched By Fate_

(Smirking, the whole group charges the monster. It opens fire, only for Flame to shield the group with an energy barrier. The minute the barrier fades, the robotic being blasts the monster with a beam of light, followed by the demoness charging it and swiping her left palm at the monster, said hand now that of a massive, demonic creature. Before it can recover, the wolf and rider slam into its skull, dazing it. A further set of blows from the Tenno, among them Etran and Cyreesia, leave it vulnerable to Viv, who hits it with a massive blast of darkness.)

_Fight for your values _

_And fight for your friends_

_Fight Through this blight _

_Find the light at the end_

_Through the age of the dragon_

_Through Chaos and Hate_

_The Hands that will carry us home are touched by fate_

(Smiling, the team finishes it off with a massive combined attack, leaving its withered husk on the battlefield, while the rest of their opponents retreat or are cutdown)

_Hold On_

_Hold On To What You Strive For_

_Hold On_

_Hold On To What You Fight For _

_Hope!_ _Hope! Hope!_

_Hope! Hope! Hope!_

XXXXXXX

****AN: And done! Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	228. Annihilation 195

Okay, the treaties with the Grineer, Corpus, and Sentients have been finalized and signed, the Technocyte plague has been neutered to the point the Mycona can harvest it with impunity, and the colonies can rest easy, so now back to my hub!

...Wait, why is Tylos getting antsy about these alerts I didn't notice because I didn't have my Commander until recently?

…...WHAT THE FUCK!?

XXXXXXXXXXX

I stared out, somewhat confused, at the enormous gravitic anomalies that had recently appeared in my hub system. Said anomalies were also very luminous, and currently emitting an incredible amount of heat...

Okay, no beating around the bush - these were stars. Stars that, until a few days ago, hadn't existed.

Apparently, my efforts to create new planets had worked way too well. Go figure.

On the plus side, it gave me a few new solar systems to work with, without needing to set up FTL systems to reach the 'natural' ones (Celm had made this universe for my usage, and left the area around this system pretty much barren to provide me space to build). So, there's that.

…..Welp, might as well make on into a nature preserve to dump all the extra wildlife I got from the Orb Vallis on. Also, it was really funny seeing Kubrowdons and Stovers running into their new home to escape my kids. Better save those pictures for later.

Now then, onto the next phase in consolidating my position: working out an alliance with Vivienne. Not too hard, right?

I mean, it's not like she's going to demand I submit to her, or something else that was equally silly, would she?

XXXXXXXX

"...You're seriously offering to marry me?"

Viv groaned as I finished the question. "No. Some of my more 'old fashioned' supporters suggested the offer. Most of them come from societies where marriage is merely seen as a political tool."

"Why, exactly, did they suggest that in the first place?"

"In order of importance from greatest to least: To cement our powers as allies, to ensure that other, less savory individuals cannot make the offer, as an apology for my rude behavior to you..."

Then she started blushing. "And also because they think a. 'You need to get laid', and b...they think we're a cute couple."

The minute she finished her reasoning, I joined her in blushing. "But...but...I don't like you _that _way."

"That was one of my reasoning for that. Also, as I am not the firstborn child of my family, I am not expected to be married off for political gain."

"HOw many sibling do you have?"

"I'm the middle child of thirteen, so twelve, split evenly across both gender."

…..How many kids can progenitors have before the go sterile?!

"If what my mom told me is correct, she can't actually become sterile. She just willingly goes into a phase where she doesn't have children for some time."

Oh.

"Yeah, oh. I'm going to stay off having kids for a while - I don't want anymore than Cass and her adoptive siblings."

Are you copying me?

"NO!"

Ok, ok, I'm sorry. So, are there other things we need to discuss?

"First off, more joint training exercises when?"

You're call there.

"...Hope about these?"

Looking over the newly sent times, I nodded. "This could work."

"Good. So, what next?"

"Any technology you want to share with me? And what would you like in return?"

"Hmm, what can you give me?"

"I've got some Vex technology from the Vault of Glass, a few dozen Imperial Titan designs, some info on the AGE system, and some stuff from the Precursors from Halo."

I bet you have a precursor or two lying around your hub as well.

"I have a whole city of them."

...wait, what?

"Yeah, apparently they thought the ones who turned into the Flood were jackasses and decided to jump ship while possible. Now thye just laze around, fix machinery, and eat snacks."

Okay..."What do you want from me?"

"Name something you want, and I'll give you a price."

"...Titan equipment?"

"Free of charge - Elling wants to make sure he can resupply easily."

"Vex slap weaponry?"

"Information on the Orokin void."

"AGE system info?"

"Archwing data."

"...I think that's all for now. I need to think more on what I want."

"Fine with me. So, what now?"

"...I don't know, take a few days to relax?"

"Maybe find a nice beach to slowly tan brown on?"

I think I went as red as a tomato at that statement. "Please don't wear anything too revealing."

Viv merely smirked at me. "Oh, so you see something you want to tap, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, and I bet you have the same line of thoughts when you see me in a pair of swimtrunks." Heaven knows I'm too sensitive about my appearance to wear a speedo.

"...Touché."

Well, I guess I know why some of her supporters thought that I would be amenable to a marriage alliance.

Suddenly, a new alert popped up on my commander, examining it, I found that it was addressed from Celm:

'Sending special protocol to your commander. Activate once received.'

Confused, but knowing Celm had a reason for this, I did just that.

A moment later, a needle injected into my neck, and then I felt numb.

"Genetic Alteration initiated."

Wait, what does that me-

"Alteration Completed."

Before I could even begin to question what had happened, a new alert popped up, once again from Celm. 'Sending you more Commander data - all stuff that I made in the time after the war. It can only be accessed by those possessing progenitor DNA, hence the gene modification.'

So now I am part Progenitor? I wonder if I can turn into some crazy monster like Viv.

"Well, you'll only now if you try."

I know that, Ms. Sexy ROB.

_"Wha-!"_

You make it too easy. Also, how do you change into the crazy monster form you have?

"Just think about it."

Really Well here it goes...why does my back feel funny?

...Did I just grow pterosaur wings?

...Oh, look, now I have tentacles.

...I now have four eyes, and my teeth are all pointy.

….I think I am an alien dragon, now.

"Make that an attractive one."

Turning toward Viv, my planned retort was cut off when I noticed how she seemed to be eyeing my new form...wit ha very hungry look on her face.

I suddenly felt very nervous... and annoyed. Involuntarily, I hissed at her, which snapped her out of her (presumably) lustful thoughts and caused her to back up a bit.

….This is going to be a while, isn't it?

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	229. Annihilation 196

After trying out my new form's abilities (and getting nervous whenever Viv looked at me, particularly if she appeared hungry and, for some reason, _especially_ if she really did need something to eat, I decided to get back to adventuring across the multiverse. Time waits for no man (or whatever you are), so I really had no reason to be lazing about.

"Ready for another adventure?"

Viv flashed a predatory grin around me, which only served to make me wish I was wearing armor...well, more armor. Seriously, why was I so nervous around her? This was not a normal teenage thing - I never got this uncomfortable around girls back when I was not a Commander, an this was probably not natural to any species I'd encountered so far - still not sure on how Progenitors work.

"Am I ready to go unto unknown worlds, face glorious battles, and crush a few skulls? Hell yes!"

Okay, now I was really uneasy, but I could put tangible reasons on that.

That being said, I also found her viciousness to be somewhat comforting (if only because it meant she was going to stand with me through this)...and rather attractive, too.

….Someone help me, please.

XXXXXX

Exiting through the portal, I readied Marchosias' weapons. I didn't want to pull in my commander until I had cleared out our arrival site of all foes. Behind me, Viv made her own entrance, observing our insertion point for enemies.

"See anything?"

"Not yet, my dear Commander. Though I can certainly hear things milling about around us. Perhaps you could use your sensors to find them - I have to dull my other senses to hear them in detail."

Fair enough. Carefully, I extended out my senses, trying to determine what was lurking in the shadows. Consideirng we'd arrived in the ruins of some town, I doubted it was naything good.

Sure enough, I found several heat signatures a few hundred meters from our location. From the way they were moving, they looked incredibly similar to zombies.

Well, time to find out if they behaved similarly.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then activated a mimic beacon. This one, unlike the baseline version from XCOM 2, could create a moveable projection, based on data I'd acquired from both the Loki Warframe and Executioner Harkonar, and with the data I'd gleaned from the Mirage frame, they could also attack enemies. This one had been set to simulate a dog, to see how the strange beings would react.

Unsurprisingly, the zombie-like creatures attacked the hologram as soon as they saw it.

Well, they are aggressive, to be sure. But can htye be reasoned with?

This time, I deployed three decoys - one a diplomatic looking woman, another a male soldier, and the third a child - and sent each in a different direction toward the horde. Let's see how they react.

The results I got back were...troubling. While with the dog, the response had been pure aggression, this reaction had signs of cunning and cruelty in it. First, the 'zombies' attacked the woman, but when the hologram appeared to show signs of injury (because I wanted to make things realistic), they stopped attacking, instead allowing the mimic to scream and moan in pain. I sent the solider decoy to her, only for them to 'cut down' the wounded decoy just as the soldier one reached her, before a different 'zombie' ran into the second decoy and exploded.

Once those two were eliminated, a huge, froglike decoy assaulted the child, briefly allowing the third decoy to assume it had escaped before ambushing it and swallowing the child facsimile whole.

Okay, what the fuck?!

Also, looks like we have to resort to violence.

Viv, who had been watching the file with disgust, merely smiled when I made it clear we were going in loud. "If these things act this monstrous toward what they think are real people, then I am looking forward to grinding them to pulp."

"Well, then, let's do this."

Taking aim, I fired off a shot from Marchosias' rifle, taking down three of the beasts in one hit. A moment later, Viv joined me, and soon after that, a horde of robots and Coelohim burst out of the portal behind us.

It didn't take long for all of the nearby beasts to be purged. Form there, we began examining for a suitable sight to deploy my Commander - one of the advnaces Celm had given me was the ability to choose where the portal sent my Commander IF I already had something else on the other side of the portal, hence sending my warframe through it. Along the way, I examined the remains of the town for anything that would explain what we were fighting.

The only intel I got (which came from examining the giblets of the beasties I'd killed) was that these creatures were apparently technically living zombies, sorta like the Technocyte Infestation.

Well, at least the Tenno would find some nostalgia fighting this kind of monster.

On the plus side, I did manage to locate a metal deposit filled area to set up shop.

Moments later, my Commander was on the battlefield, and homebase was under construction.

"So, where are we?" asked Viv.

"I'm launching an orbital scout now, give me a minute...okay, it looks like we're on an alternate Earth."

"We are? Then what bioweapon got unleashed here?"

"None, it appears that this was caused by an extraterrestrial pathogen."

"Got a name for it?"

"According to some still active satellites that Rory just hacked, it's called XADA and...oh."

"You know where we are?"

"Yeah. Hey, Rory?"

"Yes dad?"

"Can you see if you can locate a machine referred to as Avalon?"

"Scanning...found it. According to some transmissions I hacked, it is being commanded by someone called Jake Calloway. Know who he is?"

"Yeah, where is he?"

"He is currently located at the ruins of some United States City - large scale industrial complex, if you want specifics. I think it used to be Detroit."

"Okay, and where are we?"

"Somewhere in the middle of Africa. Used to be a nature preserve nearby."

"Okay, last question - what is Jake doing now?"

"Talking to his uncle. Shall I plot a course to them?"

"No, they're going to be on the move soon. Chart a course to wherever they are headed."

"Will do as soon as I know where they are headed...Could you please tell me, Vivienne, and Cassidy where we are?"

"We've arrived in Implosion. Pretty sure that we arrived just after the boss battle at the end of Chapter 3."

Viv just stared at me for a moment, completely stunned. "We're in an app game universe?"

"Yeah, not really surprised."

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN:****

****The current universe is Implosion: Never Lose Hope. It's an app game that ended up ported to the Nintendo Switch. It's also really popular.****

****This isn't really meant to be much of a character focused arc, just a good old fashion curbstomp. I wanted something more light hearted after all the crap form the last arc.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flmael15k, singing off!****


	230. Annihilation 197

"Okay, before we go into the maw of death, could you give me a brief rundown of what happens in this universe? This isn't one of the big name app games, so I'm not exactly sure what to expect."

"It got universal acclaim among critics, but okay...are app game universes virgin territory for commanders?"

"Yes, my former pawn, they are."

"Ok. Here we go:

"So,the future arrives, and mankind has really moved past its shortfalls - global warming, overpopulation, etc. To avoid extinction, advances are made in space travel/and that ends up luring hungry aliens to Earth, forcing amass exodus. From there, mankind splits among three factions that escaped into space - Adrillia, Thanadeus, and Ivonix. Adrillia is the best off, occupying a relatively nice planet, while Thanadeous had to take a harsher moon, and Ivonix lives in a space station. Thanadeous designed warmechs - essentially exoskeletons - to fight the XADA aliens, but after these proved to be incapable of fully protecting the wearers from the XADA so eventually they were forced to hand the project over to Ivonix, who used wholly mechanical suits...which the XADA can hack, but nobody knew this until a few hours ago.

"Anyway, the heroes of the game are an Ivonix team sent to stop a giant XADA creature called an AZA, which can travel through space and attack the rest of mankind after it finishes growing. Adding to their problems is that Thanadeous got fed up with Adrillia, so they secretly got a scientist named Raymond Millar to develop an agent that masks a human's presence to the XADA. The plan was to use the XADA to kill off Adrillia, then take their world. Unsurprinsgly, Raymond got infected, as did his wife, and now wants to kill everyone.

"As for how it ends, our heroes manage to kill it, at the cost of Jake's presumed dead uncle and Jake himself, who blew up his suit to kill the AZA. Advanced warmech suits, if destroyed, will cause the pilot to experience brain death due to a neural link. After that, Thanadeous and Adrillia are left on the brink of war, and somehow, Jake's warmech AI manages to get control of his body. And then the story ends, so no more words from me."

"Ok, now that we're clear there, what next?"

Sighing, a pulled up a map of Earth. "In order? Kill the AZA, develop an anti-XADA pesticide, reclaim Earth, make sure Jake and his uncle love, and if I can bring myself to care, browbeat Adrillia And Thanadeous into not going to war over Raymond's actions."

"...That's going to be a cakewalk."

"I know. I'm already reading up a bunch of void weapons to reduce the XADA to paste."

"Good. You think the Tenno will want a piece of the action?"

"They already got involved - I asked them while filling you in. They're now en-route to begin assaulting the AZA. Should bring back memories of the Jordas Golem."

"It should. Where to now?"

"According To Rory...island in the Ring of Fire."

"Nice...you think they know that we're here?"

"I'd be surprised if they didn't."

XXXXXXXX

"Wait, did you just say a team of four warmechs cutdown a thousand strong XADA horde in less than ten minutes?"

"Yes sir," replied Zoe, still in disbelief that what she had just seen. "Additionally, the warmechs appears to have flight equipment attached to them."

"You think they'll give us some if we ask nicely?" Intoned Jake.

"Unlikely, Avalon. Please stay focused on the mission at hand."

"You think they're with Thanadeous?" Questioned Diana. "A backup plan to eliminate Miller if he went rogue?"

"Possible, but unlikely, Crimson. They'd likely have shown up earlier if that was the case. Still,

it'd probably be best if we could get some additional intel on them."

Taking that as her queue, Zoe began to interface with the new arrivals' systems. Carefully, she searched for weakness in the coding, looking for a spot where she could dig in and pull apart so as to access any information she could get on the unknown warriors.

Much to her surprise, she only needed a minute to get results. Cautiously examining the file for potential malware, when she found none, she opened it up and...wait, what?

What was this?

"...Zoe, why are you blushing?" Questioned Jake.

Instead of replying, said girl merely displayed what she had been watching onto their screens.

Their reactions were similar to her own.

"...I do not need image in my head," groaned a blushing Diana.

"Nor dpi," agreed Napoleon. "Zoe, please try and-"

Suddenly, the animation from before was replaced by a video.

One that made Zoe wish thefile had containe malware.

"NYANYANYANYANYANYANYANYA-"

The sound in question barely managed to drown out the various screams, yells and shouts that permeated across the comms as everyone went berserk at the sight and sound of a runaway cat-tart.

XXXXXX

Rory smiled - his and Cassidy's plan had worked.

Turning to Viv's daughter, he held out his hand. "Worked like a charm."

High-giving the boy, Cassidy soon grinned back.

"Told you Nyan-cat would work. That plus Rhino scared them silly."

As soon, as she finished her reply, the child-ROB grew serious again."How are the Tenno doing?"

"According to their most recent in voice, fine. They did ask if we can make XADA steaks, though."

"...Let's get back to them on that.."

XXXX

****AN****: ****The first animation mentioned was one depicting the Rhino Warframe using the Limbo one's Agile animation, which involves rhythmic pelvic thrusting. As for why it caused some embarrassment?****

****Rhino has a ******_**huge **_******codpiece.****

****The other animation was Nyan-Cat.****

****Anyway, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	231. Annihilation 198

"So, what do we need to do so that everyone who isn't the XADA gets a happy ending?"

Right to the point, then, Viv?

"Yes. I want to get this done without too much fuss."

"Well, we need to destroy the XADA queen, which I believe will either obliterate the AZA that is threatening the rest of mankind, but if that is not the case, it will at least prevent it from travelling through space."

"And I guess we do that with superior firepower?"

"What else? Tenno support would also be appreciated, though."

"Well, that won't be in short supply - well over a hundred tenno are already converging on the AZA, and more are showing up by the minute - we should be done with that in a heartbeat."

"Seriously? I thought this was gonna be some kind of epic battle?"

"A giant space monster vs a horde of Murder Hobos definitely counts as an epic battle. Now are you going to stand around or are you going to get in on that action?"

….Okay, time to get in on the fight before I miss out on the fun parts.

XXXXX

I arrived bia using a Grineer drop pod to land at the location where the XADA queen that controlled the AZA was located.

More precisely, I landed on top of her. It was really funny.

Funnier still was that the queen was busy getting her ass kicked by a horde of greedy tenno. Apparently, they wanted to see if they could make new guns and blades out of XADA tissue. Given the fact that they already had weapons made out of infestation, not to mention the warframes, that wasn't exactly a far fetched idea. I was definitely going to put some thought into that, as soon as humanity was no longer in danger.

Back to the battle - the queen was getting her butt handed to her on a silver platter. Not only were the Tenno attacking her, but so was Zen'hurros, an Eidolon Hydrolyst, a female Sentient who had been amongst those to side with me, and Krel. The living firestorm, in particular, was enjoying using the pace alien monster as a bbq target. The horror begged for mercy, but so far, received none.

Unwilling to be left out, I opened up with Marcosias' Heaven's light attack, followed up with Hellfire. The results were, well, rather painful. See, Marcosias' abilities were designed such that, unlike Equinox, you were meant to shift between its two forms to maximize its power. Heaven's light not only inflicted radiation damage upon its targets, but blinded them, leaving them vulnerable to some powerful attacks - and also giving an opening for Hellfire to roast them. But if a target was afflicted with Hellfire first, then the flames from the attack could be ignited by Heaven's Light, triggering a powerful explosion.

The other abilities I had also worked in similar ways, most notably the two ultimates, which I was about to make ample use of. As the XADA Queen attacked me and my allies, I began to charge up Sa;vation. Fun fact - Salvation built power up by both taking and dealing damage, and I was doing a lot of both right now. Pretty soon, I was on the ground, as were all of the Tenno, in desperate need of a revive.

As the queen moved toward us, though, I smirked, and unleashed Salvation, instantly bringing us back to full strength, and leaving the XADA queen stunned.

Without missing a beat, I turned into demonic form and unleahsed Perdition.

Fun fact: enemies stunned by Salvation take extra damage from Perdition.

Another fun fact: using the abilities of one form of Marcosias added a multiplier to how powerful the first ability from the other half was, at least in regards to the first one used.

Yet another fun fact: the multiplier was an exponential.

One last fun fact: the exponential from using salvation was _massive._

Needless to say, there wasn't much left of the XADA queen after my attack faded away.

As Marcosias' form began to waver from exhaustion, the Tenno turned their attention toward me.

"Showoff," remarked Cyreesia. "...Though that was appreciated."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now can we start getting samples back to your labs for research? I think Alad would like some things to cut up?"

"Well, he did get access to XCOM's science facilities, so I'd be surprised if he didn't get giddy over them."

"Yeah. That man is crazy, but his work speaks for himself."

"...You know, for a guy who literally cut up some of your allies, you seem to really like him...platonically, of course."

"Nef was annoying, alright? And Alad is actually capable of gratitude, however much his behavior would suggest otherwise."

"...I see. Now what?"

"Wait for Avalon to kill Miller and laugh at the dumbfound faces of Ivonix when they learn what we did?"

"...Sure, why not."

XXXXXXXXXX

"...Am I seeing this right?" questioned Napoleon."

"Yes, sir," replied Zoe, who was currently checking her blood alcohol content. She hadn't had anything to drink since, well, _ever, _but after what she had seen today, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"...Can we have drinks after we're done with this?" asked Jake, still trying to process what had just happened.

"Seconded," was Diana's reply. The video feed before them had been surreal.

Somehow, the newly arrived force had, in a matter of minutes, reduced the AZA to a charred mass of flesh...which they were now harvesting for trophies...and food, it they were seeing things right.

At last, Napoleon managed to muster a response. "We can lose our sobriety after the mission is complete, but for now, focus on stopping Dr. Miller. I'm sure will have plenty fo time to deal with the new arrivals after that...assuming they are friendly."

"I'd say they're friendly since they just killed off the XADA for us, but all that really means is that they hate the XADA."

"Avalon, please refrain stating the obvious."

"Cut him some slack, Zoe."

"Crimson, don't antagonize Zoe. Zoe, your criticism of Avalon was unnecessary."

"My apologies, sir. Do you want me to try looking up more information on the new arrivals?"

****"NO!" ****was the reply everyone had to offer.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: The fight really was meant to be that anticlimactic. It felt funny.****

****Also, Marcosias' powers synergizing was always meant to be a thing, since I don't like how Equinox basically has no interplay between its two forms. ****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	232. Annihilation 199

It took maybe an hour for Jake, his uncle, and to my immense surprise, Diana to defeat Raymond Miller. With the XADA dealt with, those that remained turned to Miller for guidance, and once he bit the dust, they quickly regressed from a formidable army into a feral mob, incapable of more than the most basic of strategies.

With that dealt with, my next goal was obvious: make contact with the Ivonix team. From there, I needed to wipe the XADA off Earth (which was going to be easy, as my bio-research labs had managed to develop a pesticide to obliterate them from Earth), then move mankind back to Earth, and then get rid of the XADA forever.

As I had already cleared off most of the XADA from North America, Africa, and Antarctica, reclaiming Earth wasn't really much of a problem. Meeting up with Ivonix, though, was proving to be more troublesome.

Maybe that had to do with me not knowing how best to approach this. Though my AI subordinates seemed to know how to handle this better than I did.

XXXXXXX

"Don't look weak," began Synais, "But don't be too off putting. This meeting will probably be sent to the rest of humanity, and I wouldn't put it past Thanadeous to try making a move on us if they spotted weakness."

"You've already curried some favor by wiping out the XADA on Earth. Don't waste it," intoned Kathikon. "Try to keep yourself humble - they'll like you more if you treat them as equals."

"Finally, keep in mind you're meeting with Ivonix," finished Fide. "They'll want to know about the warframes as soon as they can ask questions. They're gonna assume that these are some kind of war mech."

"Thank you all for the advice."

"Sure. So, have they agreed to meet with you?"

"Yeah. Avalon and Crimson will be the ones to act as envoys - Retrofit was unavailable. Looks like Napoleon wanted to talk more with Jonathan. Aslso, do you guys know anything about why they always seem flustered whenever I show them a picture of the Rhino warframe? I know his codpiece is huge, but nobody really seems to care about that for more than a few minutes, unless they have, well, personal issues that I really don't want to talk about."

Synais was the one to answer that. "Viv mentioned giving Rory and Cassidy some data to feed the team when Ivonix tried to hack into our network. I didn't here much about it, but Limbo and Rhino were mentioned, so there was probably an animation of Rhino using Limbo's idle animations."

"...That's the one with the rhythmic pelvic thrusts, isn't it?"

"Yeah. As funny as that image was, that might not have ben the best way to dissuade them from hacking our network."

"No shit," replied Kathi. I guess that really put her off.

"I'll make sure to apologize for that in the meeting."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ok, first off, I'm sorry for that suggestive video you received while trying to tap into our network."

"Wha-You knew about that?" questioned Napoleon, a rather embarrassed look on his face. He'd decided to join in via video screen, and it was clear that he clearly had...interesting memories regarding that video.

"Your efforts to hide your intrusions were not the most well kept secrets. That being said, I understand your suspicion given recent events, and will not hold it against you."

"...Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, why don't we start over?"

"A splendid idea. Avalon? You and Crimson are up."

"Well, here we go. I'm Jake Carloway, pilot of Warmech Avalon. Next to me is Crimson, piloted by Diana May. On behalf of Ivonix, welcome to Earth."

"Thank you. I must apologize, but I cannot divulge my name at the moment. You may refer to me as Flame, though-"

"Really? You have an...odd choice of titles."

"Avalon, do not antagonize the ambassador."

"Yes, sir."

I sighed. "No offense was taken, good sir."

"Thank you. So, may we start with the proverbial elephant in the living room?"

"Are you referring to my origins?"

"Yes."

"Well, then you might want to pull out some popcorn - this is going to be a long story."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I gave them an abridged version of what had transpired prior to my arrival in this universe. I omitted some details (mostly to avoid causing them existential crises, and may have been somewhat misleading as the Viv's role in my travels, but they did get the main points unobscured - namely, that I had access to absurdly powerful production technology, was acting on the orders of a race of aliens, and that I'd basically fought a XADA analogue, been absorbed into it, and fought my way back out both physically and mentally.

I may have had to put some effort into keeping a straight face when I saw the entire team send in blood samples to check if they were under the effects of Narcotics or alcohol after hearing my tale. I mean, I could understand their uncertainty at what I was saying, but the fact they were immediately trying to see if they were intoxicated, instead of trying to dispute my claims (Okay, they made a token effort at that, but gave up pretty quickly) was rather amusing, to say the least.

As I finally finished my recap, they seemed to recover, if only barely.

"...Wow. You've really seen a lot of action."

"Yes I have, Avalon, yes I have."

"We can talk about this in detail later," interrupted Napoleon, "but the heads of R&D made a request while you were speaking."

"I presume it involves my suit?"

"Yes," answered Zoe. "Your warmech is unlike any ever produced, and it has an almost organic appearance. Ivonix would like at least some knowledge as to how this was achieved."

Well, here comes the moment of truth. "Well, it looks that way because it's...well, it's alive."

Before anyone could ask for elaboration, I held a hand up to my frame's face. A moment later, and the armored helm retracted, revealing the organic tissue beneath - namely, the eyes.

I think the entire team just bricked themselves at that sight.

"These suits were not built, but grown. Molded from living tissue, to be wielded by the minds of mighty warriors."

"How do you do that?" Questioned Diana. "Some wacky piece of technology? Teens with attitude like me and Jake?"

"Crimson, please do not-"

"Close enough."

That shut everyone up.

"What-"

"Look, I know you have many more questions to ask. But first, can we discuss how to deal with the actions of the group known as Thanadeous before we move on?"

XXXXXXXXX

****AN: ********Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	233. Annihilation 200

What followed my subject changing was, well, rather banal and mundane. And what came after that, well, boring wasn't really the word to describe it.

See, my presence and actions on Earth pretty much iced any potential conflict between Adrilla and Thanadeous for the immediate future - not when a new power showed up that could beat back the XADA so easily. The more militant groups from each party decided wisely to retreat to the shadows for now, whilst the more reasonable decided to negotiate for the return of the Earth. Each power was willing to advance their own interests in the pursuit, but surprisingly, none of the proposals left anyone out in the cold. It seemed appearing to stand united was one thing that all powers agreed on.

I made sure to allow each of them to return to Earth with roughly equal holdings - as in, enough that most complaints would come off as being somewhat pathetic and whiny to all parties. Additionally, I took pains to ensure that none of the group would receive any technology from me, barring Ivonix, who had already schedule an appointment to examine and exchange warmech and warframe designs - and that was going to be a public event, so that no one could glean any advances the others would not. True, that was giving Thanadeous the potential to reverse engineer the frames...but really, how would they do that without technocyte samples, which I was NOT giving to Ivonix. Better safe than sorry there, always.

Meanwhile, I sent out fleets to hunt down the XADA. It took me quite a long time, but I eventually managed to cut down their numbers to only a few, who were soon herded up and moved to a prison planet I'd created in my hub. Samples were also harvested and placed in my biological resource facilities to provide them additional research material for the warframes.

Perhaps one day, flood and necromorph tissue would also be incorporated into these suits. But that was not for today - the future, maybe, but not today. Even if I had Fllod biomass available - I knew better than to try and wield the might of the precursor right now.

XXXXXX

After all that was said and done, the rest of the year passed by in a haze. I'd decided to take a...protracted break from being a Commander, so that I could focus on improving my forces and myself for the next universe I visited. The newly acquired sentient technology I possessed proved to be immensely useful in updating both my mechanical and biological forces - helps when said technology is borderline between synthetic and organic. I also managed to figure out how to upgrade it to be more...resilient to the void. The Man in the Wall responded to all my attempts to remove said weakness by laughing and making my instruments explode. Surprisingly, Zen'hurros and his kin accepted this rather easily - I guess they knew not to mess with the childish yet supremely powerful intelligence of the void.

Oh well.

After that, most of my time was devoted to training, both physical...

XXXXXXXXX

Ducking under another sword blow, I quickly pulled out my kitgun and shot down the oncoming Orvius disk. All for naught, though, as a moment later, I found myself disarmed and on the ground.

"And so yet another victory for me," noted Teshin.

"True...Do you feel that I am improving?"

"Yes. Where once you only barely avoided my blows, now you have managed to go on the offensive. There remains room to improve, but improve you will."

"Thank you, sensei."

"Such a title cannot be applied to me. Please, do not use it."

"...Very well."

The sound of blades clashing turned my attention toward a nearby arena. There, two other Dax dueled with Vivienne. Her skill was unbelievable, but it seemed she had finally met her match. Despite her impressive combat abilities, they were managing to inflict many cuts upon her. Despite this, she refused to back down.

"Few beyond the Tenno can match the skill we have, even from other universes. And to answer the question you will inevitably ask, the few that have proven our equals are the greatest warriors of the Hissho, the Forerunner Prometheans and their equals amongst ancient humanity, and the Custodian Guard."

"What about the Progenitors?"

"They cannot be used for comparison - most relied upon power rather than skill. Though those who did have skill used it well."

XXXXXXXX

….and Mental.

XXXXXXX

_Concentrate...concentrate...__****C̄̑͠ON̵̞̘̬̒ͤ͐Č̼̱̫̟̥̖ͅE̶̼̮̻̯̺͔N̪͔͍̐ͭ͐̊́ͮT̯̥͛̓̍ͬR͎̙̯̤̯͕̳̒ͯĂ̠̝̹͑ͅT̾̑͆̿̅̓ͅE͎̤!****_

"Enough," replied the Great Dreamer. "You have endured the test."

"How many more remain?"

"Quite a few. But that you have made it so far speaks of your determination, power, and discipline."

"Thanks."

XXXXXX

Time passes fast when you devote your focus to self improvement. In what felt like an afternoon, Christmas was once again upon us.

And when you have an ice and snow covered planet in your hub, where else to celebrate Christmas (or some other similar holiday) than there?

XXXXXX

On a snow capped hill, Bianka put the finishing touches on her ice sculpture. Nearby, Conrad had finished making a trio of snowmen and was busy making a trio of snow angels to go with it.

A roar in the distance turned both their thoughts to the nearby plains. There, Krel had gathered a pack of his own kind alongside many stovers, Kubrow and Kubrowdon, which he was now leading on a hunt for some kind of megafauna. The howl had signified victory in the hunt, and the hunters were now busy dividing the meat amongst themselves. Nearby, some of her siblings, who had witnessed the fight from beginning to end, were busy doing a reenactment of it, whilst the remainder had a snowball fight, their forts occasionally being undone by horrasques brought into the open by the vibrations the childish battle created.

Far away, an Eidolon and Zen'hurros rested, bodies adorned with lights. These monsters had decided to enjoy the holidays, allowing their forms to be used as the mightiest of Christmas Trees.

The nesting Condrocs and Sawgaws were rather annoying, though.

As for her father?

He was busy enjoying a private moment with Vivienne. The two had decided to take a moment to skate on a frozen lake, free from the rest of the cares in the world. Nearby, Elling was giving his companions a ride in a snow mobile.

The crunching of snow turned the two siblings' attention to the oncoming form of Cassidy, who was already looking at their sculptures and snow creations in earnest.

"Can I join in?" she questioned, shaking her red coat as she did so.

Bianka smiled and nodded. The more the merrier.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Last Christmas chapter you need to put up with for a while.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off! Happy Holidays!****


	234. Interlude 34

"You think the Commander had too easy a time beating up the XADA?" questioned Tau.

"Perhaps," noted Zeta, "but that just means he's in for a pounding in the next universe he visits. Fate worsk that way, does it not?"

"Fate is what we make," retorted Celempheros, "but the universe does have a tendency to let those who it intends to put through the ringer enjoy some peace, if only for a moment."

"I know. So, what now?"

"Now? We watch, and wait, to see what happens next."

"...Bet you fifty orokin ducats he goes to a fantasy universe," offered Zeta."

"One hundred that it's low fantasy," counted the OverROB.

XXXXXX

Through the vast space between space, the probes journeyed onwards, each looking for a universe to prepare. The master had made very specific instructions as to what was to happen when they arrived at a new universe - search for traces of the Progenitor's Anti-Commander Forces, then begin altering their arrival point such that the commander would enter this universe with a base already prepared.

Additionally, unknown to the Progenitors, the Commander had also instructed them to search for signals similar to the ones emitted by the artifacts they had encountered so far, in the hopes of trying to find out what exactly had built them.

Rather worryingly, such a signal was showing up right now, and it was getting very clos-

Suddenly, something huge collided with one of the probes, sending it hurlting into the void between universes. Hastily correcting its course, the probe in question began to jink and swerve, trying to shake off whatever had collided with it, as the entity now seemed to be hunting the machine. The rest scattered, trying to avoid being caught.

When it became apparent that the probe could not shake its pursuer, though, a new strategy was tried. Examining the pulls each universe's gravity exerted, the probe began to form a plan. When it found a promising universe, the probe charged toward it, with its assailant following it, ready to go in for the kill. Just as it was within reach of its quarry, though, the hunter lost its target when the probe opened a portal in front of it, whilst another opened behind the entity, directed toward a different universe. As the probe vanished, the entity screamed in anger, before rage turned to fear as it realized where it was heading.

The universe it had been steered toward was dying, slowly collapsing into a super dense mass, ready to begin anew. And unfortunately for the entity, it could not escape the mass's pull.

Within moments, the large mass reduced the eldritch horror to a fine paste, which was soon reduced to a particle no bigger than a piece of dust.

Taking a moment to indulge in the death of its attacker, the probe then calmed as it approached its new destination.

The calm quickly changed to confusion when the machine landed, only to find itself in a middle of a battle. Around it, several beings were exchanging projectile fire with one another.

A quick examination revealed one side to be composed of humans, whilst the other was composed of robots.

Great, a robot war. That instantly made negotiations with the humans difficult.

As the probe began to move, ignoring the battle and gunfire around it, the machine was suddenly surprised when a spiderlike robot leaped on it. Reflexively, the probe slammed an armored limb into the robot, quickly taking it offline. Before the computer aboard the spiderbot shut down, though, the probe hacked into the machine, attempting to learn what it was.

All the probe got was a name. But that name was more than enough.

****FAS-ACA3 Scarab****

...Oh, it was _that _universe.

XXXXX

"Should more effort have been devoted to killing the probe?"

"Patience, Hunhow. One warrior lost hardly makes a difference in the grand strategy we have planned. We will have future occasions to wreak havoc on the Commander. We can afford a slip-up at the moment."

XXXXXXXX

From the admittedly well kept prison chamber she rested within, the Worm sighed. Truly this wasn't the worst outcome surrendering could have offered.

She and her sister had, as expected, been incarcerated following their admittance of defeat to the one known as Flame. Now, the Grineer would no longer be conquerors, but builders, as they were before. The queens had managed to retain a measure of power by conceding, but it was nowhere near what they had originally possessed. And of course, they were still stuck on this boring world.

Some miles away, Ballas was also confined, but his skills made his imprisonment more...open then theirs. Ballas had been given a relatively mild sentence, if only because he was still valuable as a scientist. In echange for his assistance with future warframe developments, he would have a great deal of freedom to act on his own...of course, he was still being watched - the Tenno still had some issues with him, after all.

Sighing, the worm watched as her sister order the guards to get to work outside. Snow had fallen around their 'palace' and needed to be cleaned lest it ruin the beauty of their gilded cage. As for the guards, the Commander had let the queens keep them, primarily to ensure those who did not agree with how to twins had been punished could not seek retribution against them.

As the Worm moved her hand over her head, though, she felt a smile forming as her fingers felt through her hair. As a gift for tennobaum, and in acknowledgement of their good behavior, the Commander had rewarded them with new bodies based upon their old ones. It appeared the Tenno had stored their DNA within the Repository, allowing the Commander to grow new ones for them to live in. These ones, however, would many, many centuries - long enough to see their terms of incarceration served to completion.

….Perhaps this wasn't too bad.

….Well, at least when the giant green blob was trying to talk to them. It's weird psychic powers just gave the Twins headaches.

XXXXXXX

****AN: Hey, the queens surrendered! Got to give them some concessions for knowing when to fold!****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	235. Annihilation 201

Training for about a year might seem wasteful, but with all the technology I already had, it was best to learn how to use it _well _than simply acquire new stuff. Possession doesn't necessarily mean mastery, and after how close the fight had been between myself, Viv, and the Coelohim, well, better safe than sorry. Plus it gave me some time to get my bearings with my stuff and what Vivienne had.

XXXXX

"So, you have Imperial Titans?" I questioned, rather impressed that Viv had acquired such powerful machines.

"Inherited from my mother's family. Celm said that they were part of a joint venture between the old Progenitor Empire and Dark Age Humanity. Whole Legion, to be exact."

"Seriously? And who is head of the Legio? Elling?"

"Only when we're on missions of total annihilation, otherwise my grandpa is in command!" replied said boy.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry...what other mechs do you have?"

"Star League Battlemechs, the AGE Gundam, which is technically Elling's by birthright - "

"He's an Asuno?"

"Distantly - Celm told me that the war between Earth and Vagan never happened in the AGE universe they visited because of the Progenitor Wars uniting both sides, but he didn't give more specifics than that. Oh, and apparently he's also related to the Galette brothers."

"Oh...who'd Flit end up marrying?"

"Celm got annoyed whenever I asked him about that. Apparently, both Yurin and Emily's blood runs through Ell's veins, though."

"Okay. Continue."

"There's at least three GDI Juggernauts in my artillery divisions - they were part of an agreement with Kane - "

"Please tell me about that some time."

"- and several D-Walkers, plus a Battle Gear."

"...You were involved with Diamond Dogs?"

"I may or may not have prevented the entire Metal Gear saga following V, at least, chronologically, from happening."

"How'd you do that?"

"Oh, you know, stop Zero from becoming a vegetable due to Skull Face, prevented Strangelove from dying, convince Big Boss to be more open with Miller and take responsibility for his clone sons, defuse the tyke bombs that are Eli and Trech, and kill off the vocal chord parasites. Oh, and more or less torch Cipher to the ground."

"...You have GOT to tell me how that happened!"

"One day. One day."

"Promise?"

"Promise, my dear Commander."

"Thanks...is there one thing I can ask you now, though?"

"Shoot."

"What did you do with Diamond Dogs?"

"...sign on as a member of the Base Development Team?"

"Really?!"

Rather than offer a response, Viv merely smiled and pulled a file out of her coat, which she soon handed to me. Taking it, I quickly began reading.

Most of it was meaningless data, but one thing did catch my attention:

STAFF NAME: VICIOUS KATYDID

"...They gave you a code name after a carnivorous variety of grasshopper?"

"Eh, I'm not complaining. Mostly had me work on maintenance, occasionally did some secretary work, even one or two combat missions when the A and B Teams were in medical. Before you ask, yes, I could pose as a secretary for you, but please don't ask me to do that too often."

"Just for the sake of asking, why?"

It was amazing how fast Viv could turn her expression from one that could be considered flirtatious to one that was full of malice.

"I don't like being on the sidelines of combat."

…..Note to self: Never piss off my former ROB.

"Ok."

Within an instant, her expression turned to a rather cute one, eyes closed, with a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you!"

…..Scary.

XXXXXXX

Okay, with that all settled, it was time to go to the next universe. Boxing Day was here, and what better time to start my next adventure htan that New YEars would be a little too late.

Carefully, I readied up the portal, preparing my Commander and my fleet for travelling through the multiverse. I'd shut it down for a few months, so it might need some time to start back up... or not.

Okay, now that it was online, time to find another universe to head toward-what was with the energy fluctuation I was getting?

"Commander," intoned the Progenitor AI from PA, who I'd decided to call Katie, "unknown energy pulse detected. It appears to be coming from a nearby universe. We are trying to pinpoint its location now."

"Do we have any nearby probes to explore it?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then give me a moment to ready one up-"

Before I could finish that statement, something happened, and the portal suddenly started sparking. Also, gas clouds and small debris were being pulled toward it."

"Warning, pulse has impacted portal - destination has now been set."

Oh dear. "Deactivate the portal now!"

"I cannot - the portal has been forced open. Also, warning: the portal is now exerting a gravitic pull on all nearby objects."

"Flame, what's going on?"

Uh oh. "Um, something seems to have screwed up the portal and I a-AAAAAMMM-"

The last part might have been the result of me being pulled toward the portal by its gravitic force. Hastily, I summoned up the best armor I had, as well as the paracesis and my kitgun. A moment later, I skidded to a halt beside a radar tower

"Disable the portal's connection to the power netwoRRRRRKKKK!"

Before I could finish my order, the radar tower came free, sending it, and myself, flying into the portal.

Oh, hear we go again.

XXXXXXXX

The feathered egg thief began to organize its catch. Most creatures didn't leave their eggs unattended, but after the commission's recent actions, place the influx of world eaters, many nests had been left without watchers, provided the dodo-look alike with plenty of free lunches. Already, it was examining each one it had acquired, trying to decide which one it wanted to eat first.

Suddenly, a whistling noise filled the air. Looking up, the oviraptor-esque creature watched as several meteors began to sail through the sky, all burning up before they landed, though one or two exploded before they fully burned up.

Before it could watch them much longer, though, the yellow colored dinosaur was caught off guard as a human sized object fell through the trees and came to a halt right next to it. Panicking, the biped retreated. True, it was leaving its bounty behind, but there were still plenty of eggs left to eat.

XXXXXX

OW, THAT HURT!

Ugh, what happened. Also, where had I ended up?

...Okay, I still had access to the progenitor network through my brain implants. Good. Now let's see, what are my surroundings?

...Giant rainforest, what appear to be dinosaurs, specifically hadrosaurs and pachycephalosaurs, what looks like pterosaurs, giant iguanas...is that a wyvern? Why does it look so recognizable?!

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Without thinking, I rolled to the side, just as something huge snapped at where I had been.

Righting myself, I found my assailant to be a pink tyrannosaur with vulture like feathers all over its body...why did this feel so familiar, yet at the same time so alien? Also, why was my head throbbing?

"You appear to have a concussion, sir."

Thank you, Katie. Also, crap - I was fighting a dinosaur while having a concussion. Just perfect.

Also, there were a bunch of eggs nearby, and some of them looked like they were about to hatch. Better protect those from this thing.

Letting out a roar that I recognized but could not identify, the beast jumped at me. I retaliated by jumping up and landing on its back. Seeing no other option, I pulled out the only othe blade I had on me, my zaw, and started hacking at the creature's back, whilst jumping and swinging to avoid being thrown off. When the beast finally tired, I grabbed the paracesis and swung it down on the creature's head, toppling it. With the monster now on its side, I began shooting and hacking at its belly, until it managed to right itself. Sighing, I pulled out the bow I had created in the warframe universe and started blasting it with arrows, occasionally pulling out my kitgun to blast its face with. At one point, I rolled toward some bines, causing the predator to become entangled, allowing me a few more free hits.

When the creature broke free, though, it surprised me by suddenly inflating a nasal sack and roaring at me, before shooting a stream of flames at me.

….Okay, I was _really _familiar with this, but I still couldn't tell what it was. Curse you, concussion!

"Concussion will heal over in one minute, sir."

Thank you, Katie.

Sighing, I opened fire at the dinosaur, managing to shatter part of its lower jaw, break some of its nasal sack, and sever the edge of its tail. Ultimately, though, it managed to get the jump on me and pin me to the ground...only for it to be attacked by one of the iguanas I noticed earlier, followed by several others and one individual that was absolutely huge. The iguanas got in a few good hits, until the giant one was grabbed by the tyrannosaur ripoff and thrown around like a ragdoll, before being left crawling on its side.

While all this had been happening, I had been limping away, waiting for my wounds to heal. As I stumbled over to the eggs, though, something fell out of one of my pockets. Examining it, I realized it was the shield-like gem I had been given by Viv the Christmas before I had allied with her permanently. Hastily picking it up, I found a strange force over come me telling me to head. Toward. The. Eggs.

Oh, and those eggs were starting to hatch.

Now I _really_ needed to get rid of the giant monster headed toward me.

Sighing, I fired off my kitgun at the giant carnivore, who prepared to charge...only to unceremoniously be grabbed by one of the wyverns I'd seen earlier. The large flying predator carried the tyrannosaur rip-off for some distance before its prey managed to break free, at which point the dinosaur shot a stream of flames at the wyvern, who replied with a fireball to the ground based predator's (already sensitive) nose, causing it to burrow into the ground in retreat. Roaring in triump, the red, somewhat lion like wyvern flew upwards, toward a large tree...wait, red, fire breathing wyvern?

"Concussion Recovery Completed."

Perfect. Because now, I think I knew where I was.

First, though, I had the eggs to attend to.

Approaching them carefully, I held out the shield shaped medallion toward the eggs. For a moment, nothing happened, but then seven of the eggs, one green in color, another red, a third some sort of blue, the fourth pink, the fifth black, the sixth forest green, and the last one sapphire, began to shake more ferverently than the rest, before hatching. From the gree egg came one of the iguana like creatures, from the pink one came a beast like the one that had tried to eat me, the red one gave rise to a red wyvern similar to the one that had unknowingly saved me, the blue one to a crocodiel like reptile with a long neck and cobra hood, the forest green one to a tiny, angry pickle, and as for the last two...no way...NO FUCKING WAY!

...Okay, I should probably tell you what those were.

The black one hatched into a dragon with giant horns and spikes all over its body, while the sapphire one had hatched into a sapphire colored dragon.

...How was I gonna explain the baby Xeno'jiva to the commission?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: Here we are!**

**Welcome to Monster Hunter!**

**Yes, I'm going to a fantasy setting. Just remember, this is a LOW FANTASY universe, so barring certain circumstances *CoughBehemothcough* there will be no magic.**

**For those wondering, this is what Flame got from Melissa/Vivienne in the warframe Christmas special.**

**It's called a kinship stone, and in the spin-off game Monster Hunter Stories, it's used by riders to tame monsters from eggs, which is exactly what Flame is going to use it for.**

**Here are the monsties he got from each egg:**

**Nondescript egg: Great Jagras**

**Pink: Anjanath**

**Red: Rathalos**

**Blue: Lagiacrus**

**Forest Green: Deviljho**

**Black: Nergigante**

**Sapphire: Xeno'Jiiva**

**Before you complain about this being overpowered, keep in mind CMDR Flame has no idea how to train them, and that they will not get too big this arc. They need time to grow! Also, he still has many, many, MANY more eggs to care for, since the Kulu-ya-ku abandoned said catch when he showed up.**

**So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	236. Annihilation 202

Okay, okay, I have a ton of monsties following me, so what do I do now?

Might as well make a checklist of what I need to do:

Step 1: Find Shelter: Done - I'd found a little cave I could hole up in until I made contact with civilization. Hopefully, Astera would not ask too may questions about this.

Step 2: Acquire water: Also done - It wasn't hard to set up a basic water supply system, and seeing how I was in the ancient forest, water was a plentiful resource.

Step 3: Gather food - also realtively easy - the fight between the Rathalos, Jagras pack, and Anjanath had ended up flattening quite a few unluck Kestodon and Aptonoth, who provided me with plenty of meat to feed my new companions and myself. Combined with some nearby grass and edible herbs, and I was set for nutrition.

Step 4: Fire - trivial issue. Having pyrokinesis is awesome.

Step 5: Caring for the eggs and monsties...okay, this was proving to be a challenge. For starters, the Anjanath, Rathalos, Jagras, and Lagiacrus that I had were all trying to fight each other, as were the Nergigante and Xeno'jiiva. The angry pickle, meanwhile, was trying to snatch food from everyone else, at least until I fed him a full sized male Kestodon. I wasn't sure exactly how long it would be before he started acting up again.

Oh, and almost all of the other eggs had hatched, and now they were all starting to be annoying and difficult to care for - the Barroth and Jyuratodus were always fighting over the mud pit I'd given them, the little Odogaron kept harassing the Tzi-Tzi Ya-ku, the Radobaan I had to lead to several bone piles before he finally became happy with his coat, and don't get me started on the Teostra and Kushala Daora. Ugh, WHERE THE HELL HAD THE KULU-YA-KU FOUND ALL THESE EGGS?!

Luckily, as night began to fall, everyone seemed to calm donw, and I was able to shepherd them into the cave. Fun fact - it appeared one of the powers my my body had from all of the gene mods applied to the human DNA I had created it was the ability to alter my voice and produce all kinds of sounds - including roaring. Thus, it was rather easy for me to get my new companion's attention when I needed it - I could just roar at them and they all shut up and looked at me.

Given that all of them were hatchlings, though, I had to do this practically _five times in ten minutes. _Seriously?

Eh, kids. Monster kids. Can't do much about that...though it was heartwarming to see them form a cuddle pile when they went asleep. Especially since they refused to fight each other when they did so - among others, the Deviljho and a Bazelgeuse cuddling up with each other for warmth.

...Well, maybe I should turn in for the night.

XXXXXXX

I woke up three hours later, to the sight of a jagras trying to wrap its mouth around my head. A moment later, said jagras landed nearby a wall, most of the bones in its body broken.

Shaking out the residule effects of sleep, I pulled out the paracesis - a Jagras pack had arrived, led by an alpha, and it seemed to think my monsties would make an excellent meal. Three were already staring at my new charges..which were already awake and staring down their oppoenents. And aside from the occcasional growl or nip, inter-species rivalries had been put on hold.

Grunting, I threw a rock at the Great Jagras, then leapt at it. A moment later, and it was bucking like a bull.

Once more, unto the breach!

XXXXXXX

"...So, you're sure that you can pinpoint where your dad went to?" I asked, unable to keep the concern out of my voice.

"Yes, _mom," _was Rory's response. Ok, no need for snarkiness!

"I'm not your mom, young man, and _do not snark at me when I am worried about my Commander."_

"****He's my dad," ****retorted the boy. "I am just as worried as you are about him, probably even more so."

...Okay, maybe I was being a little bitchy. "Good point."

"I know...and for the record, I know you aren't my mom..."

"Good."

"...but I wouldn't mind if you were."

...Um, well-

"Found him!"

Wow, that was fast. "Can you open a portal up to him?"

"Doing it, but I'm getting some issues with doing that."

"Such as?"

"Can't make an opening big enough to move anything larger than a tank through it. Also, from the limited data I can get from the implant's in my dad's brain, he's in a narrow area. Probably best if we just send in a few people."

"Is one good enough?"

Rory stared at me for a moment, then smiled. "In regards to the people we have on standby? Probably. If that one person is you...oh yes it is."

I could only respond with a manic grin. "Well, then, let's get to work."

XXXXXXXXX

As I exited the portal, I found myself staring at Flame...who was in the middle of beating up a giant iguana. Aroudn him, many smaller iguanas lay dead, bodies cut and broken, whilst a group of tiny creatures, some mammalian, others reptilian, huddled in a corner, eyes transfixed on my former pawn savaging the lizard.

The fight didn't last very long after I arrived - Flame only needed a few hits to knock hte fight out of the overgrown iguana, followed by one last blow that finally brought it down. Sighing, my Commander turned to observe his kill...and finally noticed my presence.

"...Oh, it's you."

"Yeah. Look's like I showed up a little too late to help."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Viv. This was the result of a screw-up, no reason to feel bad."

"Thank you. So, where are we?"

"The world of Monster Hunter."

"...That was a great jagras, wans't it?"

"Yep."

"...Did you use the kinship stone I gave you?"

"Yeah. Did you intend for this to happen?"

"Nope. I just thought it looked cool."

"Well, it seems it found a use for me."

"Indeed. So, what now?"

"Rest the night, then try to reach Astera in the morning."

"..Works for me."

XXXXXXXX

_...Middle of the Wildspire Waste..._

"Hey, partner, we got something new from the Commission."

Laying the last cactus into the box, the Sapphire Star sighed. "What is it?"

"Let's see: There was a meteor shower in the Ancient Forest, and they want us to investigate."

"...Why didn't they send ateams who were closer?"

"Apparently they were busy forcing away a tempered Pukei-Pukei, Tobi-Kadachi, and a displaced Kushala Daora. There were also reports of a Tempered Great jagras, Anjanath, and Rathalos in the area, but they already appear to have moved on."

"Interesting. So, what are we looking for?"

"Anything, I guess. We cn wait til tomorrow, if you'd like."

"Tomorrow sounds nice."

"Okay, then."

"Good night, pawtner!"

"Good night."

XXXXXXXXX

The probe rolled to the side as the battle raged on. THe tide had taken a turn for the worse - during its arrival, some of its production mechanisms had been damaged, leaving it unable to create factories and units as hastily as needed. True, it was more than a match for a Scarab - even a Horus was only a minor challenge for the machine, but ultimately, numbers were a problem here. Best to retreat for now and save those it could then waste resources in a pointless battle.

Regrettably, it lacked production equipment to build more than a basic settlement. Still, that was enough. With stasis technology, that could certainly keep anyone it rescued alive long enough to see victory!

XXXXXXX

****AN: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy and give me some feedback!****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	237. Annihilation 203

After the events of last night, my next attempt at waking up was surprisingly less eventful. No unexpected monster attacks, no earthquakes, no portals spewing up monsters from another world (apparently, as I found out later, I was just in the wrong location for that to happen), just me calmly awakening to see my monsties still in a cuddle pile. Nearby, Viv was shaking the cobwebs out her eyes, before calmly stretching out her tail to grab her regular clothes, all so she didn't have to leave her sleeping bag.

Once both of us had awakened and stretched out (as well as done all our morning rituals aside from bathing, mostly because A. neither of us were comfortable bathing when we weren't the only ones who would be watching each other, and B. there wasn't any big enough body of water to bathe in that wasn't either salt or filled with angry Gajau, and getting eaten by catfish while trying to clean yourself was annoying), we started waking up the monsties. It was funny seeing mortal enemies using each other as pillows, especially in some cases. I mean, who would have thought a Vaal Hazak would be so willing to let a baby Odogaron use it as a bed? Of course, the adorableness of this outweighed the comedy.

As the baby monsters went back to being both adorable and migraine inducing, I began looking at my other newfound companions. I had spent some of the time before sundown the previous night catching all of the nearby endemic wildlife I could, and now had a horde of Pteryx, hercudromes, birds, and bugs crawling around. Hopefully Biz would like to study them, non-invasively, of course. First, though, I needed to find civilization again.

Speaking of which, as we finished up breakfast, my acute senses alerted me to the approach of two humanoids, one significantly heavier than the other. Noticing my sudden change in demeanor (I think I froze up upon hearing the footfalls), Viv set down the adorable baby Legiana she was petting the hell out of and pulled out a bow.

"What is it?"

"Two people ambling toward the cave. Don't think they're hostile."

"Any ideas who they are?"

"Given that one appears to be female from her voice, she's the lighter of the two, and she just _won't. Shut. UP!... _I think that they're the Sapphire Star and their handler."

"...Is the sapphire star that pudgy?"

"No, but they are carrying a really big weapon."

"...Good point. You think they're looking for us?"

"I doubt it. They probably just came in to see what happened when I arrived here. It did involve a meteor shower, after all."

"Right. Well, let's get ready to greet them."

XXXXXXXX

"So, partner, think we'll see a new monster when we find the meteor?"

The sapphire star sighed. Truly, his handler was a nice girls, but at times, she asked to many questions.

She was also too impulsive for her own good, if their first encounter with a Deviljho was any indication. How she managed to get into so much danger the instant she left the eyes of someone more responsible eluded him.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Behemoth may have come from a meteor, as did Xeno'Jiiva, but those were far larger than the ones were looking for."

"Good point...ooh, what if we find fruit in the meteors?! I wonder what they'll taste like?!"

...What was with this girl and eating?

Any comments that would have followed were brought to a halt by the sound of a branch snapping. Instantly, the hunter was on alert, hand on his blade, ready to strike. As for his handler, she had decided to take shelter behind the most well defended object in the area - him.

"...See anything?" the fiver asked.

"Not yet...wait, there's some footprints up ahead. Maybe they'll lead us to our target?"

"Maybe. Can you look them over?"

"Of course, partner. Just keep me protected!"

"Me and my meowster hunter will make sure you stay safe!"

Smiling, the girl approached the tracks and began examining them. "Now, let's see...small, three pointed feet, looks like a juvenile rath, though I can't get more details there...wait, why are their Anjanath tracks here..._where'd the baby Lagiacrus come from?"_

"...Something wrong?"

"Well, these tracks belong to baby monsters...but I'm finding at least three different sets of tracks, all side by side, belonging to monsters who I know will kill each other...just what happened here?"

"You're guess is as good as mine," replied a new voice.

With a yelp, the Sapphire Star's handler retreated behind him, whilst said fiver turned to examine the source of the voice.

There, standing at the entrance to a nearby cave, was a man, only a few years into adulthood. Not to far away, a lady was resting, eyes fixed on them. Both were armed - the girl with a bow of sorts and the boy with a gold and white great sword, albeit one smaller than even the most common ones the guild provided.

"..Hello," offered the man. "Sorry if I spooked you."

"I see. Apology accepted."

"Thanks. So, what brings you here?"

"A rather large meteor shower. What about you?"

Instantly, the man's expression turned to one of uncertainty. "...It's complicated."

"Did you fall out of one of the meteors?"

The pride of the Fifth Fleet turned to glare at his handler. Seriously? That was just-

"..Actually, yes."

"Wha-really?"

"Yes," replied the girl. "...How'd you know?"

"We've had to deal with stuff that strange for a while now. You get used to it," replied his handler. "So, what are you-"

A sudden growl halted the conversation, as the quintet's attention was turned toward a nearby set of leaves...where two red eyes were staring at them. As y began to move around, the eyes seemed to leave a hazy trail in their wake.

"...Oh dear," was all the Sapphire Star had time to say before the Nargacuga leapt into battle.

XXXXXXX

Rolling out of the way, I watched as the Nargacuga leapt toward the hunter and handler. Given said handler's appearance, I was inclined to assume that they were the heroes of Monster Hunter: World...should I call him the sapphire star? Eh, probably not - that might raise too many questions.

While I was pondering, the sapphire star unfurled his weapon, a Tobi-Kadachi charge blade, and managed to block the pseudo-wyvern's first blow, before returning the favor with a slash of the sword. After a few strikes, the blade started to glow, to which the Sapphire Star responded by loading the phials and morphing the blade into axe mode. The cat like predator bristled when it saw this and moved to charge, only to take a scatternut to the face, leaving it too disoritented to block or evade the axe's first swing. As the electric explosion followed, the wyvern hissed in pain, whilst the star's handler retreated, a couple of scatternuts in hand.

Huh, maybe she wasn't a total load in combat.

Then the wyvern recovered from the attack. The minute it did, its eyes focused on me and Viv.

….Oh snap.

Howling, the cat-creature jumped toward us. I rolled out of the way, then swung the Paracesis at it - rather small for a hunter's great sword, but better than nothing. Vivienne, meanwhile, opened fire with her bow, though she also took a moment to hurl a boulder at it, which the wyvern merely parried with its tail. Groaning, Viv responded by shoulder charging the beast, elicting a surprised yelp from the predator and a crunching noise from one of its arms.

Look's like she'd broken its wing.

Of course, that just enraged the monster, which responded to her charge with a tail swipe. Vivienne flew through the air and impacted against a nearby tree. She was back up in minutes, but her breathing was labored, and I could see a cut on the side of her head starting to poor blood. My other forms of vision, plus some quick scanning, confirmed she was mostly unharmed, but one of her ribs had been cracked.

The cat-like predator seemed to realize it had scored a victory, and howled in delight.

A moment later, a pile of foliage poured out from above us, unceremoniously landing on top of the wyvern. As the creature tried to free itself, I turned toward our newfound companions, where I found the Sapphire Star had just finished sharpening his blade, whilst his Palico was aiming a...rocket(?)...at the wyvern. A moment later, the attack connected, causing the beast to slide back a few meters.

It was at that point I noticed the creature seemed to be slightly tinged purple.

...Wait. Was this a tempered monster?

…..Maybe it was. In that case, we...really needed to leave.

…..Okay, then. The bigger and meaner they are, the harder they fall.

As the beast finally came to a halt, I charged at it, blade at the ready. Then, when it lunged, I leapt, before swinging down onto its head. Without missing a beat, I began hacking at it with a knife, taking care to avoid its bucks and charges. Fun fact: mounting a monster was _even more exhausting _than the game made it look. Fortunately, I had the stamina to hold on. When the beast at last tired, I pulled out the Paracesis and brought the blade down on the wyvern's head again.

As the beast fell, the Sapphrie star, his palico, and Viv joined me in whaling on it, hacking, slashing, stabbing and shooting until the monster recovered. Unfortunately for us, the cat-like predator's first move after it regained its footing was to use a tail swipe to knock all of us over. Sensing an opening, it pounced toward me.

What happened next was really surprising.

Just as the monster was about to hit me, a strange looking mass slammed into it, sending it careening over a nearby root. For a moment, I was transfixed upon the sight of the mass attacking the pseudo-wyvern, but then my attention returned to my companions. Whilst the Sapphire Star's Palico was busy checking him for injuries, I rushed over to Viv and helped her to her feat. Even without her ROB powers, and taking into account her earlier wounds, that girl was not easily worn down - the only major injury she had was the rib the Swift Wyvern had broken with its first tail swipe. All she had from the more recent one was a bunch of bruises, just like me.

"But which of us will heel off the bruises first, I wonder?"

Viv, I'm tired. Please don't read my mind. This doesn't count.

"Fine. Now, what saved up from that leap?"

Turning my attention back toward the Swift Wyvern, I was met with a massive surprise: assaulting the flier were the creatures that had hatched form the eggs I had acquired the day before. As in, all of them. And they were winning. Big time. Oh sure, the Swift Wyvern was putting up a fight, but when you were under attack by a bunch of creatures that you couldn't easily dislodge, and several of them were using fire and lightning attacks, then the fight really couldn't be considered fair.

Eventually, though, the beast managed to shake them off, but instead of going in for the kill, it collapsed, panting. It seemed exhuasiton had taken its toll.

Part of me wanted to strike the beast down, but another part of me felt that would be wrong. Still, how could I take it alive? I mena, I had no way to trap it, and while our saviors apparently did have a way to trap it, he'd apparently forgotten to pack tranquilizers-

A sudden sense of something flying toward me caused me to hold out my left arm, at which point I found myself gripping...one of Biz's tranq rifles?

Okay, when had that shown up. And yes, Ms. Veravenora, that was directed at you.

"Rory sent it last night, thought you might need it...and please don't call me Veravenora."

Well, good of him. Quietly, I started loading the rifle.

"Are you okay?" asked another female voice. It seemed the Fiver's handler had found a way to us.

"We're fine."

"Good, now let's get go-what are you holding?"

"It's a special gun only meant to fire tranquilizers. I want to use it on our furry friend."

"Why? I mean, I'm all for capturing it, but why do you want it alive?"

"It fought hard. Might as well honor that."

"...Okay. Hey, partner, our new friend might have a way to capture the Nargacuga."

The Sapphire Star merely nodded at this and began setting up a shock trap. Part of me was confused as to why he just accepted this as fact, but part of me also knew now was the time not to ask questions. Thus, all I did was take aim at the retreating form of the Nargacuga. My monsties were slowly retreating back to us, much to the confusion of the handler and the Fiver's Palico.

As soon as the trap was finished, the Fiver threw a piercing pod at the Swift Wyvern. Enraged, the creature made one last leap, only to land in the trap and get shocked. With deft hands, I opened fire on the beast, with a dart flying into its head. Another soon followed. On the impact of the third dart, the wyvern finally lost consciousness.

At that moment, I collapsed, exhausted. A moment later, I heard the Sapphire Star let out a relived sigh. "Nice work."

"Thanks.."

A wet sensation all over alerted me to the return of my monsties, who were trying to lick my wounds. The Fiver, his handler, and his Felyne all stared on at this in shocked silence.

"...I can explain."

XXXXXXX

**AN: ****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	238. Annihilation 204

"...How'd you get a kinship stone?"

I stared blankly at the Sapphire Star's handler for a moment. "...How do you know about those?"

"The Guild picks the absolute best to send to the New World. We have a couple of riders with us."

"...Seriously?"

"Yes...but they really don't like to work with everyone else. I think they're worried that the rest of the Commission will try to turn their...monsties...into weapons or armor."

"Really?"

"Well, someone did try that once. I think he got eaten by a Great Jagras."

...Was I stuck in a parody version of the Monster Hunter universe?

_No, you aren't. Trust me, weird things happen here._

I was expecting Celm to reply to my thoughts, but he did. Not that said reply filled me with confidence.

"Where are the Riders?"

"Most of them operate in the Elder's Recesses. I think they were trying to track down a Fatalis."

"..Okay, just one last question."

"Ask away."

"...Why are you not surprised at all that I said I fell out of the sky, yet have a kinship stone."

"We've hunted things that make that a lot less unbelievable then you'd expect."

I thought on that for a moment, then shrugged. Might as well go with the flow. "Okay, I'm out of questions. NOw could we go back to...wherever you are based."

"That would be Astera, and okay. NOW LET'S GO!"

With that, said handler jolted back toward Astera. I turned to look at her hunter for a moment, giving him a quizzical look.

He merely shrugged. "She has her quirks, but once you get to know her, she's really nice."

For a moment, my gaze turned to Vivienne, who was now be licked over by my monsties, much to her embarrassment. "...I can relate."

Yes, Viv, you are quirky. Don't argue.

_Hey, I like being quirky!_

XXXXXX

After managing to get a team of Felynes to carry off the tranqed Nargacuga (and not get mauled by my monsties, who thought they were chew toys), we managed to make our way back to Astera. Part of me felt bad at feigning gnorance as to what the Commission's base was named, but how would I explain that? Some secrets should best remain secrets, at least for now.

When we arrived, I was surprised by the amount of stares we got...or should I say lack of stares. Aside from a few confused glances, nobody really seemed to mind the fact that A. I wore strange clothes, as did Viv, B. we had really odd looking weapons, and C. we were being followed by a horde of baby monsters. What was with these people? Shouldn't they be more worried?

"...Expecting more stares?" asked the Sapphire Star's Handler. I simply nodded in response. "Well, there's been a lot of activity from Kulu-ya-ku lately, and they feed primarily on Monster Eggs. The commission has had to return so many eggs to their nests that every so often, we have to deal with a hatchling that won't go home. It looks like you just had the...odd...luck to stumble upon a whole clutch ready to hatch."

"I see...I apologize, but may I ask your name?"

That caught her off guard. "I didn't introduce myself?"

"No, you did not."

"Well, um, I'm sorry about that. I'm Zoe. You?"

Uh oh. I hadn't thought about that. I couldn't really use an alias, and Flame would just sound weird. Hastily, I tried to come up with something, only to turn up blank.

"I think you might want to wait on that," remarked Viv. "HE hit his head on the way down and, well, forgot a few things. I'd tell you his name, but I do believe he'd get rather angry at me for that. As for my me, I'm Vivienne."

Thank you for the save, Viv.

_You're welcome. Now, I suggest that you think up a name, and fast._

Any advice?

_You run an Egopolis in fact, if not name. Perhaps you should name yourself after your federation?_

Oddly, that sounded like a good idea. I was willing to bear the narcissism comments that would inevitably ensue if I did that - it could throw people off about my competence.

As I pondered what would be the best name to use, I saw a wingdrake carry one hunter off to the Ancient Forest, whilst a trio helped move the Nargacuga into the holding pen. Some disntace away from said pen, a Pukei-pukei had just had a tag attached to it, and was now flying back into the forest. Others looked at supplies at the main hub, whilst a quartet was busy trying to put fertilizer on the Ancient Tree and all of the plants surrounding it. How amusing.

Eventually, we reached the designated meeting gathering hub for Astera - the one fore the story, not the one for multiplayer stuff. There, the Commander and his grandson were talking about something, before noticing our arrival. Both smiled, clearly happy to see their best hunter and hanlder duo return in triumph.

"Welcome back!" exclaimed the Field team Leader. "You guys find anything?"

"Yes, though what we found raises more questions than it answered," was Zoe's response. She then turned and gave us a rather pointed look.

"..Something wrong with those two?" asked the Field Team Leader, whilst his grandfather seemed rather confused (and somewhat angry) that Zoe was giving us a weird look.

"Well, it seems monsters aren't the only things that fall out of the sky."

It took the two of them a moment to figure out what she meant, but after that, their expressions turned to ones of admittedly muted shock as they stared, somewhat unbelieving, at me and Viv.

"...How'd you end up here?"

I took a breath before explaining. "It involved messing around with the technology of an ancient civilization and things going horribly wrong."

Considering that the native Ancient Civilization to this universe was the reason Elder Dragons hated everyone, and had created a flesh golem out of the corpses of several hundred monsters, I was pretty sure they would believe what I had said. Which they did. Much meaningless chatter followed, mostly me giving them a somewhat truthful account of what had drawn me here and asking them what was going on in the New World.

"...And that's why we sent our Sapphire Star to examine where the meteor shower had happened, which ended up leading us to you two," finished the field team leader.

"I see. That's a lot to take in."

"I could say the same about your story. Though I do have one question."

"Go ahead."

"What did you say your name was again?"

At that, Zoe shot up. "Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you: he injured his head when he landed and-"

"-forgot my name, amongst other things. It's all come back though..well, most of it. To answer your question, my name is Infernis. People always di say I had a fire in me since the day I waI was born."

That last bit was a lie, but hey, I needed to say something to make my name sound less cheesy.

"Oh. Interesting. Mine's Preston. As for my grandfather-"

"My name is Alexander. I apologize for not introducing myself to you earlier."

"It's fine. And thank you for explaining things to me."

"Of course. So, what do you intend to do now?"

"I'd like to go back home, but first, I want to pay you back for helping me out earlier."

"How so?"

"...You short on field researchers...or hunters? If you need someone to fix up parts of Astera, I'm fine with that, but I'd like to see the New World with my own eyes."

"...that could be arranged, but it won't exactly be a quick process. There are tests that need to be done to see if sending you out into the open is reasonable. And, fo course, there will be paperwork to fill out."

"I can handle that."

"I didn't think you would be. Your story paints the picture of a person who isn't easily caught off guard. Still, here is one other issue that needs to be addressed."

"I'm listening."

"Your sword is on the small end for a greatsword. I'd suggest you look into getting something bigger. You've already taken down a Great Jagras and its pack, so we can use those for materials. If you do find a weapon or two to your liking, I'll pay for it, but anything else will be on you."

"...Thank you."

"It's nothing."

With all that said and done, the Commander excused us.

That was awfully easy.

_The recent events around Astera have forced his hands. He's just sent a request for more help to deal with all the creatures that have come out of the woodwork after Xeno'jiiva died, but it'll be a while before he gets a response. Even if it is only one hunter, he'll take all the help he can get._

Thanks, Viv.

Calming myself, I turned toward the Sapphire Star. "Could you lead me to whoever is in charge of the forges here?"

"Of course."

"Your help is appreciated...by the way, what's your name?"

"..Theseus."

"Nice name."

And a fitting one, even if he ultimately had a far happier ending than his namesake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Sorry if the names and dialogue sound off. Dialogue isn't my thing and I made the names up on the spot.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	239. Annihilation 205

Ah, the Forges of Astera - where weapons meant to slay titans were made. I might not have been able to acquire advanced technology here, but the knowledge I acquired in those forges more than made up for it.

_You know, I half expected you to need a change of pants after that._

Viv, I don't like weapons like that. Maybe Ruby Rose does, but not me.

_ha, ha, ha. Now, get back on topic._

Fine.

Once we reached the forges, the Head Smith and Commander of the Second Fleet asked what we wanted. I was surprised the Commander had informed him about us so quickly, but didn't really see any reason to debate that. Using the materials we'd acquired from the great Jagras, plus some errant bones and metal ore, we decided on what weapons we wanted. Owing to the supplies we had on hand, they were willing to give us a choice of three weapons.

I needed a moment to think on mine, but ultimately, I decided upon the sword and shield, the light bow gun, and the insect glaive. The sword and shield was the base ore one, the bowgun a Jagras Blitz, and the glaive the starter for the bone line. As for Viv, she chose to go with a bone hammer, bow, and, to my surprise, the gunlance. Interesting choices, no doubt, though some more straightforward than mine.

_Eh, why go for skill when you have tons of strength?_

Point made.

Once the weapons were chosen, the smiths swiftly started building them. I watched them in earnest, eager to learn the secrets of the forges - I really wanted to learn how to make these fine instruments of murder!

When the weapons were finished, we still had enough parts to make each of us a set of armor - and a high-rank one at that. I went for the jagras Alpha set while Viv went with the beta. part of me wondered if that was intentional on her part.

_It was, you silly little boy._

I let the jab slide, before recovering my equipment and getting ready to explore Astera some more - I wanted to do some more things before we settled down for the night. You now, gather provisions, learn how to make traps and tranquilizers...oh, and check on my monsties.

XXXXX

Three hours later, and we had completed our errands - whilst I had recovered provisions, Viv had talked with the head chef (and maybe learned from him how to cook monster meat), whilst also taking some time to learn from Zoe what being a handler for the Commission Entailed.

"Look, I'd prefer to beat the hell out of any monster I can find, my dear former pawn, but someone has to fill out all of your forms and paperwork for when you cause some overgrown lizard to croak."

I'd surprised myself with how I responded to that.

"...Could you teach me some of that, then?"

"...What?"

"If you're going to do my guild paperwork, I might as well do yours."

She'd actually gone quiet on that for a moment, before quickly giving me a crash course on how to fill out the forms and similar stuff. Fun times.

*shiver*

After that, I'd briefly met with the team watching my adorable monsters to make sure they knew I hadn't forgotten about them, fed and played with them (as did Viv), then retired for the night. First, though, we took a moment to sit down by the Cantina and watch the stars.

"So, we're in a world where there's no technology for you to munch on."

"Yep."

"And you are fine with this, correct?"

"...Yeah, I suppose so. I like the challenge."

"Hmph. I bet most commanders would beg to differ. Of course, you're not most commanders."

"...Nope."

"Yep...You know, if you ever met another commander, they'd probably see you as some kind of traitor. I mean, you made peace with me...and took me on as one of your crew."

"Well, that's true, but you aren't a B.R.O.B., you're a B.R.O.B."

"...What?"

"First one is a_ Bastard_ Random Omnipotent Being. You? A_ Benevolent_ Random Omnipotent Being."

"Oh. I'm flattered. No, really, I am."

XXXXX

The next day, after feeding one of the Pteryx I'd caught, my...well, our first mission began - eliminating a horde of vespoid. Nothing too big, just a simple mission so that we didn't hurt ourselves after yesterday's events.

I made use of my insect glaive during this mission, using the parkour skills I'd learned while in the Origin System to complement the glaive's maneuverability. Viv, meanwhile, used her hammer to reduce the bugs to bits. One had the misfortune of falling to her_ capture net,_ though.

As the last bug died, I smiled. Mission one: done!

XXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	240. Annihilation 206

With a grunt, Viviene brought her hammer down on the Barroth's head, shattering the brute wyvern's crest. Momentarily dazed, the creature stumbled around, allowing me to send my kinsect to assault its partially severed tail. Upon recovering, though, it turned its attention to me, roared, and charged.

Perfect.

As the dinosaurian creature barreled toward me, I threw a shock trap onto the ground. Then, just as it was about to hit me, I rolled to the side, pulling out my tranq rifle. Unable to stop itself in time, the barroth continued onwards, and subsequently found itself shocked into immobility. A few shots later, and the beast was down for the count.

Suck it, you overgrown lizard! You won't knock me out this time!

….I think I just said that out loud. Vivienne was giving me an funny look.

Briefly, I watched over the sleeping brute wyvern, before deciding to try my hand at some artistic work. Most of the Commission kept research journals, and the two of us had been encouraged to get our own for writing anything useful we acquired. Already, I'd filled in a few pages, and I only planned to add to it as time went on.

It'd been two weeks since we'd arrived in the Monster Hunter universe, and now the Commission was starting to trust us with more difficult tasks, such as taking donw tougher monsters. I'd already captured a Tzi-Tzi-ya-ku, Great Girros, Pukei-Pukei, and even a Dodogama, so I'd seen most of what the New World, but there was still so much I had yet to do. I hadn't even brought down a Tempered Monster yet, though in all fairness, I still had a lot of work to do.

Oh, and a fun fact: apparently a couple of Zorah Magdaros had decided to imitate their older cousin and migrate to the New World. I didn't even know why - with Xeno dead, they shouldn't be heading here unless they were old and dying, yet the head researcher said all of the ones we were seeing were juveniles or adults in their prime. Seriously, what the hell?

That was a question for another day, though.

"So, you finish up the paperwork for this while I get some last minute preparations done?"

"...Eh, sure. That's fine with me."

"Good. I hope you haven't forgotten what today is, my former pawn."

"Not making that mistake again."

Smirking, Viv whistled, then shot out her slinger at the arriving Mernos. Despite my best efforts, I grinned, before beginning to work on the forms that needed to be filled.

Yeah. As if I'd forget my birthday again.

XXXXXXXXX

When the last of papers were completed, I went to the outskirts of Astera and opened up a portal. I still didn't know how people knew about other worlds around here, but I didn't want to give them the wrong ideas, so this was for the best. Plus, I didn't want anyone snooping around where they weren't invited.

When I exited the hole in space and time, I was greeted by a horde of my followers, children both biological and adopted, Viv, and some of her company. A mountain of presents was off to one side, whilst a nearby table was filled with all sorts of refreshments: besides came, there was ice cream, cookies, a fair amount of chips, soda, water, and, watched over by one of Vivienne's subordinates, a few bottles of alcohol.

Oh yeah, I'm now twenty one. I can legally drink...well, in the United States, at least.

Getting through the singing of Happy Birthday and the cape was a trivial affair. After that, though, came the gifts, and some of those were rather surprising. Sure, Ayatans and rare crystals were expensive, but there were other things that caught me off guard. Arcane enhancements? Toroids And Sentient Cores? MONSTER PARTS?! Where had they gotten those from?

I didn't ask that, though, and fortunately Viv never bothered to answer that, so I did not have to worry about it.

After all of the gifts were unwrapped and categorized for later usage, it was time for fun. Humorously enough, Viv has decided to start the rest of the celebration with a piñata, of all things. Filled with ah candies, including a few sour ones for me - whilst I wouldn't mind a piñata, I wanted my guests to be able to enjoy it with me.

...Wait, was the piñata's eyes moving? And why did it look so familiar?

Where had I seen this cartoony dragon before...oh.

I looked the piñata in the eyes.

"...your sacrifice is appreciated."

The Dragonache stared at me for a moment, then smiled.

A moment later, I brought down the bat, and the piñata exploded into tiny pieces.

XXXXXXX

I lazily belched as I righted myself. The Guests were starting to leave, and I felt the need to at least say farewell.

We'd spent hours playing games, both video ones and physical ones, as well as watching movies and reading stories. A couple of sports game transmissions had been bootlegged from other universes for today, so those had also been of interest. Overall, a nice day. The fact I had downed three bottles of beer and didn't have a noticeable blood alcohol content was also a plus.

"So, enjoy your special day?"

I turned to face Viv, who was busy cleaning some crumbs off her dress.

"Yeah, I did. Just so you know, I'm coming off a sugar high, so don't expect me to be eloquent."

"Eh, I don't mind. So, enjoy being an adult?"

"Yep. Got to drink, bet, and smash open a living piñata. Celebrated my age and got to let my inner child out. Maybe the only thing that would have made t better is if I...lost some of my remaining innocence, but that's really a tertiary goal for me."

"Oh, I see. Still annoyed about being a virgin?"

"A little."

"Well, funnily enough, I was actually thinking about solving that for you today."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. It wouldn't be too hard for me to create a minion to satisfy your...carnal needs."

"Why didn't you, then?" I managed to get out before I loudly bleached. Too much sugar and alcohol, I suppose.

"I don't actually know what your preferences for what you want to tap."

"...wait, what?"

"I don't know what you would want to 'do'."

"...You."

"Huh?"

"If we are talking in regards to physical attraction, then I would most definitely do you."

Viv stared at me for a moment, before turning crimson with embarrassment and vanishing, eager to whack herself with a memory erasing hammer.

_Hey, I never told you about that._

Well, even you occasionally drop your mental defenses.

Briefly, I stared at where my former ROB had stood, before breaking out in a laugh.

True, Viv was in sights amongst the things I was willing to tap, but I wanted to enjoy that pleasure with someone whose personality I liked. A creation with no mind could not do that, and Viv wasn't really on that category. At all.

I'm serious.

Shaking the exhaustion off of me, I opened a portal and headed to my personal quarters. Time to go to sleep.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	241. Annihilation 207

Carefully, I secured the last rope to the cart. Once I was sure it was secure, I gave a thumbs up to the felyne crew, who began carting off the Diablos back to Astera. Nearby, Viv was busy picking at an ore outcropping (pun intended), trying to find some extra ore for gear making.

"Find anything valuable?" I asked.

"Not much. Just the usual ores."

Not surprising. "Any of those what you're looking for?"

"Tons. I think I have enough for what I want made."

Nice. "Back to Astera, then?"

"Actually, I want stop by camp first - have a nice meal."

"Fine. But I'm cooking."

"Why? Do you honestly think you could do better than me?" Oh how smug she was. Did she really think that men couldn't cook?

_'No, but your culinary skills, while certainly good, pale in comparison to mine._'

"Not normally, but at least I don't make the mistake of confusing a wyvern thigh for a poison sac.

_'How'd he know about that?!'_

_I asked when the Chef started throwing cutlery at you. Also, your attempt to prepare an apceros egg with a cactus blossom was a resounding failure._

Watching Viv stutter and sputter over her cooking mess up was hilarious.

XXXXXX

"..This is *NOW* delicious!" shouted my BROB, stuffing a Apcerpast into her mouth, followed by a shinebloom. "My compliments to the chef!"

"Why thank you."

Praise from a ROB, even a friendly one, meant a lot.

Also, good grief, how much could this girl eat - she'd already wolfed down three plates! "So, anything else you'd like?"

"Nah, I'm getting full."

Yay - I wasn't sure the commission would be happy if they learned Viv had eaten up so much food. "Okay...you want to go back to Astera yet?"

"I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind."

I didn't, but what could we do now? Catch lizards?

"How about we just talk?"

...Eh, that works.

"Good, so, what do you want to talk about?"

I could think of one thing...

"And what might that be?"

"You."

"Huh?"

"I'm sure you know all about me, but I don't know all that much about you - who you were, who you are, what you like, all that jazz."

"Oh..."

"If you don't want to talk about those, I understand-"

"No, its fine. I suppose telling you a bit about myself would be acceptable."

"Well then, what was it like? Being royalty, I mean?"

"...well, it was extravagant, I will admit. Nice clothes, heavenly food, extravagant pageants and balls, and much ceremony."

"I'm sensing there's a but there."

"Yeah. You get a lot of privileges over the common person, but you also have a ton of responsibilities - how to dress, how to act - "

"And I presume that you can't choose who you we, correct?"

"Eh, that wasn't really an issue for my family. My father allowed the sons and daughters of the nobility to meet and play with us, so if we were to marry for politics, the match wouldn't be a wholly incompatible one. Besides, I was far enough down the line of succession that it would be acceptable for me to marry whoever I chose."

"So there are perks to being a middle child."

"There are. So what else do you want to know?"

"Well, what's it like having so many siblings? I only had one, so..."

"Well, it can be annoying. You always have to share bathrooms, for one. And heaven help you if Megan was doing her makeup - she could take an hour. Roderick would do the same if he was showering."

"I can relate. How competitive were they?"

"Extremely so - Amanda actually timed herself to see how long it took her to eat lunch. She always tried to shave off a few seconds...well, at least until she ended up with bad stomach cramps for eating too much too fast."

"You may be above some of the laws of nature, but not all of them, it seems."

"Yeah."

"...Do you miss them? You family, I mean?"

"I...I do. I miss them a lot. And I'm not even sure fi they still remember me - it's been about five hundred and fifty years since I left. They might have forgotten about me, and even if they haven't, well, I'm pretty sure they've given up ever finding me."

"Ouch...Anything else you want to say?"

"No, not really. But I do have something to give you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

Rather than elaborate, Viv simply put a hand on her head. A moment later, as she pulled it away, a crystal formed, which she promptly handed to me. "If you want more answers on my past, look into that. I...don't want to talk about who I was. Or how I changed into who I am."

"…..Okay."

"Thank you. Now, please, let me return to Astera - I have some armor to make."

Conversation finished, Viv whistled, before throwing a slinger shot into the air. Moments later, she was flying off, held aloft by a mernos.

For a few minutes, all I could do was stare at the crystal.

Then, acting on a hunch, I focused my psychic powers on it.

Moments later, everything went white.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	242. Annihilation 208

Vivian groaned as she put on the dress - not because it was garish (it was magnificent), nor because she disliked the ceremony she was to were it for (that was something she was rather looking forward to). No, the reason she was groaning was because it was_ too damn small!_ How come her parents couldn't arrange a tailor to make a new one?_ Her father was royalty, for heaven's sake - _surely he could have arranged for a new dress to accommodate her growth spurt. They certainly had the money.

Knowing groaning would get her nowhere, the princess merely resigned herself to having to deal with the less-than-comfortable garment and finished her preparations for the festival. Nothing too special, this one - just a tradition between nobles and royalty. She half expected an incident of some sort to occur - scandals involving nobility were depressingly common, and he would not be surprised if she found two of her equals getting to know each other….a bit too thoroughly. If one of those were one of her elder siblings, though...best not to think about that. Beyond staining the family name for, at worst, a year, embarrassing actions here would only serve to damage the pride of those involved.

And Clarice could certainly live with having her ego deflated a bit.

A knock at the door drew the princess out of her introspection. Hastily finishing her efforts to dress herself - thank the heavens she didn't have to sue a girdle yet - sheput on her shoes and opened the door. There, Leal stood with an outstretched hand, dressed in the finest of silks.

"Are you ready, my mistress."

Vivian smiled. "Of course. Let us be off."

XXXXXXXX

The trip had been short, but when you lived close to the location of the festival, and more importantly, had a multi-legged worm that could travel through alternate universes, travelling anything short of multiversal distances became a triviality. Arriving with an hour to spare before the festivities began in earnest, Vivian took a moment to examine the location for this year's party - a reunion, of sorts.

The chosen site was an old castle, owned both de-jure and de-facto by the builders, her mother's kind. As the builder's overseeing it shared no ties with her maternal kin, there was less fear that someone would try to exploit the party to eliminate rivals - and besides, there were still new lands to conquer, all rich in resources, yet vacant of intelligent life. Squabbling here ran the risk of drawing the ire of everyone else. As for the castle, it was, at first glance, primitive, but closer examination revealed it to be far more advanced than meets the eye - radio and satellite dishes had been added to accommodate modern communication, automated defenses had been moved in, and hyper efficient vertical turbines had been acquired to provide power for a variety of projectors and speakers, all in preparation for tonight's gathering. The best security available had been brought in - military personnel and the best mercenaries money could buy stood side by side, watching all guests as they arrived - no chances were being taken.

This year, it was Vivian's duty to escort her younger siblings to their part of the festivities, where they would enjoy more childish interests - games, movies, books, the like. The elder ones would join her in the main festivities, while their parents gossiped and enacted diplomatic plans with each other. Of course, age did not equal maturity - she knew one of tonight's guests would be bringing in her newly acquired pet hydra to flaunt.

Passing through one of the doorways, Vivian was careful to avoid knocking over a vase carrying servant, who was just as elated as she was about this festival - those of lower classes were given freedom from their feudal oaths tonight, so they were also intent to enjoy this time as best they could. Furthermore, both lords and commons were expected to partake in each other's pleasures, for tonight, they were equals.

On the off chance that a commoner and high ranking noble wished to marry, they could do so tonight with social stigma - there were certainly perks to spending a night as equals.

Vivian, of course, would not have to worry about that - at one hundred and sixty eight, she was still too young to be interested in such matters, if only due to her mother's influence.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So, enjoying the party?"

"Of course I am, Clarence. Though I admit, having a dress just a half-size too small is taking away from my happiness."

"I see. Well, you can't plan for everything."

"Would you two stop gawking? We have an owlbear to catch!"

Grinning, Viv merely nodded, before moving to join Julia and her other friends. Soon, the hunt would begin.

Saddling up on horseback, Viv and her friends began the ride out to the nearby forest - originally arranged for an out-door ball, the plans had been put on hold due to the unexpected arrival of an albino owlbear - one that some of the young lords and ladies had decided to hunt.

Said owlbear was now fleeing across the plains, surrounded by young lords and ladies, all carrying lassoes and tranquilizer darts. Taking care to not get too close, Julia threw the first dart, followed by Clarence, then Mike. After the three darts had been thrown, the team switched to their ropes - the beast would soon tire, and then they could take it down. Yet it refused to lose without a fight. It jinked and swerved as ropes were thrown its way, doing its best to avoid being caught. Even being caught by three lassos was not enough to hold it, for it simply tugged hard, catching Julia, Mike, and Clarence by surprise and knocking them off their horses. Though it was growing tired, it had managed to throw off most of its pursuers, and would soon be free.

Then Vivian rode up to the beast and leapt forward, landing a few meters in front of it. Coming to a halt, the beast reared up, trying to scare her off. When that failed, it lunged.

That was a mistake.

Sidestepping the beast, Viv grabbed it beneath the arms, lifted it skywards, and fell backwards, slamming it into the ground. A moment later, the beast went limp - knocked unconscious by the girl's prodigious strength.

"...Showoff."

"Would expect anything less from me?"

The boy thought for a moment, before nodding in the negative. "Not at all."

"Good, now help me load this thing up so we can move it somewhere else - we have a dance to get to!"

XXXXXX

Said outdoor dance was enjoyable, though perhaps a little too slow for Vivian's tastes. Her friends seemed to share her sentiments, as the quartet was soon sitting a table, watching the others enjoy the music.

"So, any of you have interesting stories to tell?" questioned Viv. She, unfortunately, had nothing to share since their last meeting, a month prior.

"None here, unfortunately," intoned Clarence, "though my parents are pushing for me to focus on my architectural studies.."

"You mean the ones you get from the teacher that hates your guts and only hasn't kicked you out because both his parents and yours will skin him alive if he does?" questioned Julia.

"The same."

"Ouch. Well, someone tried to break into my house and steal our giant leeches - apparently the chemicals we get from them fro medicine sell for a small fortune on less than legal markets."

"Julie, didn't your mom sell some of them on a grey market?" inquired Mike, making a small jab at the irony of the situation.

"You can't prove that...but yes."

"Ha ha ha."

"What about you, Michael? Anything interesting happen around your family's lands?"

"One thing, I guess."

Viv seized on the opportunity. "And what might that be?"

"There's been some reports by some farmers and masons that something's been attacking their homes - something big, by the sounds of it. Animals killed, buildings damaged, the like Police were sent in to investigate, but when they came back, half of the force sent needed to go to the emergency room. No fatalities, but one guy's still stuck in a wheelchair."

"Are your parent's going to send their personal guard in? Or perhaps the army?" asked Julia.

"No. They're not gonna do anything about it. Not a damn thing."

"What?!" shouted Viv, grateful that everyone else was too focused on the music to listen in. "Why?!"

"Assuming it moved where we think it did, it is no longer in our jurisdiction to act. It's been moving toward a different lord's lands."

"And who might that be?" prodded Viv. "I'm certain I can convince them to-"

"It's headed to the lands owned by the House of Konig...That's another name for your family, isn't it?"

Upon hearing those words, Viv deflated. "...Yes, it is."

"Ouch. So, you think you could get your parent's to act? This thing's torn a path of destruction of couple of miles wide, and each attack is more vicious than the last. We might be in real trouble if it isn't put under control soon enough."

"I'll speak with my parents after the party is over. I'm_ certain_ I could convince them to intervene."

"Good luck."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

I blinked in confusion, still mulling over what I had just seen. This was one of Viv's memories, no doubt, but why was it so important. Why did she want me to see this?

...I guess I'd have to see the rest to understand.

But first, I had more monsters to hunt.

XXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	243. Interlude 35

Ginning, Celm took aim at his target, taking pains to ensure his aim was true. His foe, trying to find an opening to defeat the progenitor, had tried to flank him, only to find himself dangerously exposed, and lacked the speed to seek shelter before the bullets could fly. Desperately, he tried to defy fate and took aim at his opponent.

Celm pulled the trigger.

The man let out a pained yelp as a bullet few through his heart AND lungs, perforating all three as it exited his body.

Without missing a beat, Celm cambered another bullet.

A second shot hit his target in the throat, followed by a third to the femoral artery, a fourth to his groin, and finally, a fifth bullet to his head.

The corpse hit the ground with a thud.

"YES! YES YES YES! SUCK IT, YOU FOOL! KISS MY BOOTS!"

"Really, honey?" questioned Milsamrina, "you are whooping for joy over a video game match victory? That you went out of your way to be petty over?"

"..Killjoy," replied the progenitor in question, annoyed at having his victory spoiled. Annoyance soon turned to amusement, though. "Isn't that rather hypocritical, coming from you?"

The xziphid could only give a smirk at this. "Oh, please, don't try to play that card - I am leagues less petty than you are."

"Isn't the girl you just lassoed and put in front of a moving train the same one that killed you five times in a row and fed you to an alligator after that?"

Instantly, the she-ROB lost her composure, breaking out into an embarrassed cold sweat as she tried and failed to stutter out a response. The smirk that had been on her face now occupied her husband's, and had grown more pronounced. "Don't try to call me out on being petty when you are worse than me in that regard," he chided, before letting out a laugh.

Said laugh was cut short when he was forced to duck under a curled-club-esque object that flew toward his head. Dodging it, Celm focused his attention on said club, only to realie it wasn't a club, but a reptile tail...specifically, his wife's.

"Please, do stop being petty."

"Only when you do, my wife."

Incensed, Milsanrima lashed out again, only for her husband to grab ahold of the base of her tail.

She let out an angry growl at this.

Then he started rubbing the tail between his thumb and the rust of his hand.

Instantly, the anger was replaced with embarrassed blushing, and then a soft moaning. "...Um, p-please stoop."

After a few moments, he acquiesced. "Well, okAAAYY!"

*WHUMP*

Celm did even have time to finish his thoughts before his wife pounced, sending both of them flying through a nearby wall. A moment later, a pair of Coelohim entered the room and logged them out of the game, ignoring the sounds of destruction and devastation coming from the other room. Whatever had happened, though, they knew Celm probably had it coming.

XXXXXXXX

"Dammit, why the hell did that girl put me on a train track?" questioned Operative Zeta. "I mean, just...just...why?!"

"You did kill her five times, then tie her up and throw her into the Saint Denis swamp to get eaten by an alligator," answered Tau. "Just let it go."

"You mean like how you let the guy who shot your character in the nuts go free?"

"I fed him to mountain lions and bears, threw him off a cliff, shot up his face, and tea-bagged him. I'd honestly be surprised if he went for less than three shots when he killed me."

"...Fair enough. Back to killing zombies in Black Ops?"

"Yep."

XXXXXXXXX

The probe looked over the set of cryopods before it. Here, a group of children were resting, calmly dreaming of something - the probe had not the technology needed to discern their dreams.

It had been a few years since the Faro Plague had conquered the world - the probe had arrived at best a week before Zero Day, leaving it with no time to stop the swarm. It had instead done what it could - gather up the survivors, place them in stasis, then prepare to start over. It had been fortunate to be in possession of an entire backlog of Earth's myriad wildlife - the Great Dreamer had preserved samples of all life forms from its arrival to its second awakening, and had made sure to store them away from T'leth, sparing them from destruction when the ship had exploded. Even dinosaurs were amongst the beasts it had within its vaults. Now free of most threats to their existence, the creatures were able to return from extinction...or at least, they would when the Great Dreamer bothered to tell the Commander about that.

….Well, technically it had told him about that, but he hadn't really been paying attention.

Its rounds examining the cryopods done, the probe began its next task - examine the underground gardens it had built. Contained within were various plants and livestock, meant to sustain the people within until Project Zero Dawn could complete its objective. The machine had briefly tried to overcome the Faro Plague on its own, but the crash had damaged its cyberwarfare routines - it could defend itself well enough, but attacking was out of the option. Thus, it had been forced to hole up here and wait for things to get better.

Hopefully, the Commander would find it soon enough - it was getting lonely down here.

A proximity alert drew the machine out of its ponderings - something was walking over the base.

…...Scratch that, someone_ had collapsed_ on top of the base. Why was that even happening? Whatever had collapsed was human in appearance, but none of the Faro robots had humanoid forms, and the only human who would be on the Earth's surface on this time would be...oh.

Hastily, the robot sent out a trio of rescue drones to greet the new arrival. Hopefully, they would be able to save her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Look's like we got him, partner!"

The Sapphire Star merely nodded as he stared at the slumbering form of the Tempered Deviljho. How nature could make the World Eater_ even tougher_ was utterly beyond him. Still, they had managed to bring it down, and now, the Commission would have the opportunity to examine the tempered brute wyvern in peace.

Of course, with the number of wyverns that were crawling out of the woodwork getting higher, there was only so long before there'd be another specimen they wanted - the death of Zorah Magdaros and Xeno'Jiiva had released enough Life Force to attract monsters from all over the world. Hopefully, they wouldn't cause too many problems...at least, not until the Commission could call in more help.

"Don't worry," assured Zoe. "We'll get help soon enough."

"..How'd you know what I was thinking about?"

"Lucky guess."

"Oh...Thanks."

"You're welcome...you think the two who fell out of the sky are, well, just the start?"

"...Could you explain?"

Zoe sighed, adjusting her goggles. "We've already had Behemoth fall out of the sky, now we have those two. What if you creatures and people start coming?"

"The Commander* will have a plan, and if he doesn't, we'll figure something out. I mean, we've figured them out before."

"..Yeah, I guess we have," acknowledged Zoe, smiling. Then, surprisingly, her smile turned from one of hope to one of amusement.

"..What?"

"You've been talking a lot more recently. I'm just curious, why?"

"..Just feeling a bit more comfortable now. Things were stressful when we got here."

_'Also, you never really give me the chance to talk with how energetic you are.'_

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Sure," the Handler replied, not entirely believing him. "...Hey, shouldn't we tell our new friends about Behemoth? Maybe they can explain it?"

"They might."

"Then let's tell them!"

Filled with energy, Zoe made to leave, only to stop barely ten paces from where she started.

"What?" asked the Sapphire Star, confused by his companion's sudden halt.

"Can you answer me one question?"

"What is it."

Slowly, Zoe turned to face her partner. "..._Why did you come to the New World in the first place?!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	244. Annihilation 209

With a heave, I lifted the fish out of the water, leaving it flopping on the land. A moment later, I had it safely secured in a small tank, ready to be returned home.

That made five goldenfry. Let's see if I couldn't get a King Marlin whilst I was at it!

….I wonder if my probe's had found anything? Sure, an odd thought, but one that deserved some examination, nonetheless.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Probe examined the data it had acquired - the collective knowledge of mankind. Millennia of learning compressed into immeasurable bytes of code. Only a drop in the sea compared to what the commander had acquired, but a drop mankind had fought hard to defend.

And, now, so close to being lost forever.

This was all that remained of the one known as Apollo. When the Probe had found the weakened form of Elisabet Sobeck, it had placed her in a modified cryo-pod, desperate to ensure she, at least, survived. At least one of those who had saved the world deserved to see what they had salvaged from annihilation. Yet as it had hidden Sobeck away, it had come to realize that there was so much more that could be done - it could save the Alphas, as well as Apollo. All it needed to do was act.

The probe had found itself too late to save the Alphas, though - Faro had acted too soon for them to be spared. Yet it had managed to spare Apollo from the sword - the subroutine had been assimilated into the Probe when it had, by chance, found an access port to Project Zero Dawn, exposed by a falling satellite. It had not been able to save the other version of Apollo, though - the port had burnt out after the data had been downloaded, and then a signal sent from another facility had caused the nearby wall to self destruct, sealing the facility once more from outside interference. Even though the knowledge of the world had been saved, there was no way to spread it to others - the Gaia facilities had been rigged not only to ignore outside communication, but self destruct if successfully hacked. There was no way to disseminate the knowledge back to the other facilities.

….Well, then it would need to find a different way to spread this knowledge to others. Perhaps it could use humans of its own?

Acting with speed even GAIA could not match, the probe began to modify its facility, making the outer design a replica of the Zero Dawn Cradles. Within, meanwhile, schools were added, as were ectogenesis pods and farming areas.

If it could not disseminate knowledge to the new humans using Apollo, it would find its own way to do so.

As the human habitation facilities were assembled, the Probe also began readying a Cauldron of its own - the Commander had provided it with terraformer machines. It was time those were put to good use.

Within hours, soil purification machines whirred to life, set to begin healing the world around them. Joining them were stitches and military craft, meant to protect them whilst they did their work. Yet however much they outmatched the Faro machines, the Progenitor devices could only do so much - the Probe had lost much of its control networking capacity during the arrival to this universe, and had yet to fix it all. Analysis indicated this, and the other glitches it had experienced, had all come from the attack launched by the creature within the Empyrean Sea.

Said attack no longer looked like an act of predation. It looked like a deliberate effort.

Something had been trying to destroy the probe. But why?

...That didn't matter at the moment. The Commander would figure it out. Right now, the Probe needed to fix the world.

XXXXXXX

Three months had passed. Sobeck had recovered, and was now in a room all her own, though as she was still in cryosleep, she couldn't really enjoy its creature comforts.

Stronger machines had now been created, ready to repair the world anew. It had taken the Probe one week to realize it had a hard counter for the Faro Plague - Sentient war machines, which could adapt to whatever was thrown their way. Furthermore, it didn't need to control them - they were alive and intelligent enough to act on their own.

Thus, a small horde had been deployed, and was now circling around the world, doing what they could to fix it. The Faro plague was still out in force, so this was still going to be a long slog, but eventually, it would end in the favor of mankind.

Perhaps sooner, given that Faro Plague would soon shut down due to GAIA's actions.

Yet as the machine thought over its victory, it soon found a problem: if it wanted to teach the new humans it was creating how to live, they would need to be taught directly. And being taught directly meant they would inevitably want to no more about the probe.

And the probe didn't have a name.

The probe thought on this for a moment, then began devoting its reserves to building a multiversal communication network. It was time to ask the Commander for help. He would know what to do.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Got that Marlin! Now to get ready to go back to Astera..wait, what's this incoming notification?

….One of my probes is calling me? What does it want.

...It ended up on a post apocalyptic world, and now its a teacher for a bunch of kids, and needs a name for them to call it by.

Now let's see, what good knowledge gods can I use? Apollo, Athena, Artemis, Minerva...Coeus?

…..Coeus it is!

XXXXXXXXX

The Probe sputtered back to life. A reply had finally been sent... about seven hundred years after it had sent out the request. Just about when GAIA had finished fixing the world...how come it hadn't happened faster?

...Seriously? A metal devil had woken up on its own and started fighting the sentient drones, which the GAIA programs had SOMEHOW noticed and decided not to finish rebuilding the world until the devil was scrap.

NOTE: Send commander more information on attack prior to entering this universe. Odds were, something was now watching them.

Ignoring the oddness of the events around it, the newly christened Coeus began activating its ectogenesis pods - it was time for life it to start giving rise to humans. Hopefully, they could impart its wisdom onto others.

Hopefully...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Sorry about the butterfly nets, but I really want to explore the Horizon Zero Dawn universe as it is, plus important stuff for the upcoming arcs.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	245. Annihilation 210

I examined the slobber covered ball, only mildly annoyed to have my hand covered in drool. The red fanged wyvern watched me intently, unsure how to react.

Smiling, I threw the ball, allowing the Odogaron to chase it once more. Who would've thought he act so much like a dog?

"Clifford sure is happy, isn't he," noted Viv. I merely nodded in agreement.

Yes, I named one of the most fearsome looking monsters in this world after a certain big red dog. Don't judge me!

Nearby, the Commission's various Palicoes were busy trying to catch all of my monsties, though the rolls of chaser and chased had been reversed several times already, and likely would be reversed several more times before the little monsters were caught...not that the felynes cared, of course. Above them, my rathalos and Legiana were flitted about, managing to avoid all attempts to catch them.

Grinning, I let out a sigh and reclined backwards, taking a moment to enjoy myself. Only a moment, but that was good enough for me.

The sound of footsteps was the first warning I would have of Zoe's arrival. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"The Commander wanted us to pass you a message," was the spirited girl's response. "There's something he'd like you two to do."

"And that is?"

"Well, you've been a lot of help so far, but we can't really send you out against big threats unless we're sure that you can handle them. So, he wants you to hunt an elder dragon."

I almost fell out of my chair as I turned toward them, provoking a stifled laugh from Viv. "What kind, and where?"

"Elder's Recesses. As for the target, it's the first elder I hunted," replied the Sapphire Star, "Nergigante."

"...The Extinction Dragon?"

"Yep," confirmed Zoe. "You think you can take it?"

"..Bring it on."

XXXXX

Donning an alpha set of Barroth Armor and a Tobi-Kadachi greatsword, I made my through the Elder's Recesses, briefly pausing to observe a battle between a lavasioth and an uragaan. Within minutes, the trail led me a clearing, where several gajalaka were milling about, examining some bones.

The relative peace was shattered by a ferocious roar, followed by a huge, black form surging toward me. Barely managing to roll to the side, I found myself staring down what could best be described as the lovechild of a classical dragon and a porcupine. The spiked predator tried to hit me thrice more befoere I returned the favor, managing to knock some of the spines off its arm. Growling, the dragon retreated, and began to circle around, sizing me up.

So this was what Zodd would look like when he grew up. Interesting.

With a hiss, the dragon swiped at me. Blocking the blow, I followed up with an overhead swing, slamming into one of the beast's wings, cracking a few spikes. With a screech, the dragon retreated, only tocounter by slamming its other forearm down, shooting a swarm of spikes my way. Hastily blocking the attack, I loaded a bomb pod into my stinger and fire it, hitting the Extinction Dragon right between the horns. A small burst of spines flew away as the dragon's course was diverted by the force of the blast. Said diversion sent it flying into a large trio of crystals, shattering them on impact. The dragon growled in indignation, then forced itself back up and roared at me.

Soon, a pattern emerged - the dragon would try to strike at me, I would dodge the blows, then follow up with a slash from my blade, always aimed at an area covered in white spikes - always aim for the weak spots! This lasted for quite a while, with Nergigante steadily growing angrier and angrier. Oh, it tried to get in a few hits at me, but it just couldn't keep up the pressure.

Of course, even I made slip ups.

After losing a large number of spines, the Extinction Dragon howled at me, before charging once more. Rolling out of the way, I watched it ram into a large pile of crystals, laughing slightly as it collided with the beautiful minerals.

I soon found myself silenced when one of those crystals flew my way. Letting loose another bellow, the Nergigante threw another large crystal slab my way, trying to hit me with all its force. It repeated this for a while, then charged me. Rolling out of the way, I swung at it..only for my blade to bounce off its hide. A second attempted strike was met with similar results, as was a third.

Crap, its spines had hardened.

Annoyed, I rolled around, trying to find an opening to attack. Unfortunately, the dragon's weakspots had mostly been covered, and the other obvious targets were not exactly things I wanted to strike. Dammit, this was going to be a problem.

Indeed it was, as soon, the dragon batted me aside, then leaped in for the kill...only to get unceremoniously blasted with a bomb. A second followed, as did a third. THe combined force of the explosive objects knocked it into a wall of rock, shattering many of its spikes in the process. As it began to recover, a herd of gastodon charged over a small cliff, with a gajalaka atop each one of them. That must have been the source of the bombs. It seemed that they had decided to intervene, for whatever reason. Not that I was complaining - help was always appreciated.

Forcing myself upright, I charged back into battle against the dragon, taking advantage of my newfound allies to get in plenty of openings against the spiny beast. Slowly but surely, we began to wear it down, and I even managed to break the large spines on its forelimbs. That, however, pissed off the dragon enough to force its way out of the corner we'd boxed it into. From there, we spent some time running away from it, until we found ourselves boxed into a corner. How ironic.

Sensing an opportunity, the dragon leapt at us...only to be tackled by another winged beast. Another dragon, in fact - a Kushala Daora. I didn't even know it was there! Still, its intervention was much appreciated - though the Nergigante was more thank capable of fighting it off, the Steel Dragon refused to just lay down and die, and managed to inflict quite a few injuries upon the Extinction Dragon before it was forced to run. In fact, as soon as the Daora had flown off, the Nergigante decided to makes it retreat.

Yeah right.

I shot my slinger at the dragon and managed to catch one of its legs, allowing me to follow the beast without tiring myself. Not that it was easy, of course - the dragon tried its hardest to fight me off, to no success. In fact, all this resulted in was the Spiky Boy slamming into a wall, then getting blasted by a Nitrotoad. Of course, seeing how it had a full set of black spikes, I wasn't really inclined to gloat. Especially since the dragon was staring right at me. I tried to seek cover, only to trip over a...… an egg?

….Yep, it was an egg. But where was the parents?

I got my answer when the Nergigante leap at me, only to be tackled mid charge by a Teostra. The Flame King Dragon grappled with the Extinction Dragon for a moment, before being thrown aside, but before the Spiky Boy could go for the deathblow, a Lunastra leap at him, saving her mate from harm. She briefly wailed upon the Eater of Elders, before being wrestled off her target, extinguishing her flames. Not to be outdone, the Empress of Flame fired forth a supermova, shattering Nergigante's he was now at a disadvantage, the Eater of Elders once again attempted to retreat.

Once again, I used my slinger to attach myself to him. This time, though, he didn't try to shake me off. Instead, he just flew low enough to rake me against the ground. Good god, that HURT!

Fortunately for me, we'd flown all the way back to Nergigante's nest, so now, I knew we were in the end game.

Problem was, unlike most other monsters, Nergigante fought even harder when it had one foot in the grave. With a roar, it slammed into one of its nest's walls, sending a trio of stalactites falling toward me. I rolled out of the way, but Nergigante simply followed that up by rake itself around the walls of its nest, which did manage to hit me.

Good god that HURT!

As I slowly began to recover, Nergigante moved to attack again, only to take a flash-pod to the face. Having acquired a moment to recover, I forced myself to stand back up and turned my attention back toward the spiny dragon. Howling (yes, people do that, don't judge!), I swung my balde at the dragon, managing to catch its unarmored belly, causing it to flinch in shock. From there on, we traded blows, each attempting to overwhelm the other. I managed to cut off part of the dragon's tail before it finally knocked me away. Then, before I had a chance to react, it leapt into the air and flew right toward me.

I moved my sowrd to block it.

A moment later, the divebomb impacted, sending me flying away.

A moment after_ that,_ I felt several spines go through my chest...**_**ooowwwww.**_**

Forcing myself to ignore the pain, as well as the critical damage my insides had suffered, I forced myself to advance toward the exhausted dragon. Just as the beast recovered, I leapt into the air and began to make an overhead slash.

Before the Extinction Dragon could react, I slammed my blade on its head, shattering its horns.

Shortly after that, the Eater of Elders collapsed, its breath growing short, then ceasing all together.

..I did it. I'd slain an elder dragon.

...Huzzah!

XXXXXX

After allowing the felynes to collect the carcass (and getting a few carves in), I slowly ambled my way back to camp, all the while listening to Viv critiquing my fight.

"Really, I'm sure you could've blocked the spines. Or dodge that divebomb."

"Yeah, that was a stupid move."

"Eh, we all make mistakes. Still-"

Any further criticism of the battle was halted when what appeared to be a cactus suddenly sprinted in front of me...followed by several more cacti...wait, were those...cactuars?

"..I think they were but, how did they get here-"

Suddenly, the cacti scattered as something huge flew above them, landing on the ground some distance away. As the object regained its footing, I realized it was_ another Nergigante,_ which swiftly charged out of sight. A moment later, it and a purple creature flew back into my field of vision, with the purple creature managing to overpower the Elder Dragon. As the purple one roared in triumph, finally letting me get a good look at it and...no way. It can't be.

...But it is.

The creature in front of me...

"That thing," began Vivian.

was/"is..."

We finished our thoughts simultaneously.

****"Behemoth."****

…..HOW THE HELL DID THAT SHOW UP HERE?!

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	246. Annihilation 211

...What the hell was Behemoth doing here?! I mean, just, WHAT THE HELL?! Behemoth was from Final Fantasy, not Monster Hunter!****Why was it here?!****

"THE HELL IF I KNOW! RUN!"

"What do you think I'm doing? See you back at camp in a moment-AHH!"

That last part was me streaming. Of course, who wouldn't when you_ had a dragon covered in spines thrown at you._

_AND I WASN'T EVEN BEING TARGETED!_

Rolling out of the way, I watched as the Extinction Dragon recovered, then charged right at the Primal, this time sending it flying back a few feet. Enraged, Behemoth responded by_ dropping a comet on the dragon._ (Which it dodged, unsurprisingly, before going back into battle against the Primal).

Groaning, I tried to run away, only to trip and fall into a pile of rocks. Oh, and a trio of cactuars were hiding behind one of the rocks. One capture net later and I had them caught, and just in time - Behemoth slammed into the ground seconds later, obliterating the rocks the cactuars had been hiding behind. Atop the strange beast, Nergigante was whaling away, attempting to slay the Final Fantasy monster.

Huffing, I made a break for it, charging toward a nearby cave. For reasons beyond me, the two giants followed, still locked in mortal combat. Seriously, why were they following me? I hadn't done anything to make either of them mad, and for those wondering, I was able to determine the Extinction Dragon I had killed wasn't the mate of the one fighting the Magic Beast. Honestly, they just seemed to be interested in killing each other, while I got sucked along for the ride.

...Fuck me.

Mere minutes after I entered the cave, the two monsters barreled through, spooking me, a flock of scale bats, a trio of prism hercudromes, and a herd of gastodon residing in the cave, who had just started to harass me when the two clashing titans charged in. Cursing my luck, I promptly charged toward the Gastodon, and ended up mounted on one as they charged out of the cave. I, meanwhile, worked tirelessly to catch every little critter I could whilst the dinosaur beneath me ran to safety. Behind us, the two giants were tearing the cave apart in an effort to kill each other.

As we charged out of the cave, the gastodon swerved left, just as Behemoth was sent flying. The giant, presumably elder-dragon level monster flew to where we had been, rolled for a moment, then disappeared - apparently it'd gone over a cliff edge.

Thank you, wannabe dinosaurs, for saving my life.

Unfortunately, my troubles weren't over yet - as it vanished, Behemoth hit a large crystal with its tail, which broke free and started rolling toward us. As the gastodon herd was now running down an incline, the crystal only picked up speed as it approached us. Desperately, the boneheads ran, while Nergigante dove over the cliff-face, intent on making sure its opponent was dead.

Soon we reached level ground. Here, the gastodon found themselves joined by another herd, who swiftly stampeded toward safety...as did some slagtoth. The frog-like herbivores barreled forward, pushing and shoving in an effort to escape the giant wall of death. Above, Barnos tried to attack, only to get batted away, with a few unlucky ones crushed either by the stampede or the crystal. The herbivores paid this no mind, focused only on their escape. They even ignored an Uragaan fighting a Lavasioth, not that those were close enough to cause us any trouble.

Eventually, though, the herbivores reached an area too narrow for the crystal to follow. With crash, the giant vitreous silicate came to a halt. Relieved, I let out a sigh.

Without warning, Nergigante suddenly flew over us, followed by Behemoth. It seemed they were interested in round two.

...FUCK!

I groaned as the herbivores continued onwards, occasionally popping off a slinger shot to knock out a following wingdrake. The two dragon continued to duel, ignorant of our presence, though I did see a few herbivores get pancaked in the duel. This went on for some time, until finally we entered a canyon too narrow for them...just as a group of gajalaka charged toward us. DAMMIT!

Groaning, I readied up to fight them, only for the two dragons to shatter the canyon behind us. Seriously?! What the hell?! Why can't they just give up?!

Ignorant of my beliefs, the two beasts fought on, panicking the gastodon into running away. Even the gajalaka's gastodon were not spared. In fact, both herds mixed, leading to an even bigger stampede away form the wrath of the dragons. The barnos just made things worse, trying to injure anything they could find so that it would fall behind the herd and get pancaked by the fighting dragons. One even attacked a gajalaka, and although the wingdrake was soon forced off, the gastodon the lynian had been riding was injured, and starting to lag behind.

Sighing, I shot out my slinger and grabbed the trailing herbivore. One tug later and I was holding both mount and rider, whilst my mount complained about the added weight.

Okay, time to leave.

I brought my finger to my mouth and whistled. A moment later, the Mernos arrived, and one slinger shot later, was crying out in shock as it suddenly found itself hoisting the weight of several another creatures into the air.

Despite all this, it didn't fall as it made its way back home.

XXXXXXXXX

I arrived back at Astera with a loud crash, landing in a heap with my gastodon, whilst the gajalaka skidded to a halt nearby, its own mount groaning in pain. The mernos let out a relieved cry as it promptly flew back toward the Commission's Rookery to rest. When I finally managed to lift my face out of the dirt, I found the Commander's son offering me a hand, as was Viv.

"Sorry about the rough flight."

"Don't mention it," I said, taking their hands. "..SI that thing why nobody was surprised I came from another world?"

"Yeah. As far as we know, that thing came from a meteor from another universe."

"I see. Just one, or more?"

"A couple, along with those cactus creatures you've caught."

"They the only things that came over?"

"From that portal. Another one opened up a few days ago, but we never go the chance to contact you about it."

"It takes a while to travel between parts of the new world on just wingdrake power. I'm guessing the other one opened up whilst we were in the Elder's Recesses?" asked Viv.

"Yeah, actually."

"Well, what came through?"

"Not what, who - a person came through. Someone who wields two swords, has glowing yellow eyes, and has a body covered in scars he got fighting giant monsters."

I gave Viv a look. "And who might he be?" I asked, somewhat confused.

"Says his name is Geralt...Geralt of Rivia."

_****...Ẇ̮̝͘Ḫ̻̺̰͖͟Ạ͇͓ͪ̄̎̉ͦͮ̀͞T̶̼̥͉͕͈̍ͪ͆ͧ͐̽̏?͓̰̄̐́!͉̫̳͎͓̟̬ͤ̑̒̋̌?̯̞̻̞̮̰̲̔̔͑̒̋!̚****_͕̪͚͔̻͍ͧͦ̒̔͆̂

XXXXXX

****AN: For those who are about to cry foul, when Monster Hunter World released its sixth main update, it added in a quest that let's you play as Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher. It also added in the Leshen as a new huntable monster, and Nekkers as a new type of endemic wildlife to catch. ****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	247. Interlude 36

Cassidy watched as her mother and Commander Flame froze up. It looked like they hadn't been keeping up with Monster Hunter World. A shame.

Still, she wasn't one to fret right now. Maybe they would come home with a Nekker? Or a Leshen? Having either of those as a pet would be nice.

...Actually, Nekkers would probably be better minions than pets. Oh well.

Pulling her head out of the stars, Cassidy decided to...imitate her parents. They were going hunting, so why couldn't she?

Summoning an elevator to one of her mother's portal rooms, Cassidy hastily summoned up some guns and an x-shaped crossbow. Time to go big game hunting!

As the elevator descended, she briefly passed by Six and Elling's floors. In Six's room, she could already see the female xenomorph dragging in a few corpses to her layer, one of which was now almost unrecognizable, having been turned into an oval-shaped mass. In a few more days, the remains of the apceros would complete its transformation into an ovomorph, one that would wait for the inevitable arrival of a host. Hw long it took for a host to arrive, though, was up for debate.

Arriving at the portal room, Cassidy carefully began setting up the coordinates for the universe she wanted to travel toward, before pressing enter and walking toward the portal.

As soon as she stepped outside, something charged her.

A moment later, a sickening crunch was heard.

Sighing, Cassidy began to peel away the allosaur's skin. Never a dull day on FMM UV-32!

XXXXXXXX

Coeus watched on as the humans milled about, slowly attempting to rebuild their civilization. The Carja were the most civilized, but they still had a long way to go.

Indeed, all of the human civilizations that had arisen from Project Zero Dawn were quite backwards by the standards of modern man, and not without reason - they had only been educated to the level of kindergarteners. The humans Coeus had raised were more civilized, but really, that wasn't being fair to the natives here - Coeus had cheated and given these people a leg up.

Some things hadn't changed, though - Hephaestus had caused the derangement, again, and his machines were getting more combat oriented every day. Helis and his forces had formed Eclipse, and despite his best efforts, Coeus hadn't been able to beat him - Hades had deployed several Farro Plague drones that had managed to battle off the forces the Probe had built. The fact they were able to achieve a victory against Progneitor machinery was...suspect. Perhaps they had external assistance. Unlikely, but the only reasonable possibility at the moment.

Right now, Coeus had a vulture sized spy robot watching the Shadow Carja discussing a plan with HADES, though what they were talking about eluded him - HADES was using a projected screen to communicate, likely having caught on to the Probe's expert sound sensors, and the spy bot could not get a good angle from which to observe the screen. Unfortuante, but still manageable.

For this reason, Coeus was also observing the Nora, with a particular interest in a young outcast. In another time and place, she would be the hero of this world, and if fate managed to halt his hands, perhaps her destiny would go unmolested...though the Probe would do whatever it could to spare ROst from death.

A suddenly shift in the hologram HADES was using caught the Probe off guard. It seemed that the conversation was wrapping up. Indeed, within a few minutes, the hologram faded. Yet before it did, one last clear image appeared, and it made the Probe freeze up.

The screen only displayed a block of text, but it emphasized several words from that text...and one of them was 'proving'.

Hastily, the Probe began to increase production of new machines, confusing the few children who were hanging out by the assembly lines. Additionally, it also sent out a request for the Commander's assistance - nothing could be left to chance, now!

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Fide examined the request from Coeus with an open mind. Every detail must be observed before she could decide if it was necessary to send in her superior to save the Probe and its world.

…..One second after she received the request, she hit the 'approved' button.

Because really, how could she refuse - it would defy all her commander stood for.

A sudden thud from the glass in front of her turned Fide's attention to the form of Synais, who was slwly sliding down the clear barrier, having been launched their by Kathikon. Apparently, she had gotten fed up with his antics...or maybe he had just tried flirting with her. She really got defensive over that.

Moments later, a jellyfish flew through the air, before landing on Synais, causing him to convulse in pain. From atop her raft, Kathikon smirked, before proceeding to...well, that was uncalled for.

Sporting a vicious grin, Fide sent a request for usage of the internal portal network aboard the _Extinction._ A moment later, and Kathikon found herself falling through a portal...which led straight for an pool of coolant from the Orb Vallis. The poor girl shrieked as her swimsuit clad body felling into the fluid, whose temperature was well below zero.

A moment after that, she was promptly assault by Krillers, which sought to eliminate the unexpected organic presence. The girl whimpered as most of her body was wracked with laser fire. Moments later, a heron-pelican thing promptly scooped her out of the water and threw her back onto land..though not before two krillers got in their last shots at her, managing to break her hand and set her hair on fire.

Well, serves her right for making that gesture.

Medical teams soon arrived to begin helping the battered AIs recover. Fide would be lying if she hadn't grinned when both Kathikon and Snyais cried like babies as giant needles were used to treat their wounds, providing anti-venom for Synais and burn medication for Kathi. The needles were far larger than necessary, but that was the point - Fide wanted them to suffer.

No one interrupts her gaming sessions.

"Orbital Dump Ready."

Good. Now to drop that guy's King Oni back on his stupid Shogun Battleships!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: For those wondering, Kathi gave Synais the figs. Its a gesture with similar meaning to the bird.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	248. Interlude 37

The Shard watched as the Nora outcast fought the bandits. With ease he overpowered his assailants, despite their numbers and skill - he was simply their better in all respects. One eventually tried to take him down with a bow whilst he was distracted fighting another, only for the bowmen to be impaled upon a thrown spear, launched by the outcast as he subdued the other raider. Eventually, the remaining raiders fled, unlikely to return. Only then did the outcast allow his exhaustion to show, collapsing to the ground as he tried to catch his breath.

Sudden movement turned the shard's attention toward a set of trees behind the outcast. There, a machine was slowly advancing toward the man - hunting him, it realized. As the outcast regained his breath, the machine made a mistake - perhaps it knocked over a pebble or stepped on a branch. Whatever happened, the outcast sensed the hunter's presence and turned to face it.

Realizing its cover had been blown, the monster charged, ready to go in for the kill. Despite having had time to rest, the outcast was still winded from the previous battle, and though he raised his spear to face the machine, he knew he would not win. That didn't mean he would die without a fight.

Roaring, the sawtooth pounced.

A moment later, it flew into a nearby tree.

Stunned, the outcast stared at the machine, then at his savior - the observing shard. Briefly, the sentient fragment stared at him, examining his features in depth, before turning its attention back to the sawtooth. Focusing on the machine, it began to reach into the automaton's CPU, working to subvert it to its own will.

It took only a matter of moments to subdue and subordinate the machine to the shard's will. Once the process was complete, the sawtooth ran off, no longer seeking the man's death. As it disappeared, the shard turned its attention back toward the outcast, who instantly brandished his spear, daring it to attack him.

The shard stared at him a while longer, then turned away. It had a mission to complete.

Although the exact origin of the Nora's name was a mystery, the most likely source were the crumbling NORAD stations around the Sacred Lands. Some of these likely carried details on where more Faro Plague machines were buried, which would certainly be useful when they woke up in the future. Already, a much larger shard was ambling toward the nearest outpost, ready to harvest the data they would find.

Perhaps this outcast would help them in the future. Then again, perhaps not. True, one individual could alter the destiny of all, but that was still a long shot, by any means...

…..So why did the outcast look so familiar?

XXXXXXXX

"Did you ever see that machine again?" asked Aloy, ever curious.

"Occasionally," replied Rost, who had just finished retelling his tale to Aloy. "Now, though, sightings have become more common. I've seen that machine and its kin on the outskirts of the Sacred Lands, never causing harm, just observing."

"Why?"

"That I do not know. Please, do not concern yourself with this mystery. Focus on the Proving."

"..Of course."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: For the record, I apologize for any OOC tidbits with Rost and Aloy - I'm relying on online walkthrough videos to get their characterization, since I don't have a PS4.****

****For those wondering, the shard is derived from sentient tissue that Flame grew from the cores within himself, and the shard is functionally equivalent to the sentient conculysts and battlysts. The bigger one mentioned to be headed toward a NORAD outpost is the equivalent of a Teralyst.****

****So, read and review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	249. Annihilation 212

...Okay, so, let's review: I'm a human boy who was shoved into a giant Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Mechanism of War by a Random Omnipotent Being, mostly for her amusement, but also to fulfill the wishes of the creator of said machine. I ended up losing it briefly to biotechnology drones and had to gain control of space magic and take a couple levels in badass to get it back. The ROB I mentioned earlier now serves under me, and has...questionable feelings toward me. I'm currently in a low fantasy universe, where there might be dragons and such, but all of their powers can be explained in scientific ways. Oh, and I'm now faced with a monster and a hunter of monsters from _two different universes._

Does that sound about right?

_'Questionable feelings?'_

I'm not sure how you think of me and I don't know how I feel toward you right now.

_'...Fair enough. And it does sound about right.'_

Glad to hear. So, what now?

_'See if we can help, if nothing else. I've some experience with the beasts of the Witcher world.'_

You've been there?

_'No - some of those beasts came to mine...well, my old one. I've hunted a chort and met a godling.'_

...You have got to tell me about that some day.

Maybe. Now, though, focus on the task at hand.

Alright.

"Alright," I began, attention focused on the Field Team Leader, "to address the Gammoth in the room...well, base, how did this man show up?"

"...A magic portal that opened in the Research Base. He's hunting...something in the Ancient Forest."

"...Any ideas what, exactly?"

"No," conceded the man, "but from what I've heard, it involves...magic. _Real_ magic - not the abilities that monsters use. It did _something _with some of the tree roots in the forest that's left our Chief Botanist at a loss for words."

"...Oh."

_'Any idea what it could be?' _was my unspoken question to my ROB.

_'Most likely a Leshen or Spriggan,' _was Viv's answer. _'Certainly matches what I know about the beasts.'_

"Yeah. Listen, we're gonna leave this problem up to the Witcher. We're just trying to make sure he doesn't face any additional trouble. If you want to help, well, be my guest."

Good. "Alright, got any leads?"

"There's been an unusually aggressive Tobi-Kadachi sighted in the forest, my what to start there."

"Thanks for the advice."

I turned to Vivian. "You want to come?"

She gave me an amused smile. "Like you need to ask."

Brandishing a grin of my own, I signaled for wing drake...only to halt when I felt a pair of tiny hands tugging on my leg. Looking down, I found the gajalaka I had saved earlier looking at me.

"..Can I come along? I...want to repay you for saving me."

Their voice, though somewhat garbled and sounding like what I'd remembered from playing _Tri_ with Cha-cha and Kuryamba, was distinctly feminine.

"..Eh, sure. Why not? Though before we go, can I ask your name?"

"...Zora."

XXXXXXXXXXX

I watched as the fanged wyvern fell asleep, only occasionally letting out a huff of breath. Really, this fight hadn't been that hard - I'd faced meaner things by this point, and seeing how this was not a tempered monster, it went down without too much trouble.

Our lynian companion had proven herself quite capable, and managed to briefly stun the cat-snake-squirrel with a well placed bomb. Also, fun fact, she really liked eating steak. Then again, so did pretty much every hunter and felyne I'd met, so that was hardly a surprise. Already, I was planning a victory feast for us back at camp.

Suddenly, a purple light shot up from Astera. Upon seeing it, I couldn't help but smile. It seemed Geralt had bested whatever had shown up in this universe.

..Wonder if I could still meet him. probably not, but still.

As we began to march back to camp, though, I received a message from Fide - it seemed one of my probes was asking for my assistance. When I inquired to why, though, she admitted it had only just asked because it wanted me to save some people. As much as I wanted to help, I declined - my forces needed to learn how to stand on their own, and I needed to be able to trust them to be able to save others when I could not. I told the probe as much, and continued on my way to camp.

I only made it four paces before slipping. As I stood up, though, I found myself staring at a what I had slipped in.

It was a footprint, of all things...but it didn't match up with anything I'd encountered up to this point in the Ancient Forest. I could see a few more prints ahead of it, along with a stain of blood and a broken piece of antler, which our scoutflies were already looking over...oh, and there was a trio of nekkers feasting on a lump of torn flesh.

Hastily catching the ogroids, the three of us began to walk further, eager to see what this creature was. Slowly, our trail lead up deeper into the forest, where more footprints and bloodshed awaited us - it seemed whatever had been here had been a messy eater.

A sudden twig snap alerted us to the presence of...the sapphire star and his felyne companion. What were they doing here?

"...I'm guessing you're following a strange trail of some unknown monster, just like me?"

I could only nod. Looks like he was after the same thing we were.

Deciding that five heads were better than two or three, we united and pursued the trail deeper into the forest. As we did, though, we came to the realization that we were following two separate trails - one belonging to at trio of man-sized monsters, the other to a single, larger beast. Both trails converged toward the same location, though, so it was likely the smaller beasts were either hunting the larger one, or trying to mooch off a kill the bigger one had made.

Once more, we heard a snapped twig behind us. This time, though, we had a good idea of who it was. Sure enough, when we turned around, we found Zoe staring at us, holding two sacks.

"Found something interesting, partner?" She Questioned.

The Sapphire Star nooses, before asking her what she was carrying.

"Oh, this? It's Geralt's reward for killing the Leshen. He didn't think he'd be able to find anyone who'd accept it back where he's from, so he wanted you to have it. As for the other one, it's a runestone. A gift, from him to you. I think you can use it to make magic!"

I smiled at her antics, as did Viv and the Sapphire Star. After she cooled down, we gestured for her to follow us as we continued along the trail.

We didn't have much further to go - we soon arrived in a clearing, where we were greeted by the carcass of an Aptonoth being examined by...Geralt?!

And that wasn't even the strangest thing! No, _that_ honor went to the two portals right next to the carcass.

Finally noticing us, the Witcher merely nodded in our direction.

"Nice to see you again, Sapphire Star...and I assume you two are the two travelers I've heard about? The ones from another world?"

"Yep," was Vivian's response. "You find anything interesting in that carcass?"

"Something familiar, but I'm not exactly sure what-"

Suddenly, a low growl interrupted our conversation. Turning, we found ourselves staring at a group ghouls - likely the creatures that had made the smaller footprints. Immediately, we brandished our blades, ready to fight back.

"Looks like we found our target," quipped Viv.

"Weren't there two different trails?" was Zoe's response.

Thank you for having a good point, girl. Of course, I had no idea what could have made the other trail-*RARGH*

Confused and shocked by the interruption, we all briefly turned toward the roar, and found ourselves staring at a fiend. If I had to make a guess, that was what had killed the Aptonoth, and it did not want its kill stolen.

Unfortunately for all of us, that roar was followed by two more, and a moment later, two large shapes shot out of the portals - a forktail and a cockatrice, to be exact. My guess, they had been nearby the portals, and the roar had just provoked them into investigating.

So, in conclusion, we now had four different types of monsters from the witcher universe staring us down. What else could happen to make this crazier?

I got my answer in the form of a ghoul charging, only to get batted aside by a Pukei-Pukei, which then further surprised me by joining up with us. Seriously, what the hell?

Also, could someone please offer me a way out of this?

...What, another request for help? From the same probe? Why?!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The probe stared on at the invasion force, worry slowly overtaking its systems. Well, invasion force wasn't really a good word, since this was mroe of a raiding party, but that did little to console the machine.

Especially since the invasion force had one of the Coelohim among its number.

_How_ had they found that? And how was _he_ going to stop it? Only the commander had managed...to...oh...

..Yeah, maybe now the Commander would accept his request.

XXXXXXXXX

...Yeah, I was going to take that request now.

A moment later, a bright light appeared, and the next thing I knew, I was falling, as were all of my companions.

When we finally hit the ground, I found myself momentarily dazed. As I struggled to my feet, though, I found myself looking at a confused group of youths, who were all standing in front of a women and...was that Aloy?

"...Could you have told me you could open portals?" inquired a somewhat annoyed Geralt, shaking himself as he stood up.

I smiled sheepishly, then turned my attention toward the Nora Braves-to-be. Before I could get a word out, though, the sound of screaming filled the air. Turning toward it, we all watched as a group of warriors were attacked by the ghouls from earlier...oh.

Well, that was unexpected.

Suddenly, I heard a low growl. Turning toward it, I find the fiend from earlier staring at me. And it looked pissed. Nearby, the other two monsters from the Witcher world were also getting back up, and had their eyes set on us. The bird wyvern, meanwhile, was moving itself so that its body shielded the Witcher.

Sighing, I got into a fighting stance.

I had arrived in the Horizon Zero Dawn universe quite literally just prior to the Proving Massacre. Let's see if I couldn't stop it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: I'm probably never going to mention Viv's encounter with a godling, but her hunting a chort might get brought up later.****

****Anyway, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	250. Annihilation 213

****AN: Some music to get your blood pumping:****

[MEDIA=youtube]s3L0_ez0Dg4[/MEDIA]

Aloy had no idea what was going on. One minute, she had been the first to complete the proving. Then, a strange light had appeared from the sky, and out had fallen three men, two women, a cat, and a small creature whose identity she wasn't quite sure of.

Of course, all of those paled in comparison to the...other things that had fallen out of the light. Some looked just like monstrous people, but others...Well, she had _no _idea what, exactly, that antlered thing was, though given its fangs and claws, it probably wasn't very friendly.

Taking shelter behind a large rock, Aloy watched as the newcomers went to battle against the beasts. As she observed them, she couldn't help but stare on in awe. She had never seen the kind of weapons they used - one preferred a long blade with a small hilt, another used what she assumed was a larger hammer, the third used what looked like a...was that an instrument of some sort? As for the last one, he used what appeared to be a staff like hers, as well as a strange, bug-like shield.

Alo turned her attention to her fellow Braves-To-Be. All of them were huddled behind nearby rocks, unsure what to do - flee? Fight? Try to find a peaceful solution? Right now, she wasn't sure which option to take, though talking her way out of this struggle seemed unlikely.

A loud screech suddenly caught her attention. Turning toward its source, she found herself staring at what appeared to be a large bird, though further examination proved her assumption false - the creature had a variety of reptilian traits in addition to avian ones. The beast paid her no mind, instead focusing its attention on one of the people who had fallen from the sky - a white-haired one with cat-like eyes. Already, it was preparing to pounce...and with him surrounded by the strange humanoids, he was in no position to dodge the attack.

Acting quickly, Aloy took aim and fired upon the beast's wings. Surprised, the beast turned its attention toward her, let loose a terrifying cry, and charged. Rolling away just in time, Aloy knocked another arrow and took aim - she was not dying here. She would not die when she was this close to being able to learn more about her past!

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Groaning as I dodged a swipe from the Fiend, I swiftly took aim and stabbed at its central eye, hoping to blind it forever and, in doing so, give me more openings to attack. The beast jinked at the last moment, though, and all I succeeded in was cutting the side of its face. Refusing to mope, I used my glaive to parry aside another of its blows, groaning as I did so, before throwing a piercing pod at it.

Note to self: don't try blocking with the insect glaive, it won't end well.

The pod struck its mark and managed to pierce a major artery, rewarding me with a good shower of blood. Of course, with the pod lodged in the wound, the beast wound't die too easily - the pod would stop the bleeding until it was removed. I may have ensured the beast would die even if it escaped or won this battle, but I'd have to work if I wanted it to fall here.

Taking aim, I fired off the kinsect fluid within the glaive, once more targeting the beast's eye. This time, though, my aim was true, and the fluid found its way into the eye-socket, blinding the middle eye. A moment later, and my carapace-clad ally was upon the fiend, biting with unprecedented ferocity. I admit that the sight of the fiend's eye being destroyed was ghastly...but not the worst thing I had seen.

After the kinsect returned to me with attack boosting fluid (whose former nature as eye-fluid only mildly disgusted me), I charged the beast once more, ready to bring it down.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Theseus ducked as the forktail made another swing at him. With a shout, he countered by slamming his Glass Royale into it's head, managing to crack a beast's nasal horn, causing it to shriek and back off a ways, giving him some breathing room. A shout from Zoe turned his attention toward the girl just in time to catch a bomb pod, which he quickly unleashed upon the draconid, sending it reeling. Before he could further exploit the opening, though, the Sapphire Star was struck by the beast's tail, sending him tumbling to the ground, and leaving him feeling somewhat sickly.

Groaning, the Fiver shot off a torch pod at the beast, igniting it and casuing it to flail about as it tried to douse itself, allowing the New World Hunter to hastily down an antidote potion, before once again charging to meet the beast in battle, though not before catching a piercing pod from his handler.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Geralt brought down Aerondight with expert precision, severing the Alghoul's head from its neck. Another of the beasts charged at him, only to be set alight by Igni. Dispatching hte burning creature with a stab of his sword, Geralt looked for the next, only to flinch as an arrow pierced his leg. Pulling it free, he quickly dressed the wound, before firing a crossbow bolt at his assailant. The Eclipse Warrior fell to the ground a moment later, the life fading from his eyes. Bisecting another ghoul, Geralt turned his attention to the rest of the Eclipse, mentally grousing at his situation - even when faced with greater threats, mankind would not unite.

Parrying two more arrows and slaying another alghoul, Geralt charged toward the Shadow Carja, who were already busy fighting the necrophages. He had seen these warriors taking aim at those whose ceremony he had unwittingly intruded upon, and he was not about to let those children come to harm.

XXXXXXXXX

I rolled to the side as the fiend charged, taking an opportunity to cut it as the relict barreled by. Turning to face me, it found itself staring at Viv, to which it responded by roaring. She cut it off with a _head-butt _of all things, before punching it hard enough to leave cracks on the rocks behind it. Not to be outdone, the fiend pawed her back, knocking her into a different rock, which _shattered _from the impact. It then threw a small boulder at my former ROB, which left her dazed.

..._Oh no you didn't!_

Letting out what could best be described as a roar, I charged at the relict, using my glaive to hoist myself into the air as it swiped at me. Falling onto its back, I started tearing away at it, causing the monster to thrash about in rage and anger. Pulling a page from Kratos and Talion's books, I guided the creature toward the Eclipse, using it as a bulldozer to obliterate the remnants of the Mad Sun King's forces. One of them was taking aim at Aloy when I ran him down. Another took aim at me, only to be brought low by an arrow...one which had come from the very Nora brave I had just saved. Nodding at the girl, who was still battling off a cockatrice, I returned my focus to the enemy forces, and used the Fiend to annihilate the rest of them. Having finally worn down the relict with the last charge, I slammed my glaive into its face, sending ti to the ground, then finished by driving the staff deep into its empty central eye socket, all the way into its brain. The creature howled in agony, then went still.

Exhausted form the ordeal, I made my way to Viv, who had regained her footing, but was wobbling quite a bit. I wouldn't have been surprised if the blow had concussed her - she needed to rest now, as did I.

Realzing I had forgotten something, I turned my attention toward my companions and the Nora braves to be. Geralt had slain the last of the Eclipse, but as he began to sheath his blade, an Alghoul jumped him, only to be batted aside and beaten to death by the Pukei-Pukei. Then, the beast began to examine Geralt, trying to look him over for wounds.

As for the Sapphire Star, he had done much to weaken the forktail, including blasting its tail off with a bomb pod and breaking its horn. Enraged, it charged him, only to receive a hunting horn to the face. The blow was hard enough to slam its skull into a nearby rock, sending the beast tumbling down. Based on the crunch I had heard when the hammer made contact, I was completely certain the beast was not getting back up.

Finally, Aloy was still locked in combat with the Cockatrice, but it seemed even her struggle was almost over. Bruised yet not beaten, Aloy let loose a trio of arrows, piercing the draconid's wings with ease. Enraged, it charged her, only to trip after taking a few well placed arrows to the legs. Crashing to a halt beside Aloy, the creature was helpless as she drove her staff through its heart.

At last seeing an opportunity to talk, I made my way toward the girl.

I had only walked ten paces when something leaped at me, pinning me to the ground. Looking up, I realized it was the Coelohim I had seen earlier. Others soon emerged from the shadows and proceeded to pin down Theseus, Viv, Zoe, and Geralt. Confused, Aloy knocked an arrow, only to be hoisted into the air by an Eclipse Warrior - Helis, to be precsie. The Leader of the Shadow Carja stared dismissively at the girl, readying to stab her with a knife, whilst his minions began setting up explosive charges. Enraged, I tried to find some way to escape, but the Coelohim holding me promptly grabbed my head and forced my sight back onto Helis.

Somehow, I knew what this meant - it _wanted _me to watch this.

Why? Why was this machine assisting Helis instead of focusing on me? Why was it pinning me to the ground rather than killing me outright, which would make sense from a programming standpoint. _Why did it want me to watch Aloy die?_

Just as Helis moved to finish Aloy, an arrow flew into him. Releasing the girl, he pulled out the arrow and parried another as Rost charged him. The Coelohim above me moved to fire at him, only to be caught by surprise when a bomb hit it. As it staggered, Zora leaped onto it, allowing me to grab my Glaive and swiftly dismantle it. Viv took the opportunity to punch the one above her hard enough to obliterate it, whilst Theseus' palico managed to distract the Coelohim pinning down the Sapphire Star and his handler long enough for the fiver to destroy both using his hunting horn. As for Geralt, his Pukei-Pukei companion managed to tear the drone apart, whilst the Witcher slew a smaller one trying to kill the bird wyvern.

Turning my attention back to the dueling warriors, I watched Helis shatter Rost's spear. Before he could deliver the killing blow, though, I threw a knife at him, managing to hit him in the ribs. Before either myself or Rost could kill him, though, the Coelohim I'd seen in Coeus second request crashed down behind the Shadow Carja Leader, before grabbing him and leaping away, hastily treating his companion's wounds.

With the combat dying down, I turned my attention toward the charges...which were very close to exploding now.

After making a gesture toward the White Wolf and the Sapphire Star about the explosives, I grabbed Viv and Zorah and ran toward the nearby cliffs. As I neared them, I received a notification from my nearby drones - the rest of the Nora had escaped. Good - those children, and the proctors of this trial, did not deserve to die.

Somehow, all of us just barely made it off the cliff as the bombs went off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	251. Annihilation 214

"Hurry-"

"Should we-"

"Allowing an outcast, much less outsiders, to-"

So many other voices came into focus, then faded as I drifted in an out of consciousness. I'm pretty sure that, at this point, a fall wouldn't have knocked me out under normal circumstances, but then again, you don't normally fall to the ground with an explosion on your heels. Also, I was pretty sure that I hit the ground head first, so there was that.

Eventually, though, I felt my consciousness slip away for real, and descended into dream land.

XXXXXXXXX

Slowly, my eyes fluttered open. As the world came into focus, I tried to determine where I was. All I found was darkness, aside from some glowing shapes that flitted about like insects. Having just come from the Monster Hunter world, I couldn't help but compare them to Great Thunderbugs. Cautiously, they danced through the sky, occasionally stopping to look at me, before returning to their flight patterns. After a while, they just seemed to forget I was there.

Soon, though, something else joined us in this endless void - a great golden creature that I was very familiar with.

Despite clearly looking right at me, though, Celempheros paid me no mind, instead focusing on something else. Curious, I decided to follow.

As I pursued the progenitor, the world around me changed. The darkness slowly gave way to the empty void of space, where I witnessed many celestial phenomenon occurring - stars shifted around me, electromagnetic waves that a normal human could never hope to comprehend fluttered in freedom, and meteors, comets, and asteroids shot around. Gradually, though, this all faded into the background as we arrived at a planet...or should I say Planet?

On this world, worm-like creatures with vicious beaked maws battled human settlers, refugees from a dying world, trying hard to start over after their forbearers had ruined their home. Beneath the surface of their promised land, a mighty mind dwelled, waiting for the day it would awaken...which would spell doom for the remerging human civilization.

Yet all of this barely mattered to me, even if Planet had given me the sum total of mankind's technological achievements in this universe. What mattered was that, as all of this happened, Celm was holding out his arms, and slowly, light began to travel toward his hands. Bit by bit, tiny glints of light would gather into the elder progenitor's palms, until two orbs of light occupied the once empty spaces. These lights, in turn, were then fused together into a single orb, after which point the golden Progenitor opened a portal and disappeared within it. Before the rift in space and time closed, I managed to make my way within, where I found myself joining my ROB's superior in floating over...was that Earth?

Apparently it was.

High above the surface of what was at least an iteration of the world I had once called home, I watched as Celm held the orb outstretched, as if waiting for something to happen. Moments later, something did - the orb exploded into a set of smaller lights, which hastily bolted down to the Earth's surface. There, they travelled until they came upon several sleeping humans, whose heads they launched themselves into. The slumbering humans were mostly unaffected by the lights colliding and then merging with their heads, though some briefly shoed signs of discomfort.

After that, though, the vision faded, and I felt myself slipping away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Slowly, I awakened again...to find something curling its arms around me. A quick examination revealed that it was Rory...what, how'd he get here?

"Yay! You're awake."

"...I teleported outside of the Nora lands, approached the nearest sentries, and asked them if I could be taken to the matriarchs to see you."

"And they let you?"

"People appeared from nowhere during the proving, alongside a bunch of monsters. Then machines unlike any ever seen decided to join the fun. Everyone needs some time to come to terms with the madness...oh, and I promised to help explain things to them after you woke up."

"...Okay. Is there anything that happened while I was out that I should know?"

"...Ms. Fide says there is one thing."

"And that is?"

"Apparently, more of the portals that Geralt used to get to the Monster Hunter world and this one are showing up in the monster hunter world, though they're weaker than the one you used to travel here and are decreasing in frequency. On the bad side, another portal to the witcher world opened up here."

….What?

"And before you ask, all that has come through so far is a Kikimore pack that got flattened by a thunderjaw."

Okay, at least I could rest knowing that the monsters of the witcher world were not going to make this harder for me than I wanted...now how do I deal with all the problems that this causes.

Also, there was something else I needed to have answered.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Well, according to Fide, Cassidy is waking up her mom right now, Aloy just tried to access the Zero Dawn cradle within All Mother Mountain, and Geralt and our friends from the monster hunter world are just starting to wake up. I think the matriarchs wanted to see us after this is over - I did promise to tell them to explain what happened."

"And you are far to young to get chased out of a place by people with torches and pitch forks."

"Wouldn't they use bows and spears?"

I actually let out a laugh when I realized what my son had just said. "I don't think it matters what they chase you out of the sacred lands with, only that you leave running with your tail between your legs."

"But you don't run with your tail between your legs, and you're someone who actually has a tail...at least some times. Actually, I don't think anything runs with its tail between its legs."

Despite myself, I smiled. For all the craziness that had happened so far, this little conversation with my son felt really relaxing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: I HAVE RETURNED!****

****Anyway, expect updates to be more often - I HAVE A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER!****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	252. Annihilation 215

Eventually, a Nora Brave came to us and told that the matriarchs had requested our presence. The girl guided us to the meeting place, where we found that we were not the only ones to be summoned - Aloy was there, as expected, but so was Viv, Cassidy, our friends from the Guild, and Geralt.

When all of us had settled in, the meeting commenced. First to speak was Lansra, the most conservative of the matriarchs. She was, needless to say, unhappy with our interrupting of the Proving.

"You Outsiders come into our lands without our permission and make a mockery of our sacred Proving? Have you no honor? No decency?"

"My apologies, but I do believe that our actions prevented the Proving from turning into a massacre," replied Geralt, trying to avoid drawing the matriarchs' wrath without being submissive.

"And for that...you have my thanks."

Really? That was actually kind of nice.

"Do not calm yet, outsiders. There is still much left to discuss. You have yet to offer proof that you were the ones to organize the very attack you stopped."

"Um, we literally didn't know that they were going to attack until we showed up?" offered Cassidy, trying to earn Lansra's trust.

"Do you truly expect me to belive that?"

"Well, it wasn't in any of the books my mom keeps her thoughts in and hides in a safe with a special lock that-"

Cassidy was shut up when her mom slammed her foot on her daughter's, which barely inconvenienced the girl but gave her the hint to shut up. Lansra, however, seemed to realize Viv's reaction was an indication that Cassidy had been correct and decided to drop the matter.

"Perhaps you were innocent. of causing the attack However, that does not explain one thing."

"And that is?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"The beasts you slew today are not the first of their kind to come here - others have been spotted, fighting machines and other tribes. IF you have an explanation for this, offer it now, or we will find a way to force it from your throats."

"Sister-"

"I might have an explanation for that," was Geralt's reply, interrupting Teersa as he did so. "My apologies, your highness, for the interruption."

"Such formality is unnecessary, but appreciated. Now, please,..."

"Geralt."

"Geralt, please continue."

"These creatures aren't from around here - they're from my lands...From my world."

"Are you saying," questioned Jezza, "that these creatures are from another world?"

"Exactly. Wouldn't be the first time they arrived in another world - first showed up in mine about fifteen hundred years ago, during the Conjunction of the Spheres. Men, beasts, elves, all of them were moved, sometimes forcibly, to lands they'd never been in before.

"And how did this happen?"

"...Magic."

"Magic?" questioned Lansra, tone dripping with disbelief.

"Yes, and I can prove, if not that magic caused the Conjuction, then at least that magic exists. Just give me a good stick."

After a moment of deliberation, the matriarchs did just that. A moment after_ that,_ and the stick was ablaze...without any logical explanation other than Geralt holding out his hand.

I think he might have boke the Nora. Teersa, however, managed to recover her faculties and press on with the conversation. "...Well, you have provided us proof at east that your claims of magic are not without merit. Now, tell us why you believe these creatures are coming to our world."

"Just recently, another Conjunction happened. It was stopped before it got too dangerous, but it seems like not everything went back to normal. I've been sent through two worlds so far, and that's not including this one."

"What were the other two?" inquired Jezza.

"Ours was one," offered Zoe. "As for the other one, well.."

"That was a rather odd one," noted Geralt. "Saw strange warriors there, with strange weapons and magics. Even met a pair of machines, one of whom was trying hard to do a good human impression."

"And what was its name?" I asked, curious.

"2B."

...Ok, didn't see that coming. "Odd name. Now, may we return to the conversation at hand."

"Guess we can. Back on topic, if this Conjunction affected your world, then there might be a whole horde of beasts on it that have never been here before - wyverns, godlings, succubae, to name a few. I was just helping the people I arrived with deal with a particularly nasty beast called a Leshen - maybe something like it came through one of these portals. Or many things like it came through. Either way, they could pose a problem."

"True. However, that does not explain the strange machines that assisted the raiders in attacking the proving-"

"I can explain that," was my answer. "They're creations of a...particularly persistent foe of mine. Probably joined the raiders out of opportunism."

"What do you mean?" questioned Teersa.

"I'm not someone who likes seeing innocents suffer and these machines' masters know that. I think they were hoping to draw me out by assisting the raiders in the slaughter, since I definitely wouldn't ignore a battle if my foe's machines were there - too much at stake."

"I see. SO, what do you intend to do now?"

Zoe, ironically, was the one to offer the answer first. "All of us would like to go home. But if you have any ideas who launched this raid, please, tell us - we'd like to repay you for the hospitality we received."

For once, I a greed with the girl.

"...Very well," spoke Jezza. "Then I believe there is one last matter to be discussed."

That, as it turned out, was making Aloy into a Seeker, which went exactly the same as it did in the game. I guess some things don't change.

Some did, however - and seeing how Aloy had decided to ask us to travel with her, I was definitely going to stir up a few changes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	253. Annihilation 216

'So,' I thought to my three subordinate Artificial Intelligences, 'you three find anything that might be worth my time? And before you ask, Synais, it must be something related to the Progenitor Defense Network, the Artifacts, the Faro Plague, or whatever is causing the convergence between the all of these universes.'

'Well then, nothing of interest so far, boss,' replied Synais. 'Right now, though, we're having the XCOM scientists, Alad V, and Ballas run through the commander defense system coelohim and machinery we've acquired, as well as one of the Faro drones - a casualty from the previous battle.'

'I assume Ballas is under heavy guard?'

'Got a bunch of live grenades nearby him, plus SABRs trained on his lab, so yeah. Oh, and while we haven't got anything of note from examining the Horizon: Zero Dawn world just yet, the stuff the people in the lab examined yielded some interesting results.'

'Such as?'

'The Faro Plague machinery shows signs of, for lack of a better word, improvement - the one we're tearing into has what appear to be retractable, hyper efficient solar panels, though only about seventy five percent of what our panels give. The design, though, is pretty clearly progenitor in origin.'

'I see. Seeing how I doubt that the Progenitor Defense System is going to assist the Faro Plague, you think that whatever the artifacts warn of is the culprit?'

'Likely, though why eludes me.'

'Alright. Keep me posted.'

'Sir, with all due respect, I suggest you maintain your distance from the natives, including Aloy. And before Syanis makes a joke, I mean emotional and/or spiritual distance - you have knowledge of the Old World that could potentially cause mass upheaval amongst these people, should those secrets come to light.'

Ah, Kathikon, always the logical one.

'Can I not simply claim that some things must be learned for yourself, not told by others?'

'Do you really think that will sate their curiosity?'

'...Good point. Still, can't exactly hide my presence after what I did at the proving, right?'

'True enough. Do be advised, though, whilst we haven't detected anymore portals like the one you arrived through, we've located a few areas where new portals could form, based upon the conditions that were present in the Ancient Forest and the Proving. Additionally, energy trails we've been tracking would suggest that multiple portals opened prior to our arrival, and we have no idea what may have crawled out of them already. Witcher creatures, assorted wyverns, who knows. Still, keep your eyes peeled.'

'Understood. Any other developments that I should be made aware of?'

'One more,' replied Fide. 'Natah is working on a new sentient design, one for her own usage. Eidolon has been assisting her in that regard, and it appears to be based upon the flying form Eidolon used to escape the spirit world from. We've no idea when it will be online, but we will keep you posted.'

'Roger, Flame out.'

As the conversation finished up, my perception returned to normal. Whilst minutes had gone by whilst I discussed a plan of action with my AI trio, less than a second had passed in real-time. Now, we were arriving at the edge of the Sacred Lands, right about where Resh was guarding the gate. Time to face another corruptor.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Aloy went up to speak with Resh, he'd naturally thrown a few insults at her, and he'd only barely hidden his contempt when he learn that she had been made a Seeker. Soon after that, though, he noticed that she wasn't alone, and boy did that set him off.

"You...you dare to bring outsiders into the Sacred Lands?! Are you truly so vile?"

"Hey, ease up on her," responded Geralt, anger starting to breath through his expression. "Our intrusion was purely accidental, nothing more, nothing less. So please, open the gate and let us be on our way."

"Hmph. Only a fellow monster would show respect for a motherless outcast."

"..Well, never heard that one before."

Ooh, nice burn.

Before the tirade could get any further, though, the Corruptor finally made its presence known, felling trees as it advanced toward us. I readied up my kitgun, eager to fell it. Yet as the machine came closer, though, I noticed that this machine seemed...different from the others. The body design was the same, but its armor appeared to be...newer, I guess.

And as the ensuing battle proved, it was also tougher - the machine shrugged off a truly massive amount of damage, even taking a trike from Vivian's hammer to the face and still managing to counter by grabbing her with its tail and throwing her aside. That being said, the fight was still pretty lackluster, with the machine going down relatively easily...well, easily for us. So a fair amount of beating, but still less than expected.

As the corruptor let its final death cries, I turned to my current companions. "Discounting the Seeker amongst us, anyone think this machine was exactly a challenge?"

There were a lot of nods to that - even Aloy seemed to agree with us. Resh seemed somewhat incensed at the comment , though he only responded by glaring at us, since we'd saved his braves from death.

Then, without warning, the Corruptor stood back up, roared, and batted us aside with its tail.

So it wanted to go for round two? Fine.

I makred a weakpoint on the machine's armor with my glaive before sending out my kinsect, only to gawk as the Corruptor (which now seemed to be emitting a black smoke)_ grabbed my neopteran out of the air and threw it back at me._ The force of the impact knocked us both to the ground, but before the machine could capitalize on the opening, Viv smashed its side with her hammer. Without even missing a beat, the machine grabbed a strider Resh had slain, used it to parry Viv's next attack, then grabbed another strider and used its wreckage to send my ROB reeling. Theseus briefly tried to mount the machine, but it swiftly threw him off. Hilariously, though, it couldn't really hit him after that, and was forced to try and blast him back with grenades. When that failed, it surprised me yet again by apparently switching ammunition types and firing a grenade which generated a vortex of sorts, causing Theseus, Zoe, and our lynian companions to be thrown into one another. Geralt followed this up by blasting Igni at the machine, which definitely hurt it, but once it focused on him, it soon became difficult for him to do much more than dodge its swings, parry what few strikes he could, and occasionally use Ard to deflect whatever got through. And slowly, exhausting began to take its toll. All the while, the Nora were pelting it with arrows, eventually succeeding in knocking free its grenade launcher.

Then, to the surprise of all, an orange and purple shape slammed into the Corruptor. A closer analysis revealed it to be a Great Jaggi. Within moments, the dog wyvern was tearing into its foes, managing to tear off a large piece of armor before being thrown away. The corruptor then launched its own offensive with its tail, only to be caught off guard when the Jaggi responded by using its tail to counter. A hipcheck followed, leaving the machine smashed against a nearby wall, where it was soon hit by igni again. This time, it was forced to expose its core, giving Aloy the opening she needed to inflict the killing blow.

Whilst Resh and his braves celebrated and the rest of the team helped each other up, as soon as I had checked upon Geralt and Viv, I began examining the machine alongside Aly. While she examined the machine's hacking module, I tunred my attention to its processor, which I hastily ripped out and pocketed, alongside a fragment of its armor.

Somehow, I knew this was just the first of the trials to come.

XXXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	254. Annihilation 217

Alright, let's see: most of the machine parts seemed normal, except for...well, the black smoky stuff. I mean, that stuff was, well, odd.

"Okay, does anyone...have any idea...what this black stuff is?"

To my surprise, Zoe offered an answer. "I might."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Assuming I'm not making a mistake, this is...black blight."

….What?!

"...Isn't black blight normally something only found on monsters?"

"Well, yes, but somehow, it got onto this...machine."

"Um, excuse me," intoned Aloy, "but could you tell me what, exactly, black blight is?"

"...It's a material that infects monsters and drives them berserk, in addition to making them much stronger than normal. And its made by a giant black dragon."

Aloy just stared at Zoe. "...You're serious?"

"Yes."

"...Ypu live in a very strange world."

"Says the girl whose world world is inhabited primarily by machines that seem to defy the laws of physics."

Wow, didn't know Zoe had some snark in her.

"...Fair enough. So, you have any idea how a machine get covered in this Blight?"

"No. Not really. This has never happened before."

"Well, any guess then?"

Zoe just looked at Aloy, annoyed. "_Again, never happened before."_

Where did this snark suddenly come from?!

"...This is getting us nowhere. Maybe we could ask Resh for directions?"

I turned to Viv. "Doesn't he hate Aloy's guts for existing? And ours for trespassing?"

"Yeah, but I think I can talk him into helping us."

"Good luck," retorted Aloy, nonplussed.

"Okay then."

Viv turned her attention to Resh. "Excuse me, but may I ask you some questions?"

"What do you want, intruder?"

"In the interest of finding out what's going on, has any reported anything strange? Besides the arrival of the metal demon and the attack on the proving?"

"And why should I tell you that?"

"Because examining these oddities might help us fix them, and if we die, at least we do so outside the sacred lands."

"...There are reports of a strange red skinned, corpse-like monster that has recently begun attacking towns. There have also been sightings of both strange burrowing beasts and ancient machines in the lands of the Carja. Go to Meridian if you wish to know more."

"Thank you, sir."

"Flattery will not help you. Now leave!"

XXXXXXX

"Nice person, isn't he?" said Viv, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Yeah, he's a real charmer, isn't he?" Was Aloy's snarky response. "So, what's the plan?"

"First, head to Meridian - we need to find out more about the oddities happening here."

"Then I assume we split off?" Asked Geralt. "I mean, we'll cover more ground that way."

"That's the plan."

"Well, then let's get to it!" Shouted Zoe.

"Okay, but can I try something first?" Inquired Aloy.

"And that is?"

"It involves the machine we fought earlier."

XXXXXXX

IT didn't take long for Aloy to master the Strider. After that, we swiftly got on the move - I'd pulled out a k-drove, the monster Hunter crew boarded Jagras they had found roaming thenplaons, Aloy was using her strider, and Geralt had summoned Roche to him. Said a sorceress has taught him that.

My money was on Yennefer.

Occasionally, we talked about our pasts, what we were doing now, and other trivial things, but for the most part, we rode on in silence. Silence I used to get up to speed on what was happening on my hub.

First off, the forces of order from both Warhammer universes had apparently united and started carving out places for themselves in my hub. Teething problems were inevitable - a lifetime of being fed xenophobia will do that to you - but at the moment, tensions weren't boiling over. Somehow, the Imperium and Empire had managed to arrange things such that a Cathedral to Sigmar and a Cathedral to the God-Emperor stood side by side. As for the elves, they and the Eldar had hit it off great, though even the children of Ulthuan found the Asuryani to be insufferable at times. The Dwarfs and Squats got along like peanut butter and jelly.

As for the Lizardmen, they were, well, kinda listless. They had three Slaan, four Oldbloods, and fivr Red Crested Skinks to lead them, and it was still proving to be hard to motivate them. Apparently, the Old Ones hadn't really provided any good plaques for this, so they didn't know what to do. That being said, the Skinks were actually being proactive about this, with the red crested ones asking their masters if it was possible to create a new geomantic web...and also if they could pass that knowledge onto me.

A potential way to mitigate the effects of Chaos if I went to 40k in the future? Gimme gimme!

As for other powers, the Solaris who had emigrated to my hub now worked on my ice world, having asked for a Fortuna like work center - I guess they liked their Old Jobs, at least to some degree. Of course, the fact they could get decent wages and breaks was always nice.

Alad, Meanwhile, was working alongside the rest of the Corpus on joint ventures with the A.R.C., Morgan Industries, the Perrin Sequence, the Korx, and the Iridium Corporation - apparently, they wanted to pursue projects that shared wealth will all. At least, that was the public angle. Secretly, Alad was working with Glast, Morgan and Fielding to get his fellows to be less cruel by asserting that Kiser actions netted greater profits. So far, it was working.

Alas, I was pulled away from further hub examination by a transmission from Coeus: it appeared that magnetic anomalies has bee detected on Zero Dawn Earth. Sighing, I sent drones to examine them, before returning my attention back to my hub. I had more important things to deal with here!'plusni wnabted to be sure a civil war wasn't about to happen between the people living in my new home universe.

In hindsight, I really should've paid more attention to those probes. That might have saved me some hassle later on. Oh well.

XXXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	255. Interlude 38

"So, let's get this straight: our commander acquaintance has just ventured into the Horizon: Zero Dawn Universe through a portal in the Monster Hunter Universe, which is also connected to the Witcher Universe, as well as the Final Fantasy Universe. Am I right."

"Correct, Operative Zeta," replied Celempheros. "Now we are all on the same page."

"Think any other portals will open up?" inquired Operative Tau. "I mea, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if a portal to Dauntless opened up whilst the good commander is trying to solve the mystery of the blighted machines."

"Maybe he'll find a portal to the world of Monster Girl Encyclopedia?" asked one of the girls cleaning the observation machine the operatives were using.

Instantly, all in the room glared at her.

"We don't talk about that place. Like, ever," chastised Milsanrima, a look of disgust on her face.

"I know, but if he goes there, then we can use Exterminatus on it, can't we?"

"...She's not wrong," noted Zeta.

"Only if he ends up there naturally," stated the Golden Progenitor. "I am not sending him intentionally into the lustful hellhole."

None challenged this statement - sending the commander there deliberately was too cruel, even for them.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Watch and wait. It's all I will allow here," warned Celm.

"...Can we instead go to Simaris' Sanctuary and murder stuff in Onslaught?" Questioned Zeta.

"...Knock yourselves out."

Simaris gained much data that day, and also learned to fear the operatives.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Skink carefully swept at the floor, striving to make sure the stones were clean. The Temple must be maintained to the Old Ones' specifications!

His name was Ket'Xal, and it was his duty to maintain the temple the strange commander had allowed to be built in this city.

Funny, that the Commander has not even named this city, but he was already letting millions live in it.

Not that it was too much of an issue - the Slann has advised him not to worry about it, and instead focus on maintaining the temple. At times, this meant chasing off people who though it was a good idea to climb its walls. Some, however, were better at controlling their more impulsive companions, like the warmblood named Tobias.

Still, the temple must be prepared. The coming of Chaos must be halted!

Especially since it's acknowledgement of this place was inevitable.

The commander was not yet aware, but sooner or later, the Dark Gods would notice him - the Warp was a tributary of the great sea the ones known as the Progenitors used to cross the multiverse. It would take a long time - potentially several millennia, or just a few days, but when the forces of Chaos found this realm, they would try to invade...at least, Ket'Xal thought they would. The plaque had been vague on if the Chaos forces could actually access this realm, or just know it existed. Still, better safe than sorry.

The strange warmblood commander had provided one noticeable boon to the Coldbloods - food. The bugs he had acquired from the world known as Chiron had provided several delicacies for the inhabitants of Lustria, who had worked round the clock to provide goods to trade for the bugs. Many dinosaurs had been offered in exchange for the insects, enough that several enterprising humans had attempted something called a rodeo with them. They were likely to humiliate themselves doing so, but that didn't seem to dissuade them.

The temple keeper only thought about this for a moment, though, for a pigeon had just shown up. Slowly, he reached for his blowpipe, ready to put a dart in the flyers if skaven's body - the temple must be keep clean!

XXXXXXXXX

Slowly, the girl stirred.

The first thing she noticed was that she was in a tank full of strange fluid - for one, she could breath in it. Next was that she felt odd things in her back, like she had...extra...limbs.

Because, apparently, she now did. Sentient limbs, to be exact.

...Well, it seemed the experiment had been a success.

"It seems your offer was a success, Natah."

Instantly, the girl turned to face the voice. There, she saw her employer, Alad V, concerting with the Sentient that most knew as the Lotus. A brief examination of the reflective glass confirmed that she had grown six (thankfully small) sentient limbs.

"Ah, it seems Ms. Imris is awake."

"I am, and I think the...amalgam conversion process works. Not sure how well, but it works."

"Indeed. You are the first to awaken, but the others will soon be roused from their sleep. First, though, how do you feel?"

"Is soaking wet and indecently exposed a valid answer, sir?"

"It is acceptable. I will arranging for more concealing clothing to be provided. Now, do you mind if I drain the tank?"

"Just get it over with - I'll run as many tests as you want once I'm dry and presentable."

"I hope you intend to keep your word, my dear - I need to perform many tests to ensure the process had maximum profitability."

"In the name of profit, I promise to keep my word."

XXXXXXXXX

Natah crawled through the dry docks, occasionally stopping to assist the Tenno in fixing a Railjack or helping one of Alad's Condors get loaded. Her special skin, the Ropalolyst, was proving most advantageous for these roles.

"So, Natah, last of Hunhow's womb, the one meant to secure our victory, reduced to playing mother to these Void Devils."

Natah turned to face the insectile sentient sitting on an elevated tower, its four arms working to direct traffic throughout the docks.

"Harsh words coming from you, brother. And aren't they rather hypocritical, considering what you are doing right now?"

"I suppose you are right, sister. Though, I must ask, why did the human let us sue for peace? Why did he not try to wipe us out after we almost killed him?"

"Truthfully, I think it is just who he is, brother. He believes in the goodness of all...at least enoughvto give the benefit of doubt."

"Well, then May the void bless him."

XXXXXXX

The probe had just arrived at the magnetic anomaly when a Corruptor had attacked it. The enemy machine had swiftly bee destroyed, it has managed to knock the probe into the anomaly, which had forced a reboot of the machine.

...Now how was it supposed to deal with the dinosaurs and tribal people staring at it?

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: First off, for those who don't know, Monster Girl Encyclopedia is a Monster Girl setting by Kenkou Cross. It's not really something I want to talk about here, not a setting that I plan to visit, mostly because, much as I like Monstergirls, this setting is a train wreck. I'm only mentioning t because I just read A Proctector Is You several times over and ended up looking up the setting in detail, so I wanted to include a notice that IF Flame goes there, let's just say many lines will be crossed.****

****For those wondering, Amalgams are Corpus units in Warframe created by hybridizing Corpus crewman and Machinery with Sentient bits. I wanted to feature them in my story, so here, Alad makes them as part of a joint venture with Natah, instead of in Canon where Natah more or less forces him to make them by the thousands to prepare for the New War.****

****Lastly, the probe didn't end up on any iteration of the Slull Island. The setting where it ended up will be a big spoiler, but I can say that the natives look like player characters from the now defunct game known as the Stomping Lands.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	256. Annihilation 218

Getting out of the Sacred Lands was just the first part of our journey. After passing the final gate (which entailed both defeating another group of corrupted and explaining to the guards Aloy's new status as Seeker), we'd spent many days riding on horseback/k-drive/Aptonoth/oh you get the point, don't you? It was a long journey, especially since we lacked the conveniences of many modern forms of transportation - like air conditioning. Still, we'd seen a lot on our travels.

First off, that Great Jaggi had not been the last monster to arrive from the Monster Hunter World. I'd seen many more on our way to Meridian. Most common were kestodon, which often harassed us for getting to close. A Plesioth had dismantled a snapmaw hiding in the pool it had decided to call home, whilst an Uragaan had demolished a behemoth to feast upon its metallic hide. For the most part, the arrival of the Monsters was have a mixed effect on the tribes - some had been devastated, but others now had shiny stuff to trade with their neighbors. The landscape had yet to change, but if some of the plants from the monster hunter world arrived here, I think the scenery would certainly look a little different.

I shuddered to wonder what would happen if an Elder Dragon got here...actually, scratch that - if one of the Fatalis Trio showed up here and brought the blight with them, I was going to side with Hades. A world infested with blighted monsters most definitely counts as 'uninhabitable for humans'. The black blight was more or less a fantastic bioweapon, after all.

We mostly traveled by day, and used the night to rest, each of us taking turns for guard duty. The nights where I had selpt brought strange dreams with them - some of Celm messing around with people's dreams, others of the past of the various warframes I had mastered. Strangest of all, though, was a dream of several dax soldiers (at least, I assumed them to be Dax) riding across strange plains atop machines that resembled horses, or more accurately the skeletons of horses. In the skies above, serpentine machines flew, whilst a great ship lingered on the horizon. I would only get to see the most cursory of details, though, before I awakened.

Somehow, I knew this would be important. Why eluded me however.

Despite my desire to understand what these strange dreams meant, our journey reached its terminus, and it was not too long before we arrived at the Sundom - the lands that the Carja claimed as their own. Here, the arrivals from the Old and New World were of a different cloth than those we had met before. Apceros and Rhenoplos now grazed on desert plants, whilst Genprey searched for openings to steal their young and Kulu-Ya-Ku feasted upon undefended nests. We once caught sight of a Carja Hunting Party dragging the remains of a Cephadrome back to a town, no doubt eager to see how this new meat tasted.

Part of me worried about what would happen when they finally met one of the meaner monsters that lived in the desert - it could be anything from a Diablos to a Teostra, but when those showed up, heads would roll, no if, buts or ors.

XXXXXXXXXX

At last we arrived at the fort of Daytower, having finally cleared out the Corrupted plaguing the city. I expect that we might see a monster of two harassing the town - after all, weirder things had happened.

What I did not expect, though, was to see the Fort under attack by what looked like a _blighted Volvidon._

Oh, and it looked like it was getting pretty far into the defenses of the fort - those walls iddn't look like they could hold for much longer.

"What the-"

"It's called a Volvidon," I intoned, cutting off Aloy. "NOrmally, they are found in deserts or moutains that spew burning rock called volcanoes, and they like to eat insects the size of goats."

"Well, I don't suppose you know how to kill them, then, don't you?" questioned Geralt.

"It's most vulnerable to watery attacks, especially at the underbelly," offered Zoe. "It can roll into a ball to try and run you over, but it you can get in a solid hit whilst its rolling, it'll fall over and be helpless for a few moments. Oh, and watch out for its tongue and gas clouds - it can paralyze you with tongue strikes."

"And the gas clouds?" implored Geralt.

"They stink really badly, okay?"

Geralt practically rolled his eyes at this, as did Aloy, before sighing and drawing his steel sword. Aloy, meanwhile, readied up an arrow.

Theseus, however, was the first to attack, hurling a stone at the Volvidon's eye, followed by a puddle-pod. Whilst the stone only annoyed the fanged beast, the pod managed to hurt it, and squarely focused the monster's attention on us. A moment later, it recoiled in surprise as Aloy's arrows hit it, leading to small starbursts of ice forming around the impact sites. Aloy had decided to substitute freeze attacks for her lack of water ones, which worked well enough with this foe. Of course, how long that would be the case for was up in the air.

Geralt soon joined her, though he used crossbow bolts instead of arrows - witchers weren't archers, but that didn't mean they were helpless at range.

As the beast closed in, though, it became time to switch from range to melee, and that was something that Vivian, Theseus, and myself excelled at.

Vivian struck first with an Aqua Hammer, made from the hide of a Jyuratodus. I followed it up with a blow from my Mudslide Blade, also forged from the hide of the piscine wyvern. Theseus, meanwhile, settled for using a more simplistic weapon and fought on with Holy Sabers - ore weapons that needed no fancy monster parts to maintain their lethality.

Enraged, the Volvidon curled up and charged us. Aloy retaliated with a freeze arrow, though, causing the beast to topple. Taking advantage of its helplessness, we hacked into its underbelly, causing it to howl in rage and pain. Gerald even threw a bomb at it, whilst Zoe and our Lynian friends threw bombs at the beast whenever an opening showed itself.

Eventually, the Fanged Beast righted itself, but it was clearly reeling from the damage we'd inflicted. Still, it had no intention of giving up just yet, and with a mighty roar, charged backed into the fray, though this time it went for a belly flop. We leapt out of the way, with Theseus taking the opportunity to throw a bomb pod at the overgrown armadillo bear before landing. That certainly had to hurt.

Of course, the explosion made the volvidon angrier than ever, so it responded by relaesing a very foul looking cloud. Without hesitation, I threw a special airburst grenade that functioned as a deodorant in order to nullify the clouds' effects and push it away. Seriously, that stuff _stinks. _

On the plus side, it is also very flammable, and one torch pod later, the volvidon took an explosion to the flanks.

That finally seemed to take it down. 'Seemed' being the important word here.

Just as I was about to assume the beast was finally out for the count, it got up, roared, and then released a huge blast of what looked like blight at us. Hastily, we retreated, only for a loud roar to echo through the air. Turning, we found a sawtooth staring down at Zoe and our Lynian, who quickly sought shelter. The sawtooth, meanwhile, decided to attack us, until the volvidon grabbed the machine with its tongue and threw it aside. Reprioritizing its threats, the machine howled, then pounced upon the fanged beast. The machine attacked like a flesh and blood big cat, trying to reach and tear open the larger animal's throat. For a moment, it almost seemed like the sawtooth would succeed. But then the overgrown armadillo managed to throw off its attacker, and with a roar, sent a cloud of blight at the machine, apparently making it go inert...

Then the machine rose again. Only this time, it looked _blighted._

What the hell?

With a ferocious bellow, the blighted machine leapt at Aloy, only to be knocked off course by Quen, courtesy of Geralt. As the Witcher and the Seeker sized up the machine, I joined Vivian and Theseus in trying to overcome the Volvidon. The Fanged Beast was exhausted, but it wasn't out of the fight yet. Now that it was nearing death, it started adding in some new attacks to the mix, like throwing out blight blasts interspaced with its paralyzing fluid and the occasional body slam. It also got far more creative, at one point using its tongue to grab into a tree to turn mid-roll. One time, it even managed to pound the three of us into the ground by transitioning from a roll straight into a body slam.

Still, we fought on, and eventually, the volvidon made the mistake of trying to swallow Viv whole. One hammer blow later, and it was pushing up daisies.

At the same time, Geralt and Aloy struck the sawtooth's blaze cannister with Igni and a blaze arrow, respectively, causing an explosion that ravaged the machine's underbelly, at last knocking it offline.

Despite our victory, I felt a snese of unease - this was just one battle, and alreadying we were facing things I hadn't expected even after meeting the Blighted Corruptor.

Just what else could we expect to see on this journey?

XXXXXXXX

****AN: I'M BACK!****

****So, Read and Review! This is FLameal15k, signing off!****


	257. Annihilation 219

I carefully pocketed a sample of the blighted sawtooth for my commander and my various scientist underlings/employees/minions/followers to study - what processing equipment I had on me wasn't really suited to doing this, plus I don't want to get my current friends to ask too many questions too soon. Aloy, at least, needed to grow up quite a bit before she was ready to handle some of my world shattering revelations.

Speaking of Aloy, she was busy conversing with the leader of the fort for more information about the Carja, the Shadow Carja, and the Eclipse. Oh, and she was also trying to find out about the fanged beast we'd just slain, though that seemed to be beside the point. Geralt, meanwhile, was with Theseus and Zoe, asking if there were any other weird creature sightings - guess they were looking for work/people to help.

I, meanwhile, was focused on two things - getting intel on just what the hell had happened with the blighted machine, and also getting anything I could bring back as a souvenir. Mostly, this meant trying to trade for whatever a local merchant had with the various things I'd gotten from my adventures in the Origin System and the New World. Granted, that included some very valuable items, but that could only take you so far. Still, I did manage to get a nice hat out of it, amongst other things.

As for the strange volvidon that had blighted the machine, it appeared that the creature had shown up several weeks before, and started harassing the town as soon as it had appeared. Ironically, this had resulted in the Nora Outcast Nakoa getting her revenge on the slaver Zaid ahead of schedule - the fanged beast had accidentally found the location of several people he'd intended to sell into slavery, and his attempt to escape the monster had seen him caught down by Nakoa, but not before the rest of the fort had a chance to get a further lead on his slaving ring. The girl had told all of this to Aloy, and wished her luck on her travels.

That was all fine and dandy, but that didn't really help me advance my goals, so I decided to turn my attention toward source of knowledge - Coeus.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Greetings, Commander. What do you require?'

'Any additional information on the blight, the portals, or the magnetic anomaly mentioned some time ago?'

'Negative - we have been unable to ascertain anymore information than what we have already provided you.'

'Unfortunate. Can you expand the search area?'

'Working on it. Things would be far easier if we had satellites available.'

'Then build some.'

'...I can do that?'

'...Let me handle this.'

XXXXXXXX

Ugh, do I have to hand hold this probe?

Putting my annoyance aside for now, I set about providing my forces with a larger scale tracking system. Whilst I had no access to my commander in this world (and given the portals that were forming, did not want to risk bring it here), my probes came equipped with the ability to produce engineers and factories, so I still had a techbase to work with.

Starting up long dormant excavation machines within my probe's sanctuary, I began to add in rooms for factories and armories, as well as labs and satellite uplinks. Hundreds of miles away, meanwhile, fabrication ships awakened from their centuries-long sleep and began building an orbital factory. Once that was complete, I order it to produce five orbital fabbers, then scuttle itself - best to keep the tribes unaware of what I was doing.

When the last orbital fabber was online, I ordered them to produce an advanced orbital factory, then get to work on building a new satellite network - one that my ground based facilities would be able to link up to for better examination of the enemy forces. I mused on the irony of building satellite dishes underground, but that was but a momentary amusement - if it worked for XCOM, it could work for me.

All the while, I was busy haggling over a particularly juicy fruit with a local merchant, with none the wiser to my greater schemes.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Approximately half an hour later, the first few results of the new orbital network were in.

First off was something odd with the portal: they were localized over the former United States. I literally did not find a single one that occupied a space other than one of the forty eight continental states (Alaska hardly ever gets counted in that group, and it wasn't one here).

Second, the current portals were emitting more energy than the earlier ones, including the one that had taken me here. Thus, they were getting bigger.

Finally, the portals all seemed to be pulling things from the monster hunter universe at the moment, though one or two of them seemed to be releasing a witcher beast. Considering how dangerous some of the stuff that showed up in the games was, and that I was pretty sure the things in the novels were meaner, this was a good thing. There currently weren't anymore magnetic anomalies, but I doubted that would be the case for long.

For now, though, I had other concerns - namely, getting to the city of Meridian and finding out how long this had been going on.

First, though, I had an errand to take care of - it looked like the commander of the fort, Balahn, had asked Aloy to help him find a lost patrol, after only one of its number returned.

...I had a commander and I was doing this stuff on foot. Was there something wrong with me?

….Eh, if I used that to solve everything, I'd probably go the way of the Martians from The War of the Worlds. And honestly, I liked doing stuff on foot.

…..Why was Viv holding so many bags?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: New chapter. Boom.****

****I am aware Flame is being more of a traditional Self Insert than a Commander Self Insert. This is intentional. I feel relying on the Commanders too much makes the SI boring. I want to give Flame opportunities to get more rounded so that, when the inevitable fights against the Commander Defense System happen, he isn't waiting for help to bail him out.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	258. Annihilation 220

As the snapmaw's systems finally shutdown, I checked an errand off in my mind. Another minor good deed done for the day.

_Frankly, I doubt that - you don't really put any precedence or significance on any one good act._

Yeah right - I do put some good acts above others.

_Name one._

How about saving your (rather attractive) ass?

...Awe, you look so cute when you're flustered.

_Say one more word and I'm using you to make Rocky Mountain oysters._

Hit a nerve, did I?

_Yes._

Ok, I'll drop it. Also, do you think we can go back to normal now?

_You mean talking normal?_

Yeah - moving and reacting faster than humans can perceive is annoying.

_But it's so much fun._

Yeah, but I want to quit it before our company starts asking questions. And before you ask why you should listen to my orders, would Celm approve of them asking questions about who you work for?

….._Fine._

As senses returned to their normal reaction rates, I observed Zoe practically gushing over Aloy's takedown of the snapmaw, utterly failing to contain her ecstasy at the Seeker's skills. Aloy was rather embarrassed by this, since she'd never really had anyone praise her for, well, anything at any point in her life, to the exclusion of Rost, who'd elected not to journey with us. This was Aloy's journey, not his, and he had taught her all he could.

After Zoe finally burnt out her seemingly endless reserves of energy, we made out way back to Daytower, so as to collect our reward from Balahn. From there, we were to continue our journey toward the City of the Sun, Meridian.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Said journey took up quite a bit of time, time that had me pondering many things.

Not for the first time, I considered bringing my commander here. It would certainly make things quite a bit easier for me. I'd have my most effective fabber on hand, and could produce a fully functional base in a matter of minutes. The added firepower would also be nice. And of course, the full power of my hacking systems would make neutering HADES and the Eclipse a trivial matter. Yet despite this, I wasn't keen on bringing in my commander. My previous encounters with the Commander Defense System had proven that strength of tech-nomming and numbers could only go so far. Sometimes, what mattered were not material things - technology, armor, firepower, and physique - but the spiritual ones, like magic, willpower, and empathy. And these were things that required me to experience things for myself, outside my commander shell.

Funny how I'd come to that conclusion after going to Warframe. Guess that was just how things were.

Of course, my hub had been abuzz with activity - Alad had been working with the science teams day and night to study the convergence portals, as well as the magnetic anomalies (which weren't like the ones I'd encountered in the Origin System) whilst Kathikon had taken it upon herself to start adding in combat simulations that factored in all of the HEPHAESTUS machines I'd encountered so far, as well as the ones Coeus had fought during the FARO Plague. I'd already started testing my force against them so as to see which ways of overwhelming them would be most efficient, since if HADES actually woke up the FARO Plague, time would equal lives.

Another issue was also popping up, though - apparently, some of the people from Cetus were asking if they could visit Zero Dawn Earth for the purpose of trading. There were others who were asking, but the Ostrons had been the ones to do it first, and they weren't exactly inclined to stop asking, despite the obvious issues trading between universes might present, particularly if one universe was significantly lacking technology wise compared to the other.

Reluctantly, I decided to agree with the Ostron request, as well as the others made, and began setting up plans for allowing the first party to arrive in this universe - I'd ordered Coeus to move in some fabbers to start working on a small portal, but that would take some time - time I'd spend travelling to Meridian, doing some errands for Aloy, and getting lessons in Sophistication from Viv.

_Excuse me?_

I want to avoid making a fool of myself in front of Avad, and you seem fairly knowledgeable in the ways of nobility, so...please teach me how to act sophisticated?

_Sure. But don't ask me to pretend to be your betrothed._

And if Avad wonders if you are available, seeing how he seems to prefer strong women?

_...Fair enough. I rescind my previous request._

XXXXXXXXX

Days passed, but we eventually reached Meridian. From there, things played out much like canon, with our group being halted until Erend showed up, glad to see that Aloy was still alive, and after hearing about what the Seeker had to say about the Proving Massacre (well, Attempted Massacre), he allowed her to check the apartment of one of his own, Olin Delverson. That ended up leading us to an excavation site where Olin was being forced to help the Eclipse raise the dormant forms of two corruptors.

The fight that followed was a trivial affair, in no small part because the Eclipse found their Focuses disabled by a third party (whom I knew as Sylens), allowed us to make short work of both them and the corrupters. Olin, however, was spared, at least for the moment - Aloy wanted to know what he knew about the Proving Incident. He was completely honest with her, unsurprisingly - he knew that what he had done wasn't really something that could be easily forgiven, though with his family as hostages, he didn't exactly have the option to back out. He honestly didn't seem to be afraid of dying, only wishing that Aloy would rescue his family after his death.

As he finished his piece, I glanced at Aloy. The girl was clearly conflicted on what to do - Olin's actions had brought death and suffering unto the Nora, and severely strained relations between the Nora and the Carja, but he'd done so out of a desire to protect his family, and all good parents put their families beyond themselves.

Well, maybe I should help her make that choice. Just this once.

"Let him go."

"..What?" questioned Olin, obviously surprised at the offer of mercy.

"..Why?" asked Aloy, though not accusingly. She earnestly wanted to hear my reasoning.

"He has done much wrong, but he was coerced, and he knows the consequences of his actions. If he dies, than he can do no more, but if he lives to see another day, perhaps he can make amends for some of his crimes."

Aloy pondered what I had said for a moment, before sighing. "You have point."

Then she turned to Olin. "It will take many good deeds to make up for the crimes you've committed."

After that, the conversation went on mostly as expected, though when I looked at my companions, I could see Geralt nodding at me. Guess he approved.

Also, I was getting an alert from Fide: the micro portal was complete, and the first Ostron trading group had made its way through.

Great. Now to rescue Olin's family.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Said rescue took only a few minutes at most, seeing how we had a squad's worth of badassess and the Eclipse forces were just mooks. Olin's reunion with his wife and son was rather cute, and his gratitude to Aloy and us was much appreciated.

As we readied to leave, though, I received a proximity alert.

Followed by the telltale sounds of a corruptor.

Immediately, Olin and his family retreated into the homestead his wife and son had been held in whilst we readied for battle.

When the sounds of gunfire occurred, though, I was left puzzled - what could be challenging the corruptor.

Then I got another proximity alert, this time for friendly forces.

Then I heard a familiar roar, followed by the sound of something big jumping into the air.

A moment later, and the corruptor landed on the ground, followed by the shape of a carnosaur, which somehow pulled off a goomba stomp on the poor machine, before turning to me and giving a quizzical tilt.

Examining the alert further, I found myself looking slightly to the right of the giant dinosaur, where, sure enough, I found a group of Ostrons..and a couple of skinks.

….Oh joy. I have some explaining to do.

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Flame and Viv, snarking to hell and back.****

****For those wondering, Rocky Mountain Oysters are friend Bull's Testicles. ****

****Anyway, gonna try and focus on some of my other stories after this, so expect the pace to slow down a bit.****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	259. Annihilation 221

_You gonna treat them like mushrooms?_

No, Viv - I will not try to keep them in the dark and feed them shit. Trying to hide who I am is pointless now. I might not give them the whole truth, but they will get the truth.

_Good - I'd be disappointed if you tried to lie._

Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's get on with this! And I will lie if they ask me whether or not I knew how everything that happened so far would turn out.

I turned to to look at Geralt, Aloy, our Lynian friends, Theseus, Zoe, Olin and his family. "Okay, I can explain this, but you cannot tell anyone this, unless they already know."

"Kinda guessed that for myself," replied Geralt. "Your reaction gave it away."

"I'd be surprised if it hadn't. Now, first thing's first, this is not the second world I've visited."

"Figured as much. I'm guessing it's probably around the nine or tenth, right?"

"...I'm gonna have to wonder on how you figured that out, but yes, this is the ninth world I've been too...well, from a certain point of view."

"Define that point of view," implored Aloy.

"Well, this is the ninth _universe _I have journeyed to. In terms of plaents, this is way past the hundredth one I've visited."

That got some rather...interesting looks from my companions. "...What?"

"Let's just say it involved someone powerful enough to be considered a god needing something done and deciding to use me as their errand boy."

"And who would do that?" questioned Zoe, somewhat disbelieving.

I glanced at Viv, who actually looked rather embarrassed and, surprisingly, remorseful. If I'd seen her act that way earlier in my travels, I'd have written it off as acting, but now, I knew it was genuine.

And apparently, I wasn't the only one to notice her change in demeanor.

"Wait, _she _is the one who put you on this journey?" questioned Aloy, absolutely incredulous.

"Yes, and we fought at first, but then bigger problems showed up and we had to work together until we became friends," replied Viv in an unbelievably rushed manner. "Now can we move on to focusing on the people and dinosaurs in front of us."

"Not yet," was the Seeker's reply. "You seem...oddly familiar with our worlds. How?"

Okay, time to fib. "A bunch of beings who observed your universe made it into a story to tell for amusement?"

"..What?"

"Yeah, that was my response. And before you ask, they always keep changing the story, so I don't know how this ends. You could live, you could die, the Eclipse could suddenly try to make up for its crimes, the Nora might turn into an evil empire, but I really can't help you there."

Aloy took a moment to glance over with the rest of our party. The looks shared were ones of confusion and disbelief.

"Can I ask you one last question," spoke Aloy once more.

"Go for it."

"What was your world like?"

"When I left? Similar to this one. The same, in fact, as this one. Just...fifty years before the machines rose up and ended the old ones."

Okay, THAT got Aloy's attention. "Wait, you were one of the old ones?"

"In my world, yes. But this isn't my world, we hadn't built the machines when I left, and I have heard too many conflicting stories about how the machines brought ruin to the old ones to give you any information about it."

"...Fine. Now can you explain your friends?"

"The human villagers come from a town known as Cetus, built in the shadow of the Unum, also known as the bleeding tower. It is a remnant of an ancient civilization known as the Orokin, and overlooks the Plains of Eidolon, named after a massive machine that was slain there. In the universe it was built in, the tower is on this world, just really far to the West. As in, you'd have to cross a giant body of water called on ocean to get there."

"What's a universe?" asked Zoe.

"Everything. A universe encompasses all things - air, water, matter, fire, living beings, everything. But at any given point in time, the universe is finite, though constantly growing. Other universes exist beyond the bounds of yours, but getting to them is...well, difficult would be an understatement."

"Okay, but what about the people in the funny armor guarding them? And the lizard people?"

"The armored being are Tenno, ancient warriors of the Orokin. They were given the power to control the warframes, mighty suits of armor that allowed them to master gun and blade to fight the machines known as the sentients. Eidolon was one of the. The Orokin...were not nice to the Tenno."

"How bad were they?" questioned Aloy.

"They made the sentients to colonize other worlds, and made them capable of logic and reason in the process, but made it so that the machines would be barren when they reached the new worlds, so that they could not claim those worlds for themselves. Then they used the lowest members of their empire, the Grineer, as slaves to build great works, created a vicious, intelligent disease as a weapon, and then raised the Tenno from childhood to be warriors and denied them even the most limited amount of respect. Let's just say there's a reason there aren't many Orokin left."

"And the lizards?"

"The lizardmen come from another world entirely, and were created by an ancient race of beings that are referred to as the Old Ones. They are not in any way related to your old ones. The Old Ones that created the Lizardmen of Lustria intended them as an army to battle hordes of demons from beyond the stars."

"...Can we continue this conversation later? I need a moment to process all that you have said."

I sighed in relief at Aloy deciding to end the conversation. "Sure. As is, this beings are a...protectorate of mine, and they wish to have an audience with the Sun King."

"Why?"

"They wish to trade with the Carja, why else?"

"...Fair enough. Come one, lets get back to Erend."

XXXXXXX

The ride back was rather quiet - Olin and his family in particular were totally silent. I think they had hit their limit for absurdity today and just wanted to go home and figure out how the world they knew had gone mad.

When we returned to Erned, the Oseram was pleasently surprised to see us.

Then he noticed the Lustrians.

It was funny, seeing him so completely stunned. His men, meanwhile, had no idea what to do, though some meekly tried to put on a show of force.

Said show of force didn't really have the intended impact, seeing how our group of weirdos included a dinosaur whose species had hunted the dragons native to its homelands inot extinction. But those men still deserve an A for effort.

I filled Erend in on the details before he could do something stupid - he isn't one to act rashly, but considering that he might have just realized his sister wasn't dead, but kidnapped, and that he was also facing down a giant dinosaur or five, his ability to reason was somewhat impaired at the moment.

"...So these people and lizards come form worlds seperate from our own, as do you, and your world is the same as ours, but you left long before whatever caused the Old Ones to fall?"

"Yes, and I will gladly offer you a more detailed explanation, but can we now focus on more immediately pressing matters? Such as what happened to your sister?"

"...How do you know about her?"

"I have my own eyes and ears, as well as some knowledge from shady, but honest people."

"...Very well, but we WILL discuss this later."

"We will."

From there, things mostly went as they did in the game, with Aloy and Erend examining where Ersa has (supposedly) been killed, and in the process, finidng out the attackers were not Shadow Carja, but other Oseram.

As I was pondering this, I received a report from one of my spy rones.

'Drone 347 Reporting: Have Located The Oseram Camp Where Subject Designation Ersa Is Being Held'

'Understood, anything else of not?"

'Analysis Of State Of Camp And Conversations Between Occupants Indicate It Was Attacked Within Last Week By Bird Wyverns - A Maccao Pack, Based Upon Carcasses Deposited Outside Camp.'

'Why is this a concern?'

'Subject Ersa Has Variation From Expected Template: Wounds Are Not Fatal At This Stage If Treated Within A Week. Condition Unlikely To Deteriorate Enough Within Expected Rescue Time Table For This To Change...Also, Subject Celempheros Has Forbidden You From Telling This To Aloy And Your Companions. He Is Watching You Right Now.'

'...Well, crap. Keep me posted.'

'Understood.'

XXXXXXXXXXX

Our journey to Meridian took longer than expected - whilst Erned returned first to examine the body mistaken for his sister, we were sidetracked by what appeared to be a group of Shadow Carja massacred by the machines. As it turned out, the true killers were a pack of rotfiends. Whilst our group was able to make short work of the beasts, it was nevertheless a learning experience for all of us barring Geralt. Aloy especially was surprised by the necrophages, have had exactly one encounter with a dangerous entity that was not human or machine.

When the last of the beats had been carved up and skinned, we resumed our ride to Meridian, ending with us on the outskirts of the City of the Sun. The reactions we received were...rather amusing. The guards had been expecting us, but whenever they saw the Saurus and Skinks, they were more than a little unnerved. Understandable, seeing how talking lizard people were not exactly common in this world. Still, they managed to keep themselves together and maintained their vigilance, earning them nods of respect from the Saurus. As for the rest of the Carja, those that didn't stare in shock wisely decided to back off.

It did not take long for us to reach where Erend had asked for us to meet. Of course, instead of the Oseram, the man we found waiting for us was the Sun King's main advisor, Blameless Merad.

"Greetings, Aloy and company. I am known as Blameless Merad. Please, come with me - you are all needed for an important consultation."

Aloy, unsuprisingly, answered exactly how she did in canon. "What do you mean? Where's Erend?"

"He's inside, attending the Sun King, where we should be without further delay."

As we advanced, Aloy couldn't help but notice the line of people waiting for an audience with the king.

"All of these people are here to see the Sun King?"

"Yes, and each has come to ask a favor of him. Unpleasent, but that's politics."

"Commoners ask for an ease on their burdens whilst nobles try to curry favor to the king and advance their interests," intoned Geralt. "The rulers may change, but the actions and motivations remain the same."

"From what I have heard of the other tribes, your word holds true," agreed Merad. "You are the one known as the Witcher, yes?"

"Correct. My friends call me Geralt."

"Ah, well, I assure you that the Sun King will not be..judgemental toward you based upon only your appearance. Erend mentioned how many fear you solely because of your...interesting looks."

"You get used to it."

"Perhaps. Now, let us hurry - it is rude to keep the Sunk King waiting."

True enough. As we advanced up the steps, I watched as the gathered nobles examined us, conflicting emotions crossing their faces. Some were outraged at being forced to wait for outsiders to finish their business with the king, others were amused by our (to them) funny appearances. Many were taken aback by the sight of the Skink travelling with us, evidently shocked to see a lizard that looked like a man. Lastly, some of the gathered nobles were staring at us inquisitively, trying to determine how best to interact with us to advance their interests.

I sighed - politics. Such annoying field, yet one that I was eventually forced to master.

XXXXXXXXXX

****AN: Originally, this chapter was going to include the audience with Avad. After three days of writing and a lot of boredom, I decided to save that for next chapter.****

****After dealing with Dervahl (next chapter), our 'Fellowship' is going to be broken so that Aloy, Geralt, and the Monster Hunter cast can explore their own quests.****

****Also, if anyone is wondering why I'm not trying to build a portal and bring in my commander, keep in mind the Horizon Zero Dawn world has...issues with big machines. The world ended because of self replicating machines, and pulling out a full scale Von Neuman would probably make everyone really umcomfortable.****

****Also, expect some sidestory stuff up soon - I want to expand on the things that happened in the Warframe arc, and we will get to see a certain sexy voiced pirate radiowoman in those segments.****

****So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	260. Annihilation 222

We found the Sun King waiting for us, as expected. So was Erend, also as expected.

Now, the meeting was ready to begin.

"Ah, Aloy of the Nora, the One who sees the Unseen. Welcome. It would seem that you and your companions have done me a great service."

Though I was unsure whether it was necessary, I kneeled before the Sun King, as did Viv. The rest of our entourage performed more muted gestures of respect, whilst Aloy just stared, unused to this level of deference.

Avad was surprsied by the deference, but he recovered surprisingly fast. "Ah, and I suppose that you are the leader of those that fell from the sky?"

"More or less," replied Vivian. "I am on equal footing with this man, and the Witcher owes loyalty to none but his code."

"I see. Perhaps we will have time to discuss this later, but for now, we have more pressing matters to attend to. Erend, tell them what you found."

After that the conversation progressed much like it did with the game, for none of us saw any reason to interrupt - after all, the uninitiated among us needed to learn what was at stake here. Our hosts seem to catch onto this, as they never attempted to question why we were silent.

"...I can't send the army to the border without provoking the Oseram. But I could send a few vanguard..and perhaps an exceptionally skilled Nora and several...surprising foreigners as well?"

Avad looked at us when he said that, and a moment later, he dismissed Marad and Erend. This was a personal matter, after all.

"I hate to impose further after all that you have done. But this is a matter of great importance to me."

Aloy was the first to respond. "It sounds like Ersa means a lot to you."

"Without her Vanguard, I would never have been able to liberate Meridian and end my father's brutal reign. Since then, tension's have been high, but Ersa's had a way with making her people see reason."

Ally pressed him a bit further on information about the Carja, Dervahl, and so on, things that the game allowed you to ask about.

Viv did have a word or two for the Sun King, though.

"...But we must be patient. Change won't come in a single sunrise."

"...You're a wise king."

Avad turned his attention to my former ROB. "I take it that is not a compliment you give lightly."

"As it comes from the tongue of a former princess, no, it is not something I give freely."

That certainly surprised everyone, seeing how there was a lot of gasping and many stunned expressions at Vivian's comment.

Avad was the first to compose himself. "You are a princess?"

"Once. I willing stepped out of the line of succession for personal reasons. I would prefer not to be treated as royalty, or as nobility."

"...Of course. Forgive me, it is just that I have never had the fortune to meet any of royal blood that were not part of my family."

"Fair enough."

"Now then, if any of you wish to back out, I will not hold it against you."

Once again, Aloy spoke first. "I owe this to Erend, so I'm not backing out."

"Not a fan of those who hunt innocents," intoned Geralt. "I'm in."

"We don't exactly have a way home, so we're with you," added Zoe. "Though we're just against the machines, okay?"

Viv stole a glance at me, and received a nod in response.

"I don't particularly like those who pass the sins of the fathers onto their sons. I'll help."

"Same here," added Vivian.

"Thank you. I know Sun Kings aren't supposed to beg, but please, help me find Ersa."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With the conversation finished, we made our way to Pitchcliff - Marad had an operative there to assist in locating Ersa. He was already dead, of course, seeing how I didn't even know his name and had no way for my machines to save him, but his corpse could still help us find Erend's sister. Most of my followers who had journeyed to Meridian had joined us, barring a skink and several Ostron who had discussed the possibility, however unlikely and temporary, of trading with the Carja. Even with my unlikeliness to stay in this universe once I had dealt with HADES, fostering better relations with the natives was always a good idea.

As expected, Marad's agent had expired, but he had left a crude map made from his blood that led us to Dervahl's camp. The place was fairly primitive, like most settlements in this world, but it was well defended, with added protection in the form of chained up machines. Of course, the camp had one problem - it was designed to defend against maybe a handful of warriors. An group of Saurus, backed up by Tenno, Skinks, a Seeker, a Brave, a Monster Hunter, Vivian, and myself?

That just wasn't fair to the defenders.

It wasn't long before we found Ezra. As expected, she was badly beaten and tortured, though not so badly as to be condemned to death. More fortuantely, it appeared that Dervahl had ordered his men to leave her unspoiled - I doubted the Oseram warlord had any interest in her, but you never know.

Zoe actually proved to be the most helpful here - as soon as Dervahl's champion was out, she immediately worked to coax a potion down Ersa's throat. Whilst it wasn't the best of healing elixirs, it was enough to allow her body to mend her wounds, though it would still take time to heal the worst of them. She would live, in spite of her wounds.

Ersa did not have much to say, though - the torture's wrought upon her had taken much of her strength, and if she wished to recover fully, she needed to rest. Still, she divulged the information we needed - Dervahl had invited her to negotiate, clearly hoping to use the opportunity to ambush her. Seeing through the obvious trap, Ersa had brought the best of the Vanguard with her, only for all of htem to be paralyzed by a sonic machine that Dervahl had manufactured for his plans. With her out of the picture, the Oseram warlord was now planning to launch an assault upon Meridian, as retribution for Avad's father sacrificing Dervahl's wife and child in the Sun Ring (basically gladiator matches with robots in place of animals). You know, usual revenge things.

Surprisngly, Zoe proved again to be more than walking monster bait when she found a crucial piece of evidence in determining Dervahl's plan - a receipt for a large shipment of blaze - highly flammable biofuel. Coeus provided me and Vivian with the specifics of the material whilst Aloy and Erend pondered what Dervahl planned to use it for . Of course, Vivian and myself were already aware of what Dervahl wanted to use the fluid for - bombs.

Whilst the rest of our compatriots didn't make the connection, they did decide to return to Meridian to inform Avad and Marad - after making sure Ersa was treated, of course.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Once we returned and informed the King and his advisor of what Dervahl had planned, Marad in turn offered us the location of a large shipment of blaze that had recently been recently purchased by an Oseram. The lead ended up taking us to a warehouse where, surprise surprise, there were multiple blaze-based bombs.

Given the number of bombs and how close they were to detonating, disarming them wasn't an option, so we settled for Aloy's plan - push the ones on the upper stories out of the windows to minimize the damage. I did disable one of the bombs, though, so that Avad would have more evidence to examine when he inevitably tried Dervahl.

Speaking of which, the Oseram Warlord was at Avad's palace, forcing the Sun King to cower and whimper using another of the Sonic Devices. His plan was to force Avad to watch as Meridian was scorched by the bombs, which led to some rather amusing reactions when it turned out the bomb had been neutralized. Confused, he took his men to try and figure out what had happened, only to end up having to deal with us.

Honestly, that fight wasn't really that noteworthy. Dervahl wasn't a poor fighter by any means, but he was dealing with people who could take out whole armies. Even his backup plan of sumoning a hoard of glinthawks went up in smoke when Theseus and Geralt took aim at the skies. That didn't stop me from staring up for a minute to see if Dervahl had any other tricks up his sleeves. I half expected a stormbird to show up, but none ever did.

Once Dervahl was captured, our group took a moment to decide on what to do next. In particular, I took a moment to look at the glinthawks, trying to see if I could find anything valuable from them.

Then Coeus decided to call.

"Yes, Coeus?"

"We have a new development. There's strange signals coming from a Carja outpost."

"ONe of the magnetic anomalies?"

"No, sir. Actually, these signals match up with the ones we get from...well, from those strange Progenitor artifacts we keep finding all over the multiverse."

...Oh.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

****AN: And thus concludes the ifrst main part of the Horizon: Zero Dawn arc!****

****Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	261. Interlude 39

The Saurus warrior watched as the Skink negotiated with the Sun King. Such actions were beyond his frame of reference, but ultimately necessary for the continued functioning of the temple cities. OF course, now they had no temple cities - they had left those behind to serve another part of the Old Ones' will.

How well they were doing so was a different matter entirely - the Old Ones had left only vague instructions, though they had clearly stated that, should one of these commanders awaken them, they were to serve them until directed otherwise. How the Old Ones could direct them otherwise was problematic, though - the old ones were long gone, and possibly extinct, though the Slann denied this, of course, as did the skinks. Even he, Ra'ur, did not believe (or at least did not want to believe) that the Old Ones were dead. But unless they found evidence indicating otherwise, then that would be the only likely option.

Still, for now, he had more immediate concerns to attend to.

XXXXXXXX

It did not take long for the skink to finish negotiations with the Sun King and his adviser Marad. Trading between those associated with the Commander and the Sundom would be permitted, as long as the rules of the Carja were respected and there would be no attempts to antagonize the other tribes. The negotiations also designated where with the city's merchants' district that foreigners would be permitted to sell their wares.

By the time they reached the building offered to them, there was already a line - the curious few who wanted to see what the new arrivals had to sell, especially the ones who weren't human. Most sentient beings were inherently curious and desired to push back the unknown, and sapient ones only more so - for them, even the mystery of death was something to be unraveled. They would eagerly examine the new trinkets and goods the foreigners provided until they knew both their purpose and their value.

The first items to be sold off were the ones that looked the oddest - fish parts acquired from the Plains of of Eidolon and Orb Vallis, along with some rugs Nakak had offered and a few floofs for children. Gems were next, also from the plains and orb. Those were of greater interest to the nobles, who were also the ones most likely to be able to afford the gems. Carvings form the Temple Cities were also offered - these ones entirely for display, as the Skinks would not let arcane objects fall into the hands of mortal who could not wield them properly, to say nothing of how the slann would react to such brazen idiocy. Still, the Carja purchased them with great interest.

Last to be sold were the rarest of gems, cut and polished to perfection - Sentirium, Nyth, Zodian and Thyst. An ayatan was considered for sale, but the only one they had had already been given to the Sun King as a token of appreciation.

The sun was beginning to descend when the crowd gathered had dispersed. As a skink and ostron counted their profits, the Saurus decided to speed up the cleaning process. Carefully setting a crate on the ground, he opened up one side and let the machine do its job.

Within seconds, the Domestik Drone emerged and began to eat up the dirt that covered the stall. It would take time for ti to fully clean the floors, but far less than manually sweeping would.

As the drone continued its work, though, the Saurus couldn't help but notice that another crowd had begun to gather. This one was not interested in the remaining wares the merchants had to sell, though - their attention instead rested upon the cleaning drone. Evidently, they had never seen a machine that would actively serve humans (or other sentients, for that matter).

Maybe taking one of Alad's drones along wasn't such a good idea...

XXXXXXX

3

2

1

GO!

With a flash, the racers were off, all trying to take the lead as they made their way through the various gates that marked the race track. In the main booth, Synais was watching intently, already wondering who would take first place. Kathikon, surprisingly, was just as interested, though this was likely because she was the one action as announcer and commentator for this spectacle. It seemed she had a soft spot for races.

Of course, none of this concerned the strange giant arthropod that was resting on a beach towel. Aside from the fact she had a nice view of the race from where she lay, she had no stake is this test of speed and handling - money was hardly a concern to her. Indeed, she was more interested in the shrimp she had been provided as a snack than the outcome of the race.

That being said, she was interested in the racers' vehicles. For this race was not one that used cars, plans, or motorcycles - these races rode hover boards, or K-Drives as they were called. The first set of these had been offered by Roky and Boon free of charge, but after that, well, the kids who had the spare time to engineer had gone wild. This was hardly a major k-drive race - indeed, it wasn't even a practice run for the main season - but it was still an engineering spectacle. One the giant_ Hibbertopterus_ lookalike watched with great interest - perhaps she could waste a few months trying to build an optimized k-drive of her own.

Amusing, wasn't it? A ten billion year old alien god, mesmerized by a child's toy. Truly, the times were getting weird.

Weirder still when she owas offered a popsicle by a young forerunner. The arthropod only hesitated for a moment before accepting the frozen treat - the child's ancestors may have brought her people to the edge of annihilation, but they had been planning to do so to the Forerunners, so there was no moral high ground there. And bygones should remain bygones.

XXXXXXXXXX

With a huff, Geralt brought down his blade, cleaving the garkain's head from its shoulders. The beast's remains fell to the dirt, joining others of its kind that had already been slain by the witcher. As he cleaned away the blood from his sword, Geralt couldn't help but be unnerved - it seemed even vampires had come into this world.

The lesser ones could be handled by the guards, as prior reports could attest to, but if a higher breed arrived, and lacked Regis' restraint...

Geralt pushed the thought from his mind - best not to consider problems that weren't his.

After dealing with Dervahl, the motley crew had disbanded, each focusing on their own goals - Zoe and Theseus had taken their companions with them to search for other monsters from their lands, whilst Aloy had journeyed on in search of her own origins, though not before helping a noble deal with problems of her own - it seemed her brother had tried to cheat her out of her inheritance. When he had been discovered, the boy had tried to summon machines to kill both his sister on the Seeker.

The machines decided he was the more appetizing target.

Sighing, Geralt took one of the heads and returned to Roche, though not before burning the bodies - he would need proof that the deed was done.

As he made his way back to Meridian, though, Geralt could not help but wonder what the one known as Flame and Vivian were up to. Somehow, though, he knew it was important.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"How could this have happened? The Raid was planned perfectly - none of the Nora savages should've survived!"

"Patience, Helis. The portals were something that could not have easily been foreseen. Even I missed their arrival."

"But how? You are the Buried Shadow!"

"And I am not all knowing."

Then, however, HADES attention turned toward a new figure. This one was also a machine, but unlike any FARO unit ever produced.

"You, however, seem to be familiar with the new ones."

"My kind have been at war with these travelers for some time. These ones, however, are all new faces. A new generation of warriors, bred to destroy my people."

HADES doubted the machine's sincerity. Helis shared these doubts, but neither intended to raise them just yet - patience was a virtue for a reason.

"Can you be trusted to deal with them?" inquired the leader of the Kestrels.

"Yes, but I need time. My people have archives detailing the strengths of various peoples, including most of the new arrivals, but the ones with the staff and the hammer are unknowns. We need to test them, see this pair fight in battle, find chinks in the armor. I will not worry you with this matter - I have my own thralls to test him with."

"Very well," acquiesced Helis, "but should you need further assistance, there are some Eclipse of questionable loyalty that I believe you could use. They are hardly the type that Avad would be willing to offer his forgiveness toward."

"Your offer is appreciated. Now I must be off - our foes will not wait for us to act."

Only when the new machine was out of earshot did Helis finally speak.

"I do not trust him - a machine with flesh. Such a being is...unnatural."

"It is likely he is withholding knowledge from us. His agenda is not one I can discern. Perhaps it merely wishes to see the pair it speaks of destroyed. Maybe it desires dominion of the Sundom for itself. Or maybe it is so deluded to believe it could usurp me as the Buried Shadow."

"IF it does, that it is truly a fool. Still, I shall keep him under watch."

"OF course. Now then, let us return to discussing the Nora Seeker, Aloy…."

XXXXXXX

****AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!****


	262. Annihilation 223

With what could best be described as a roar, Vivian brought down the hammer down upon the Great Girros' skull, which audibly cracked on impact. Letting out a final howl, the creature fell to the ground, the life rapidly draining from its eyes. All around it, the corpses of its pack littered the ground. Above us, turkey vultures had begun to circle, though a couple pieces of raw meat kept them away from our kills.

With time of the essence, I joined Viv in preparing the carcasses - flesh and hide were quickly harvested and placed into storage, as were several organs. The bones soon followed, and it was not long before the giant fanged wyvern's corpse had been completely prepared. It took even less time to prepare the small corpses, leaving us with a large supply of skins, hides, teeth, bones, and meat. A portion of this was handed over to a skink that had traveled with us - best to send the excess to Meridina for sale rather thanlet it remain in some freezer for who-knows-what.

In the aftermath of defeating Dervahl, our fellowship had broken, as we all had other goals to attend to. Geralt, Theseus, and Zoe had gone off to hunt the wild beasts from their worlds that had ended up here, whilst Aloy had continued her search for her origins. Thus, only Vivian had joined me in investigating the secrets of the magnetic anomaly - something I knew, no doubt, would inevitably end up as a problem in the future if not handled soon enough. With only Zora to aid us, we'd been traveling to the South-East of Meridian, where one of these anomalies had recently opened up. So far, we'd encountered a horde of girros, but they were hardly the toughest of monsters - they were basically the genprey of the New World, and barely made the two of us break a sweat.

"So, any bets on what we'll find at this magnetic anomaly?"

I could only shrug in response. "Not really - with all the universe jumping going on, I'm at a loss for what could happen here. We could end up meeting monkeys being chased by centipedes the size of pythons, for all honesty."

"True enough. So, anymore monsters on the way?"

"According to my sensors, no - there's a Glavenus fighting a Rathalos to the west, and a group of Jaggi trying to tear apart some Shamos, but that's about it. Also, I've been getting more reports about our adorable monsties that live on our hubs now."

That piqued Viv's interest again. "Oh, really? What did they find?"

"One of the monsters we got, the one with the icy egg? It's an Elder Dragon called Velkhana. As for the one with the fish-like egg, its an Elder Dragon called Namielle. Additionally, my hitchhikers from the Repository are...well, making waves on my hub."

"Did they blow up one of the planets?"

"No, but the Dwarfs and Solaris carved out a new Karak below my Ice World, the Jungle Planet is seeing the creation of temple cities and used some Darkspore they found as sacrifices to Sotek, a gas giant I created last year is seeing Ropalolyst activity as well as additional facilites for Alad to work with being constructed, and XCOM just started builidng another tunnel network, with Dwarfen assistance. Also, the Tenno are saying they are hearing things about some group called the Duviri."

"Great, more problems to sort out later. Anything from the glorious Imperium of Man?"

"On, those aren't problems, two, don't taunt the Imperium, they've lasted ten thousand years for a reason, and three, nothing major to report, though it looks like the Space Marines found their first recruit."

"Ooh, sound interesting. Who was it, which chapter is inducting him, and what was his trial?"

"His name is Aranis Viminal, he is to become a neophyte for the Blood Ravens, and as for his trial...apparently he got into a fight with a Saurus over a golden idol that was to be delivered as a gift to the Blood Ravens out of respect for their valor when they fought in the Origin System. He lasted long enough that the acting Chapter Master decided to indut him into the Chapter as a Neophyte. If he survives the implants and further trials, well, you know hte rest."

"Why'd he want a lizard idol?"

"His family got kicked out of some hive before ending up in the Repository and were still rather poor after they immigrated into my forces. HE wanted to feed them. If memory serves, they're supposed to be inducted as Chapter Serfs for the Blood Ravens now."

"How kind. Now, can we get back to examining the magnetic anomaly?"

"Alright, alright, don't get your frilly panties in a bunch. And you were the one who asked about the Imperium stuff, so don't changed the topic!"

"Fine. But I don't where frilly panties-"

"Yes she does," replied the voice of Leal...wait what?

"LEAL! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING GETTING INVOLVED HERE?!"

"I know when I am needed, my lady, and while I will serve you to the ends of existence, I am not above some snark at your expense. As for you, Young Commander, my mistress does own and wear frilly smallclothes. She just isn't wearing any now."

"When I get back, you are going to regret that snark."

"I eagerly await my punishment."

When I was absolutely sure Leal had left the chat, I gestured toward the anomaly location. "Let's roll!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Slowly, we advanced upon the oddity, carefully meandering through the forests, hoping to not encouter any additional surprises. As we neared the target, new sighting appeared, and odd ones at that - amongst the forests were the carcasses of various monsters, some ones I knew, others I did not. Oddly, one of the most common creatures looked like a cross between and Walrus and a Wyvern. A 'wingrus', if you will...oh.

"Know something about these weird creatures?"

"They're called Wingrus, and they come from a game called Dragomon Hunter, which was shut down a few years ago. Kind of surprised to see them - never really spent as much time as I wanted playing that game."

Any further thoughts, however, were left unspoken when my anomaly detector suddenly spiked. Within moments, a nearby hole in the ground lit up, before going dark again. Yet it was apparent something had happened there, even as the anomaly faded away.

After all, centipedes the size of pythons don't happen to live on a normal Earth.

I couldn't help but shudder - regardles of how I felt toward creepy crawlies, I HATED centipedes, and this one made me want to vomit.

Before that could happen, though, a spiked limb fell out of the sky, impaling the centipede through the head, killing it instantly. As the leg was retracted, I followed its length up to its base...and froze.

There, standing before the two of us, was a combine strider. Somehow, one had ended up here. I sincerely hoped it wasn't aware that we were present.

Fortunately, it appeared we were unnoticed, as the machine began to stomp away from out location, for reasons I could not described. One null lance blast later, and it was reduced to pieces, never to trouble us again, especially since I made sure its head ended up in many pieces.

After takinga moment to pull out and squish the synth's brain, I turned my attention back to Viv. "You got any idea why this thing is here?"

"Nope."

Figures. This just got a lot more complicated.

XXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	263. Annihilation 224

"You think the Combine are responsible for this?" I asked, a hint of worry in my voice.

"No - the anomaly you have mentioned does not match any recorded Universal Union attempt to tunnel into another universe," was celm's reply. "No does it match any I have received from my spy drones in their universes."

Given that Celm had experience fighting the Combine, I felt it appropriate to try and ask him for advice, lest I walk into a mess I could not hope to clean.

"Then do you have any idea what's going on here?"

"Given what I know about the multiverse, it is likely you simply had the bad luck to arrive at a universe that is undergoing a natural convergence event. It happens from time to time - two universes near each other to a point where their barriers break down and creatures from one enter the other. You appear to have come up the example of a universe where multiple merges happen simultaneously."

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah. Listen, be careful - you've already found evidence for at least four different universes merging with this one. There's no telling how many more could also be joined."

"Fair enough," replied Vivian, "so let's just teleport back and-"

"Don't. Doing so when universes are merging can have negative effects on the merge. You'll be fine, but you could potentially allow something much larger and meaner to get through to the Zero Dawn universe than would normally be able to come through. Or send a Metal Devil into a different universe."

"...So we need to make our way back to Meridian on foot?"

"Yep. Sorry."

Viv let out an overly dramatic sigh at the apology. "Well, come on then - let's get moving."

As we prepared to leave, though, another rift suddenly opened above our head. Emerging from it was a helicopter, which flew some distance away before crashing. For a moment, we only stared at the smoke, confused, before my sensors suddenly picked something up.

"Command, this is KR 215, does anyone copy?...Say again, this is KR 215, does anyone copy?...THIS IS KR 215, DOES ANYONE COPY?!...Shit, looks like whatever that was knocked out our comms too. We're on our own here."

"Think its a new UIR weapon?"

"Doubt it - too advanced for them."

"Whose our new arrivals?" questioned Vivian, unaware of who had just dropped in.

"Cogs from the Gears of War universe. From the transmission were getting, these guys are from before E-Day."

"Ok. Are they in any danger right now?"

"Doesn't look like it-"

"Commander, this is Fide, we have a problem."

What? "Define problem? Is something wrong at the Hub, Meridian, Astera, or elsewhere?"

"Elsewhere. Specifically, where you are right now."

Oh. "Does it involve the anomaly?"

"Yes. We're detecting more that are opening in the area, and...well, a lot more Combine forces are spilling out of it."

"How do you know that they are Combine? And how do you even know what the Combine are?"

"Celm called and told me about them. I think he did it at the same time he answered some question for you."

Figures - omnipotent beings are alwasy good at multitasking. "Alright, keep me posted."

"More bad guys?" asked Viv.

"What do you think?"

"No need to be rude. Also, the guys in the King Raven are mostly holed up around their copter. Pilot's got a broken leg."

Well, at least they would stay put, then. "Fide, are there any forces nearby that match those belonging to the Union of Independent Republics?"

"...Yes, and not too far away from the Gears, actually. However, neither group has noticed the other, and since the UIR APC is currently overturned from however it arrived, it is unlikely either group will move far from their vehicles unless external pressure forces them to."

"Understood. Tell me if any Locust show up."

"Affirmative."

As I cut the transmission, I suddenly felt nervous, like something wa about to attack me. Without hesitation, I drew my blade and slashed behind me. A moment later, the centipede's head fell over, with the rest of its body soon following suite.

I heard Viv whistle as I sheathed my balde. "Nice kill."

"Eh, I could do better If I'd sensed it earlier."

"No need to brag. Now let's get movnig."

XXXXXXXX

Catiously, we made our way toward the humans form Sera. This wasn't easy by any means, especially since more portals kept opening from time to time. Out came all kinds of things - creatures from Xen, Dragomon, additional beasties from the Monster Hunter and Witcher worlds, and even a few dinosaurs from Warhammer - Lustria, to be exact. Celm informed me that arrivals form the Warhammer world and Lustria were neither rare nor common - the warp and the realms of chaos often threw stuff into other universes due to the fickle gods that ruled it getting bored. So far, though, no sentient beings from those worlds had shown up, nor had there been any indications of demons arriving.

Eventually, we were in sight of the King Raven. Just a little bit longer and we'd be able to rescue the trapped gears-

Without warning, my vision went dark as something wet and slimy grabbed my head. A quick swing of my blade ended the beast's life, but that didn't stop me from having a panic attack. Viv had to slap me to prevent the corpse form being rendered unrecognizable.

"Keep it together! Also, was that a Carnictis worm?"

"...No, the ones from Skull Island look different."

"I see. This thing familiar to you?"

"Yes, but I can't remember where it's from, and-"

The sound of gunfire interrutped my answer. Turning toward it, I found that the COG had just engaged...some weird looking humanoids wielding weapons with glowing yellow parts. What were these again?

"Commander, it appears the COG have engaged a newly arrived group of sentients. Going b the list of games you've allowed Synais to play for 'research' purposes, they appear to be Chimera."

Great, aliens that actively turned humans into more of them. "What about the UIR?"

"Another Chimera force is engaging htem. Both groups should be able to repel the Chimera with minimal casualties, as the arrival to this unvierse has damaged the Hybrids' cooling units. However, the gunfire will likely attract the attention of the Combine patrols. Also, a wild carnosaur just got into a fight with a strider."

"I copy. Can you send in some CNDR bots for me to help relieve the humans on the ground?"

"How? Teleporters are inadvisable, given what Celm-"

"Just link me to the nearest orbital fabber, okay?"

"..Um, sure."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once the connection was established, I began hastily moved a squad of CNDRs into one of the specialized...well, let's call them 'roots' I'd added to my advanced orbital fabbers. Said roots were actually cannons, and within them, my secret weapon - drop pods. The Grinner had managed to make a variety that, while crude, ultimately proved effective in achieving my goals. Within moments, the bots were loaded and being sent down to the surface.

As for Viv and myself, well, we decided to test out our tenno training. The two of us used bullet jumps and slides to rapidly make our way toward the gears, culminating in Vivian knocking a longleg out of the sky via collision with herself. Not even missing a beat, Viv opened fire upon the remaining Chimera. Within moments, all but three were dead, which was quickly rectified via a slam attack form my blade.

Seriously, warframe melle training is OP. Plz don't nerf this.

At first, the gears were dumbstruck by this, but they recovered soon enough. It was the pilot, of all people, who manged to speak up first. "Um, thanks for the assist...are you COG?"

"No, and we're not UIR."

"Right...Where are we?"

"Long story. Now, do you need any assistance?"

Before the COG could get a reply, the sounds of gunfire flared up once more, alongside lots of screaming and swearing. It was followed by my CNDRs cresting the hill, alongside several UIR soliders and...oh crap.

Leaping into battle was a Chimera Stalker, which promptly began opening fire on, well, everyone. Fortunately, we were able to get everyone to cover, but the machine simply responded by trying to hop toward us, aiming to crush us. Given how hard our cover was, it didn't quite succeed.

"Is this thing your's COG?" questioned the UIR squad leader, obviously assuming their long-lasting enemies were behind the stalker's appearance.

"You think we'd be hiding here if that was the case?"

"...point taken."

"So, how do we kill that-"

Groaning, Viv walked up to the king raven and kicked it toward the stalker, pancaking the machine in an instant.

"-thing...What the hell?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you how I got that strong," was my former ROB's answer.

"..Fair enough. Now then..."

For a moment, I expected the UIR and COG to turn on one another. Then another stalker jumped into the fray. This time, though, it was attacked by a pair of tripod machines vaguely resembling a combine strider - Hunter Synths, I realized.

"...Run?" questioned the King Raven Pilot.

The UIR leader looked at the battle for a moment, where a strider had emerged to assist the hunters, before turning to the COG soldiers and nodding, somehow conveying a sense of shell-shock despite wearing a face-covering helmet.

Without another word, we retreated from the field.

"Commander, another anomaly just opened."

Oh, WHAT NOW?!

I got my answer when a juvenile corpser from the Gears' universe emerged right in front of me...only to get batted aside by a gigantic mole-like machine. A rockbreaker, to be specific.

The gears and UIR fell back in surprise at this, but when the machine left the battle, they promptly began to continue their advance. I took a moment to lob a grenade inside the tunnel before joining them - no need to get attacked by locust just yet.

Overhead, a screaming filled the air as another aircraft came crashing down - an Imperial Guard Valkyrie, to be exact.

Would this day ever end?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	264. Annihilation 225

I groaned as I heaved the trap Imperial Pilot out of his craft as whilst his passengers opened fire on the Combine forces who happened to encounter us. Though mostly in the form of manhacks, a hunter had shown up to further ruin our day, though one lasgun volley had been enough to down the beast.

'Celm,' I thought, reaching out with my psychic powers to the worlds beyond this one, 'why are things from so many universes appearing here?'

'Unknown, thugh it is possible the death of the immature Xeno'Jiiva caused the portals created by the Aetherite and the Leshen to open and close uncontrollably. Also, enemy forces headed your way.'

'Ugh, just great. Can't I teleport in forces to assist us.'

'Not in the immediate area. However, you could teleport forces outside the planet's atmosphere and use drop pods to send them to ground level. I'm sure that Astartes would help to calm the Commissar. And to answer your incoming question, you never asked.'

...Man, he's good at thinking things out. 'Alright, sending out a request for Space Marines. Here's hoping things work.'

XXXXX

It took about a minute for the Astartes to answer the call. A Deathwatch Kill Team, composed of ten members (one marine from each of the Loyalist Legions plus a Blood raven) had been waiting for an assignment, and while their eagerness to assist me was surprising, it was not unwelcome. Within seconds of their assembly, they were hastily teleported to my fabbers, then loaded into drop pods and sent down to Earth. They ended up crushing another hunter synth before emerging and opening fire on a bullsquid that thought we were crunchy.

Once the remaining combine synths were down, the squad's attached commissar turned to face me. "I thank you for your assistance. Now, identify yourself."

"Can we save introductions for later? I'd like to get you to safety before we get attacked by another group of people/beings that just showed up here. Especially Norscans - those guys are dangerous. Bunch of crazy axe-wielding savages."

The Commissar actually laughed at this. "How dangerous could men with axes be against the Hammer of the Imperium."

"They worship the Eight Pointed Star," intoned the Iron Hand amongst the Kill Team.

That got the point to the Commissar. Hastily, he ordered his men to form up and evacuate the crash, with the added warning that any who failed to keep up would be flogged and/or shot. As expected from the average commissar.

Once we were far enough away from the battlefield, I hastily called in a transport to evacuate my newfound companions to my orbital fabber, then had them teleported to my hub for additional treatment, as well as try to get the Imperial Forces to calm down. I'd eventually have to them home, but for now, I wanted them to enjoy a little relaxation while they had the chance.

Of course, I'd be lying if I wasn't looking forward to some R&R after I sorted out this mess. Preferably a nice hot shower, or maybe a bath.

"If you want one of those, why not build a bathhouse?" questioned Viv. "I mean, people do seem to like them."

"Why'd you jump to a bathhouse for relaxation?"

"My father's lands included some, and they were very relaxing. Besides, how else does one show off their form fully without any prejudice or accustaions of indecency, or worry of _unwanted _stares?"

"...You do realize I made xenomass bathhouses for all of my protectorates to enjoy, right?"

Viv opened her mouth to speak, only for the words to die in her throat as her expression turned from one of triumph to one of surprise. "...What?"

"Yeah, I did that five months ago. Pretty sure I told you, too."

"B...B...bu...bu..but...but...YOU HAVE TO LET ME USE ONE!"

I couldn't help but let out a grin at how she practically begged for that. "Okay, I promise."

"Good. Now then, any idea what's causing the portals to open up?"

"Beyond Xeno'Jiiva causing them when it died? Nope...but I still think whoever the weird artifacts I keep finding warns me about are the ones responsible."

I mean, I _did _get signals similar to what I saw from those artifacts when examining the first anomaly.

"...Do you honestly know _anything _about those machines?"

"...Not really."

"Well, I hope that changes soon. Now, what next?"

"...Look for Eclipse Gathering Sites and try to ruin their plans?"

"...Good enough for me."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Of course, taking down the Shadow Carja wasn't the only thing I was going to do - there are perks to being a Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engine of War.

At my hub's biological research facilities, I pulled up my technocyte cultures and started experimenting - designing creature that could wield powers like my machines, but without risk of being hacked. The cultures had bene acquired from a Nidus frame, ensuring they would have loyalty to me, or, failing that, the Tenno. I started small, of course - only creatures in the size range of dogs and cats were created at first, though an occasional humanoid also joined their ranks. I made sure to provide them with plenty of toys, food, water, and interactions with myself, if only via holograms and robotics - I am not repeating the I-rex incident.

_You wanna do that, then go to Jurassic World._

Yeah, well, maybe if the gate sends me there.

_Or I could send you there and have Masrani make you head of operations._

What are you, majority shareholder of Masrani?

_In one universe, yes._

…...Oh...Okay, I'll take you up on that offer.

"Hey commander, this is Synais. We've got something you might want to look at."

"Does it involve the machines helping out the Shadow Carja?"

"...Yes, actually."

"What?! What are you waiting for? Send me the data!"

"Well, here it comes!"

Examining the data, I found out that one of the machines had been sighted near a Shadow Carja camp. Said camp appeared to be massing up for a raid, though there were enough potential targets nearby to make figuring out the specific target a pain. Still, a lead was a lead.

Maybe this would finally tell me why these guys were so feared by the Artifacts...well, by their creators, at any rate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	265. Annihilation 226

Sneaking up on the Eclipse Camp wasn't too difficult - Viv had decided to introduce me to the Solid Snake approved stealth container (that is to say, the cardboard box - though this one had been manufactured by Diamond Dogs). The one we were utilizing incorporated some modifications for the setting, of course - specialized anti-scanner coating, ostensibly for protecting medical supplies. Metal Gear Rising was what I had to thank for that.

The fact that cardboard boxes were an unknown also helped.

Examining the perimeter of the camp revealed that there were five sentries - two in watch towers, the remainder stationed at all entrances. Two additional guards patrolled the inside of the camp, occasionally stopping to check in with the sentries. In theory, a well done defensive plan.

Of course, you can't prepare for something that (to you at least) doesn't exist.

Careful usage of a tranq pistol was enough to take out all of the guards - first those in the towers, then the ones at the entrances, and finally the ones on patrol. Once they were down, Viv took point on entering the campsite.

"Any other intel that you can feed me, Synais?"

"They're have been strange cries coming from the camp, but our attempts to match it with creature from the Witcher, Monster Hunter, and Final Fantasy universes have so far been a failure-"

A sudden screeching from the largest building in the camp caused Viv to freeze and made me flinch. "That the one?" I probed Synais.

"Yep. Sound familiar?"

"Sounds like a noios-"

"I believe that I may be able to assist with the classification of our unknown beast," interrupted...Master Teasonai? "My apologies for intruding - the guild at Astera wished to contact myself and the Business for information on the native life of the Origin System. They exchanged this information with facts about the native beasts of their world."

"I see. Can you tell me what I am hearing?"

"That is the call of a Monoblos."

"...Wait, you mean the endangered relative of the Diablos?"

"Yes. I suggest you locate it and mark it for pickup. Such a creature should not be allowed to die."

"Understood, I'm on it."

XXXXXXXX

Once inside the camp, it only took us a matter of moments to pilfer it for all things of value - currency, fuel, crafting components, the like. The Eclipse warriors within were effortlessly defeated and swiftly sent to base for interrogating - the Warframe Capture Teleporter made issues with intercepting prisoner transfers all but impossible.

With all other tasks completed, we made our way into the central structure of the camp.

There, under observation by three Shadow Carja warriors and a restrained bellowback (one carrying fluids designed for cooling) was a Monoblos - one covered in heavy scars.

Needing no direction, Vivian swiftly incapacitated the warriors while I hacked the machine and turned it to our side. Once that was handled, we began checking the flying wyvern for additional injuries. When we were certain it had none, we called in a drone to rescue the creature - the structure a large opening in its roof, allowing us to safely exfiltrate it upwards without having to cut out pieces of the roof.

When the creature was safely out of site, we exited the building.

Well, that had been a bust - sure, we'd rescued the wyvern, but no were no closer to finding the -

"Well done."

Both of us came to a halt. Standing before us was a machine similar to the ones we had seen at the Proving...but this one was quite a bit smaller than before. As in, man sized.

...How the hell had it snuck-up on us?!

"I presume you're wondering how I managed to approach you unseen? You can figure out a lot about someone's thoughts by examining their expression. As for your question, well, it's easy to hide from sensors if they are looking in the wrong plane of existence. Would you expect to find someone hiding in the rift plane if you weren't looking there?"

So, they knew about Warframe. "..No, I wouldn't."

"Ah, a smart one. It's been so long since I fought an intelligent progenitor commander...or at least, one who was inserted into one."

"...What?"

"Oh, don't look so surprised. I'm well aware of what you are. Using a metal gear solid box for stealth? Understanding the nature of the Tenno without asking? There is only one way a being like you could know those facts."

"...I see. So, do you wnat to continue talking, or shall we fight?"

"I'd prefer to fight right now," intoned Viv, who was already cracking her knuckles.

"Well, then you shall have your request granted-"

Before he could finish, I summoned Marcosias and fired off one of my heavenly blasts in the machine's face. Whilst it was dazed, Viv leaped forward and punched it in the gut, knocking it back, though the machine righted itself before it could fly too far. I fired off another attack at it, but to my shock, it had no effect on the machine.

Then, wihtout warning, the machine fired off some projectile at us. It exploded into light, but I was neither stunned, blinded nor hurt by the detonation. When I tried to use my warframe powers, though, nothing worked.

"Sucks to lose your powers, doesn't it?" spoke our foe, now walking toward us. Viv tried to punch it again, only for the machine to deflect each blow and force her back.

"It does. So, what are you gonna do now?"

"Now? I'm going to kill you."

Then, without warning, the machine curled in on itself and started glowing red. Acting on instinct, I grabbed Viv and Bullet Jumped out of the camp. A moment later, a massive explosion obliterated the Shadow Carja camp, though thankfully there were no fatalities.

Once I was certain there would be no further explosions, I checked to see if anyone had shown up to track us. Sure enough, several drones were converging on our location. Sighing, I opened up a portal to my hub and charged through, with Viv following suite.

Looks like we had a new enemy to fight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	266. Interlude 40

The skink watched as the beasts filed into the stables, some without issue, others hissing and screeching at the skinks that were herding them. Most calmed when they saw the food awaiting them in the pens, though some still expressed disapproval of the cold bloods that were their handlers.

The strange warmblood had landed in another universe, this one filled with beasts unlike any in the Old or New Wold. In particular, saurian creatures had been surprisingly common in this land, and that had given the skinks ideas. Ideas that the Saurus had been willing to back, and surprisingly, the Slaan had allowed these plans to be enacted.

Whilst the Old Ones had ensured that there would be enough creatures from their world to supply all the myriad races that had entered the reservoir with mounts, draft animals, and livestock to sustain both their current forces and allow for growth should they be unable to return to their homelands (which was pretty much guaranteed given their involvement with a progenitor commander), they would inevitably need to develop new ways to do all tasks - farming, building, and, as always, waging war.

The dwarfs would've likely found this difficult, if not impossible, given their aversion to change, but the Old Ones had, fortunately, planned for that. They had arranged an agreement with a minor Dwarf Hold such that, as repayment for assistance in defeating a Greenskin incursion (which would be taken as fulfillment of a debt), the Dawi would send the forces of the hold to the Repository after many millennia had passed, allowing the Dwarfs to have forces from a more modern time with them, and ensure they weren't too out of date in the coming battle.

That aside, adaptation was still a necessity. Advances in weaponry and engineering would be needed to weather the coming storm. The humans had already been working their forges and smiths, such that new firearms and blades would be at their disposal. The elves, though still arrogant as ever, were willing to swallow heir pride and begin studying the other races' advancements to improve themselves, though using black-powder weapons and smoke belching industries were things they still refused to do. Even the Servants of the Old Ones were forced to adopt new methods and devices to ensure they saw their mission through.

Unknown to the Warmblood Commander, the Old Ones had provided their servants with a great many remnants of their technology - arcane machinery that would make even the Ruininous Powers tremble in fear. Officially, they were supposed to offer tokens of it to the Commander if he asked for it.

That did not mean they had to tell him they had it to begin with.

Technology notwithstanding, the Lizardmen also needed to adapt to the myraid environments they were now entering. This meant acquiring new beasts to ride into battle. Already, the creatures known as Fanged and Bird Wyverns had been herded up, so that those blessed by Itzl and Conalxa would have the opportunity to tame them under more favorable circumstances. Brute Wyverns had also been herded, and already, a Saurus had managed to break one that enjoyed rolling in mud.

Wingdrakes, meanwhile, had proven easier to tame. Already, skinks were complementing their Terradon and Ripperdactyl riders with the fliers, taking advantag of the many breeds to develop different cohorts for different environments. Finding a usage for the ones that lived in the colder lands, however, would be problematic.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Huntsman General looked on as his men hoisted their quarry in triumph.

It had been a hard hunt, but the reward was well worth it - the basilisk was slain, and now the spoils could be used to aid the Empire.

The Empire was no stranger to giant beasts - spiders, wolves, manticores, griffons, all dwelled in the old world. That their had been new beasts to hunt had hardly been a surprise, though the fact that many of these new beasts were named after creatures familiar to the inhabitants of the Empire was puzzling. Still, no matter how mighty, horrifying, or downright weird a monster proved to be, it could felled with faith, steel, and gunpowder.

Now came the most difficult part of the hunt - dividing up the spoils. Alchemists were already clamoring for a sample of the basilisk's toxin, as were healers - one group desired it for medicine, the other for poison. Fortunately, there was enough venom to go around, and those who had asked for samples would all receive what they needed.

More valuable still was the beast's hide - to made for a fine leather, one that reportedly was used for making fine shoes and the bags and purses of ladies. The general had claimed that for himself - he had been born a tanner's son, and he always saw new hides as a challenge. Once the skin had been turned to leather, it would be sold off to tailors and cobblers - his field of expertise was turning the hide into leather, not the leather into finery.

XXXXXXXX

Mechadendrites moved with unsurpassed efficiency as the Tech Adept dismantled the specimen. Limbs were removed from the main body with pinpoint precision, whilst the metallic jaws were held up to a set of lenses, already under careful examination by a servo-skull.

Adept Promethea Coppernicus had barely been initiated into the Legio Cybernetic when she had been tasked with entering the Repository. Now, awakened at last from thousands of years of suspended animation, she was eager to advance the Quest for Knowledge. Joining with a human who had forcibly been inserted into a holy machine was a surprise for her, but the benefits had been tremendous. Already, so much knowledge had been acquired, and there was so much more to find!

And with it, came new allies to further advance the quest.

"Have you acquired all the information you can from this specimen?"

The Adept turned to face her companion. "Yes, but more would always be appreciated."

"Indeed," replied the glowing orange figure. "There will always be more room in the sanctuary for creatures to be rescued."

Adept Copperniucs had only known Cephalon Simaris for roughly a year, but in that time, she and her fellow tech adepts had been utterly astounded by him. He was, quite simply, the Holy Grail of Mechanicus research - an Apotheosis of Human and Machine. Such a feat had been deemed impossible by some Archmagos...and yet here was proof. And Simaris was not the only example of his kind. So many more Cephalons existed, and one had even united others to form a group dedicated to the preservation of knowledge. This one, Suda, had gladly shared her databanks with the Adepts in exchange for their knowledge.

Now, once again, the Tech Adept had found herself in an interesting situation. In the universe this machine had come from, mankind had been destroyed by a Silica Animus...yet it had also been saved by one. Mankind had created an Abominable Intelligence dedicated to preserving his species...and it had worked. Against all expectations, the thinking machine had done exactly what was tasked of it. In fact, if the knowledge available in this universe was correct, even the cause of the current evils plaguing this world was not due to a thinking machine turning against mankind, but because someone else had activated one when it was not needed.

Yet that was beyond her concern at the moment. For now, she had robots to disassemble.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The machine watched as its drones observed the blast zone. So far, they had yet to find any remains of the Commander...and that was rather worrisome. With these ones, you had to be sure that you found the body, burnt out their computers, and obliterated their soul, lest they rise again from beyond the grave. IF his body was not here, then he had not suffered any meaningful loss.

Perhaps using a drone meant as a suicide weapon had not been the best way to attempt to kill him. A sniper bot would have accomplished the same feat, with less margin for error.

More worrisome, however, was the Commander's companion. Her power was unlike any the machine had encountered yet...and it did _not_ know what she was.

...He needed to track the Commander down quickly. Best to eliminate the threat now before it had time to take root.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	267. Annihilation 227

Okay, so it looks like I'd_ finally_ met one of the things the artifacts had warned me about.

And it had promptly launched a suicide attack on me. Yeah.

I guess they really wanted me dead.

"No shit, Captain Obvious."

Funny, Viv. So, what next?

"Well, normally I'd leave that up to you, but since you're asking, I'm going to look for the machines that just attacked us."

...Do you have a death wish?!

"No, but if they're trying to kill me the minute they see me, chances are, they have important reasons for that. And I want to know those reasons."

Don't bite off more than you can chew, my friend. It never ends well.

"I know, but there's a reason the artifacts fear these beings. And if they fear them enough to warn me against their influence, their reasons are probably very good."

Viv just sighed after that. "Fine, but first, it looks like your forces are asking for some advice."

The specifics about this was that Synais was getting reports from my various protectorate forces groundside that wanted to know what they were supposed to do if they found beings from other universes on the Zero Dawn one. He'd actually gone ahead and made a list of possible beings to meet, and what I wanted done with them.

It took me about .35 microseconds to figure out what I wanted done for each group, which I promptly sent back to Synais to distribute.

Though he did have a few words to be said about my choices.

"...What's this one for Daleks?"

"Shove target and peanut butter into their eye stalks and send them back home whining like babies."

"Okay...what's this thing about slimes?"

"If they eat chickens and plants, try and start ranching them."

"Okay...why'd you put monster girls in one of these categories?"

"Because someone would inevitably ask about them, though I am surprised you did not."

"Eh, couldn't find any I particularly liked. So, we just send them home?"

"Most of them - I don't have any particular dislike for the vast majority of cute monster girls. The exception is under the last category."

"Okay...Wait, what's this last one called? Hostis….vita...veeta...veta..-"

"_Hostis Vitae Generis _taken from the term_ Hostis Humani Generis._ Basically, so long as you don't rape or enslave anyone in that group, you are free to do whatever you want to them. They deserve it."

"I see...I can get why you'd put skaven, tyranids, protoss-xerg hybrids, anyone who worships Molag Bal, Heretic Astartes, Goblin Slayer goblins and the Gremlins from the movie of the same name on this list, but why'd you add Mamono to this list?"

"Because they turned their homeworld into a Tainted Rape Planet that is doomed to see the extinction of almost all life unless they are purged from existence. Maybe they can be made to not cause genocide by virtue of existence, but even then, I wouldn't be happy if even a single member of the demon lord's royal family and/or any of her ideological followers was around. Some evils just need to be purged."

"What'd you do if you found some here?" asked Synais. "Shove them in a giant meat grinder and use the results to feed the lizardmen?"

"...How much meat would I need to feed the lizardmen at the moment?"

Synais just stared at me through the screen. "...You're savage, you know that right?"

"I try to be a better person, but sometimes, there is no room to show quarter to the enemy."

"True enough," noted Viv.

"...Okay, bye!"

Synais promptly cut the transmission. The minute he did, I turned to look at Viv. "I thought you'd have reservations against my plans regarding the mamono."

My ROB shrugged. "I learned to reserve my kindness for those who deserve it. Besides, my father was a king - I was taught to wipe out my enemies root and stem. Putting people to the sword, even if they are relatively innocent, comes part and parcel with that. Whilst my time under Celempheros and my own better nature has tempered that fury, it never truly faded away. And if I am being honest about that setting? You could put it all to the sword and nothing of value would be lost."

Guess we could agree on some of the vilest of things. Hooray.

Fide decided that it was a good time to contact me at that moment and informed me that she had located another of the machines the artifacts kept warning me about. Apparently, it had been spotted by another eclipse camp, where it had been building up a large stockpile of blaze and...some kind of purple fluid. I assumed it was some kind of fuel, since that was what blaze was used for.

After building and tuning a small scale multiversal gate to facilitate better travel to the Carja lands, we made our way into the Eclipse Lands. The Shadow Carja we met heckled us whenever they saw us, with some even trying to start fights, but nothing really came of it. The Shadow Carja weren't really a group I had feelings of aggression toward - they were just the unlucky followers of Helis whom he used as cannon fodder for his plans. These people lived in poverty whilst the Eclipse indulged in the spoils of the Red Raids. Sad, really - these people had been deluded into following a madman, and now they suffered for it.

Eventually, though, we reached the Eclipse camp. That's when things got interesting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When we arrived, a caravan of Eclipse Warriors was in the middle of leaving, though none noticed our presence. What remained, though was a corrupted longleg, overlooking a very large metallic crate - one as large as the big crates I'd busted when playing Half Life 2. Carefully, we snuck up on the machine, occasionally using empty munitions magazines to distract the robot, before swiftly crushing its processor. Afterwards, whilst I explored the rest of the camp for additional loot, Viv opened up the crate, revealing the blaze and the purple fluid.

Now, what was this stuff?

"Maybe the robot could tell us? All you need to do is open up its processor...which you just destroyed..."

Dammit.

"...Not a problem. Just pull up your bone-daddy and let him do a séance."

Bone-daddy...Oh.

Smirking, I concentrated on my arsenal of warframes, made my selection, and let the transference link do the rest. A moment later, my body was replaced with that of Nekros Prime, and one usage of Shadows of the Dead later, I had a fully functional Longleg by my side. From there, accessing its memory core was rather easy.

XXXXXXX

Once again, I saw the Eclipse soldiers from the caravan, now busy loading up some of the blaze. There was no purple fuel being packed away, though, and I wasn't the only a me who found this suspicious.

"Why aren't we loading the purple fluid?" Asked one of the warriors. "I do not believe Helis would go to such lengths to protect it only to leave it open to thieves."

"The Champion of Jiran wishes for this to be a distraction," replied another of the warriors - a Kestrel, by the looks of it. "If we allow our enemies to find small but obvious caches of this fuel, then they may overlook larger stockpiles that are more concealed, and fail to notice smaller ones that are hidden in plain sight."

"I see, forgive me for asking the question."

"You need not worry - your question had merit."

XXXXXXXXX

Erchius? As in, the starship fuel from Starbound? What the hell were they using that for? And what was the machine going to do with it?

"Commander, this is Kathikon, something just popped up."

"What's up?"

"The purple fuel you're looking at, we're getting some weird readings from it. Like, off the charts on some for of energy measurement. And before you ask, it started up just after you utilized Nekros' powers."

...In hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to use necromancy nearby what is possibly the liquified fragments of a planet kill Eldritch Abomination. "Okay, so, what now?"

"Now, my dear commander," intoned a familiar voice, "you die."

Before either of us could process what had just been said, another of the artifacts' enemies jumped toward us and bat Viv aside, though not before wrenching the Erchius fuel from her grasp and throwing it at me...

XXXXXXXX

AN: I actually needed a while to figure out an example of humans who could be considered Hostis Vitae Generis. Then I realized Chaos Space Marines AKA Heretic Astartes are still technically human. For the most part.

For this wondering, Hostis Vitae Generis is a term I made up for this story, based on the real term Hostis Humani Generis. The term literally means 'Enemies of All Mankind', and is applied traditionally to pirates, but nowadays it's also used for slavers. If you are considered Hostis Humani Generis, you're literally outside the protection of the law, and any other force in existence is given permission to destroy you, using whatever it takes. 'Hostis Vitae Generis', which, if I remember my Latin prefixes right, literally translates into 'Enemies of All Living Things', is this, but modified to be more inclusive of non-human entities.

Also, it's a lot more severe - I basically made the term up as something I could use to describe enemies for whom plan A is 'hit with weapons that violate every law and custom of war in existence because they are that bad', which basically means those who possess this designation are walking war crimes.

For example:

Gremlins: Insane little goblin thongs who just enjoy causing mayhem for the he'll of it, and really like watching other people suffer

skaven: Irredeemable monsters in a land where such monsters are the norm. Somehow, the rats manage to be more despicable than the other bad guys.

Chaos Space Marines: This should be obvious

Goblin-Slayer Goblins: Unrepentant rapists who enjoy torturing people to death.

Mamono: Are causing the slow but inevitable genocide of humanity by virtue of existence.

Also, I really hate the entire Monster Girl Encyclopedia setting where Mamono come from on principle, and if I ever go to that setting in this story (and I REALLY want to), I'm gonna use nukes I n the villains there. And chemical weapons. And maybe superplagues. Seriously, there's no way to quantify how much I hate the setting, except that if I was a Sith and used that rage for power, I'd be able to pull the moon out of orbit and use it as a weapon against the Earth.

So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	268. Annihilation 228

The canister shattered on impact, but due to my armor, I didn't end up with anything worse then a little pain from the collision. Without hesitation, I transferred into Valkyr and readied up my Venka Claws - best to deal with this thing as soon as possible.

"Interesting - you choose the frame of war most associated with rage and aggression to oppose me. How...destructive."

"You struck first."

"True. Still, I doubt you will be able to-"

I used a ripline to pull the machine toward me, then impaled it upon my other hand. Whilst ti tried to strike back, I rammed the second set of blades into its gut, lifted it up, then brought it down onto my knee. A satisfying crunch followed.

Then the machine flailed one of its arms at me, forcing me to retreat.

"Argh, such an inconvenience. This drones are not costly, but I do hate to replace them."

"Well, then you should make them tougher."

"Perhaps."

Then, suddenly, the machine's beak-like face opened up, with the inside starting to glow. I barely managed to move my claws into a position to block before a massive beam of energy slammed into me. Whilst my claws helped to mitigate the damage, the heat of the beam was so intense that my frame was starting to cook. Without hesitation, I activated Hysteria and charged. The machine could only shout in surprise as I tore into it, cutting into its mechanical components with wild abandon. A moment later, I threw it aside. The machine tried to get back up, only for Viv to grab it with a...tentacle and start pulling. A moment later, and the creature was severed in two, its torso landing in front of me. Grinning like a mad-man, I extended my claws and started pummeling it.

Yes, yes, YES! SUFFER YOU MISERABLE MACHINE! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!

Viv promptly slapped me with one of her tentacles, causing me to fall over. A moment later, and Hysteria faded, allowing me to look at my handiwork...which was now liquefying. Crap, it had a self-destruct function. Worse still, I soon discovered that the machine was beyond my ability to reconstruct with Shadows of the Dead, leaving me with no way to determine why it was attacking me.

"No luck recreating it?"

"No, Viv...Also, you have tentacles?"

"Um, yes. Why are you surprised?"

"...Sorry, I just remember them being octopus ones, and not...well, jellyfish ones."

"Tecnically, they're man o'war tentacles, but that's not important at the moment."

"Do they have stingers and venom?"

"Yes."

"...You can control whether or not they sting, right?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I wont sting you to death if I use a tentacle to give you a high five."

"Well, that's a relief. Now to figure out what they wanted this Erchius fuel for."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, Kathikon, what's showing up on the scanner?"

"A lot of nothing, surprisingly. It looks like the sample you were doused with was the only erchius fuel that robot had brought with it."

"Surprised it only brought such a small amount - I'm certain it would've brought more."

"Well, it looks like they aren't trying to summon any eldritch monsters with the fuel. Additionally, I have detected no anomalies coming from you, so it appears that dousing you in the fuel is not something that turns people into monsters. At least, not at the moment."

"Roger, keep me posted there. Hey, you got any idea what our friends are up to?"

"Geralt is busy hunting a griffon, Aloy is doing some errands for a few natives of Meridian, whilst Theseus and Zoe are taking Zora out to go and track down a longleg. That being said, Aloy is well on her way to figuring out Project Zero Dawn's true nature. In the meantime, Coeus is working on trying to move the Old Ones he has in stasis back into the world, and is also trying to get his tribe to start spreading the knowledge they got from copying APOLLO to the others."

"...Coeus copied over APOLLO?! When?!"

"Before Faro deleted all other copies and murdered the Alphas. Also, I think he copied over GAIA. However, attempting to reupload her at the moment is a questionable idea, mostly because I believe removing the enemies of the artifacts to be a priority - we have no knowledge of their plans, but if they are assisting eclipse, then we are bound to have trouble with them."

"True. Any other new arrivals showing up through the portals that have been randomly opening?"

"Nope. Actually, it seems that the portals have begun to subside, for reasons currently beyond me."

"..Really?"

"Yes. I am not sure why, but I will try to find out."

"Thnak you. Any updates on the home front?"

"Not much. There are still teethng problems with having some rather xenophobic beings living in proximity with alien races, but the barriers are collapsing. The Imperium, in particular, seems to be getting along well with Wakhaf's forces, and the remaining flesh and blood Nehekharans are helping their mummified kin adjust very well, though Wraith wishes they would warn him if they intend to raise additional warriors."

How the Progenitors had managed to sneak in a group of Tomb Kings into the Repository was beyond me, but I'd learned to roll with the punches by this point. "I see. Now, how are Alad's tests with the nullifiers, leshen parts, Beheomth horns, and Progenitor magics going?"

"Okay, I think. So far, the nullifier devices are only achieving minor disruptions with the magic, but they have been improving."

That was a relief. Many of the universes I was likely to venture to had magic in them, and developing a means to repel it was a necessity until I could learn the sorcery for myself. With the power of magic and technology at my fingertips, I wouldn't be invicible, but I would certainly be taking a few steps in the right direction.

"Keep me posted."

"Right. Oh, and heads up, but I have located the Eclipse Outpost where the Caravan you saw earlier was headed."

...Welp, time to ruin the Eclipse's day.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	269. Annihilation 229

Reaching the Shadow Carja base wasn't too hard - having an orbital satellite network made locating their camp trivial. We soon found ourselves atop a bluff, staring down on the Eclipse. Glinthawks occasionally flitted about, whilst a corruptor worked to turn over a group of scrappers to the Eclipse's cause. In the center of the camp, Shadow Carja warriors were sorting through supplies, placing blaze, chillwater, sparkers, metal vessels, echo shells, and metalburn into different containers. Watchers patrolled the area, looking for any possible infiltrators that wanted to raid the camp. Not that they were any help against me - I'd already hacked into them remotely and programmed them to stop taking orders from the Corrupted. A few tranquilizer shots later and Shadow Carja were fast asleep. As it only took me a few moments to subvert the glinthawks and scrappers, only the corruptor remained.

That proved to be the biggest challenge - somehow, I couldn't hack into it. I blamed whatever machines were working with the Eclipse.

Oh well, time to get things done the hard way.

In hindsight, that was a bad idea.

XXXXXXXXXX

I used Transferrence to summon up Zephyr, then fluttered through the air until I was right above the corruptor. Then, I brought my blade down, and started falling.

The impact shattered the group around us, and managed to essentially crush the corruptor - I could hear its systems give way.

Somehow, though, that didn't stop the machine from grabbing me with its tail and throwing me away. A moment later, it stood up, its body now faintly glowing purple. Bit by bit, the damaged parts forced themselves back into working order, leaving me to face a somewhat pissed off spider robot.

Without warning, the machine leaped at me, only barely missing as I rolled to the side. I retaliated by swinging at one of its legs, causing it to slip and bring its head into striking range. Further attempts to hit it, though, were deflected via the bot's tail, until it could force itself back up. From there, it attempted to fire at me, though I deftly avoided all of its attacks. The machine eventually caught onto this, and fired an explosive blast at me, sending me reeling. Seizing it's chance, it readied to swing its tail at me, only for something to strike the limb, causing the tail to retreat. A moment later, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the air - Viv had decided to camp on the bluff and try out some heavier forms of ranged firepower, specifically a vulkar wraith I'd procured during my time in the Origin System. A trio of additional shots followed, forcing the machine to take a few steps back, allowing me to recover and return to fighting the monster. I decided to ease things for myself, and summoned up an Ignis to exploit the corruptor's weakness to fire. Moments later, the machine was ablaze, much to its discomfort.

Now utterly incensed, the machine let out a mighty howl, which was accompanied by a signal of some sort. A distress signal, as I soon found out. Moments later, I received a notification that a group of corrupted glinthawks were headed toward Viv - one's that I could not hack into. Ugh, what did this machine possess to nullify my hacking powers. Seriously, WHAT?!

With Viv now occupied fighting the robo-birds (and unable to use powers that would easily solve the issue, per Celm's request), I found myself facing the corruptor alone. Dismissing my warframe, I void dashed into the robot, then summoned up a Giant Jaw Blade, swept its legs, and slammed down upon its head. Battered but not yet dead, the Scarab responded by grabbing me with its tail and hurling me to the side, leaving me to impact hard against a nearby wall, shattering it in the process. Groaning, I forced myself back up and threw a Spira dagger at the machine's grenade launcher, blowing the component off. Thank you, concealed explosives.

Now stewing in rage (somehow), the corruptor grabbed and threw a boulder at me, which I effortlessly shattered. I followed that up with a swing from my blade, only for the spider robot to simply grab it and throw the sword aside. Then, it grabbed a nearby Eclipse Blade and chucked that at me. I parried the blow, and then shattered the boulder that followed, after which I leaped toward the machine, which was aiming its spike launcher...oh fuck that's baAADDARHG!

XXXXXXXXXX

Synais practically fell over when the screen in front of him lit up. Hastily recovering, Synais focused his attention on the screen - something had happened that had caused the commander's vital signs to jump. Also, he was emitting _way _more energy than normal.

XXXXXX

The pain had gone down to manageable levels by the time I collapsed. The machine moved in to finish me, only for Vivian to suddenly teleport in and start tearing into it. Blades cut sheets of armor off the machine, with a well placed sheev blow even igniting the machine's core. Despite this, it fought on, and eventually, managed to catch Vivian with its tail.

Then it started beating her into the ground. The tail slammed her back and forth, leaving the ground covered in impact marks...and blood. Lots of blood.

..Back..Off...

Slowly, I forced myself upwards and began hobbling over to the machine. My body was literally smoking from the corruption spike, but I didn't care. It was only when I had crawled right up to the machine that it finally noticed me. What followed was a punch so powerful it shattered the machine's remaining armor. From there, I started tearing into it. Piece by piece, I tore it apart, ripping circuitry and metal out with reckless abandon. By the time I finally sunk my parazon into the machine's brain and tore the processor out, it seemed to be whimpering in pain.

At last satisfied, I made my way over to Viv, who'd managed to force herself up. Now was the time to treat her wounds.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	270. Interlude 41

The Worm groaned as she tried, futilely, to cross the floor. Her stomach, however, was not interested in assisting with her movements.

"Still used to crawling on your tail, sister?" Asked the Witch.

"Yes. Getting used to a normal body again is...problematic."

"Indeed it is. I will admit, though, whilst I do not enjoy our imprisonment, having my original skin back is very enjoyable."

"Indeed it is. That was surprisingly nice of our captor."

"Hmph. You may be correct, but I still yearn for the day when we will be free once more."

"...Perhaps we could decrease the time we must serve by giving him on offering?"

"...Do you actually think he will see a bribe for anything other than what it is?" Questioned the Witch.

"No, but I believe a token of gratitude is needed for his generosity."

"I see. What do you have in mind? And what could this commander possibly need? He is, essentially, immortal."

"True, but his subordinates are not. Additionally, most of his forces could use benefit from additional powers."

"...Are you saying-"

"Yes, sister," spiked the Worm, pulling out a red pepper shaped vial from a nearby cabinet. "I believe we should offer him the Old Blood."

"...Then who would he use it on?"

XXXXXXXX

The creature tore into the carcass, rapidly stuffing organs into its maw. The girros has been slaughter with ease, for it had only taken the monster a few seconds to snap the fanged wyvern's neck. As the corpse was torn apart, the predator could not help but notice drones flying around it, eagerly recording its actions for future examination. Further tests would examine its ability to command lesser infested.

The sound of something rolling turned the creature's attention away from the carcass. There, not far from the corpse, was a ball. A moment later, a kubrow emerged from a nearby aperture, though upon noticing the infested beast it came to a halt.

The Infested stared at the intruder for only a moment before picking up the ball and throwing it, causing the canid to chase after it. Once the ball was retrieved, the canine monotreme retreated into the Aperture that it had arrived from, leaving the infested alone.

As it attempted to continue butchering the carcass, though, one of the drones began to flash lights at it, causing the creature to look at the flying machine. Said machine promptly displayed at set of words to the beast: 'The Commander Is Coming. We Want You To Meat Him.'

The beast grumbled in annoyance. Why couldn't it just go back to its room and eat in peace?

'Please meet with the commander. You deserve to meet him.'

The creature grumbled again, but ultimately chose to comply. A moment later, and a portal opened before it. Without hesitation, the creature walked through the light.

XXXXXX

_Carefully I layered the bandages over Viv's wounds. By now, they were starting to pile up, but that was something I'd have to accept - removing the bandages would likely just worse then bleeding. The scarab had managed to harm my former ROB greatly using metalburn, and whilst she could have probably survived without treatment, I was not going to just leave her to try and recover on her own. Friends help friends out._

"Commander, you have a guest," _intoned Fide. Turning around, I found a humanoid Infested staring at me - presumably the command strain I'd asked for. Said beat was staring at me curiously, though its attention briefly turned to Vivian._

"Greetings," _I said, trying to keep the beast's attention on me. IT responded by waving, though it still stared at Vivian. As I pondered on what to say, patches of the beast's skin started to glow green. Before I could say anything, the pulse of green energy shot out from around the Infested and rolled over both me and Vivian. Immediately, I felt rejuvenated, and my various injuries no longer hurt. A cursory examination of Viv revealed that some of her injuries had healed, as had mine._

_Huh, didn't know it had the Ancient's power._

'...Thank you,' _I thought to the creature._

'...You...Are...Welcome...'

_What? I thought that it couldn't talk. Also, that legion-sounding thought voice was scary._

'Can Talk...Just Had...No Reason...To.'

'Interesting. Do you have a name?'

'...No.'

'...Do you want one?'

'...Yes.'

'...Then I will Leave The Coice To You. Do You Know How To Read And Write?'

'Yes...Old Flesh...Retains Knowledge of Those Skills...Can Also Access...Computers...Through Nanites.'

_That was rather worrisome._ 'Understood. When you have the name you want, tell me.'

'Okay...I Have It.'

'Then tell me what it shall be.'

_To my surprise, the creature actually __spoke__ that answer - in a singular, female, demure voice._

"...Call me...Coraz Xhil."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The stems flowed in the wind, slowly adjusting themselves to get the most sunlight. Leaves unfurled to increase the surface area, allowing the greenery to maximize its photosynthesizing potential. Only once each leaf was in optimatl position did they stop moving.

Head in the shade of a large rock, Xiril left out a sigh of relief, then began to tear into a tuber. This world that the creator had made was hot, but it was home. Already, strange creatures ran about, some resembling creatures he knew, others that were not so familiar. Most interesting at the moment, though, were the short, bearded beings doing business with the skeletons.

The Dawi were not ones normally found in deserts, but this cactus covered desert was a cold one, as the small drifts of snow proved, and was to the dwarfs' liking. The Tomb Kings, meanwhile, preferred the more open, sandy plains further away, but were not so arrogant as to refuse building outposts in other environments - especially not when there was the possiblity of trade. Though many dawi and tob king forces ha been destroyed in a war between the two (all over a dwarfen hammer with a single Nehekharan gold coin in it), when these beings were allies, they could be surprisingly reasonable. Many values were shared between these people, after all. Especially their views on honor.

Hours passed, with agreements being made and goods being exchanged, until eventually the two groups parted ways. Clouds soon appeared, much to Xiril's annoyance. Letting out a sigh, Xiril decided that he had overstayed his welcome - his sunbathing was now a distant dream. Thus, with some annoyance, he shook off the tiredness out of him and started moving his legs.

All one hundred plus of them.

As Xiril's segmented body began to move, the numerous stems went limp, causing them to curl around his exoskeleton. By the time the stem-carrying segments hit the ground, the green parts had neatly folded themselves against Xiril's flanks, ensuring that they would be easier to fit into tunnels. And indeed, into tunnels they were going.

It didn't take long for Xiril to reach his home's entrance. From there, it was down, down, down he went.

XXXXXXXX

Xiril's kind, the Greenflanks (Ix'Kril in their own tongue), were an interesting species - annelids who could both consume food and synthesize their own from sunlight. Ix'Kril, if they had evolved on Earth, would have been considered a type of bristle worm, whose limbs were adapted for both swimming and burrowing. In another time, giant bristle worms like Xiril would have arisen after man had left the world, being amongst the largest creature to inhabit the majority of the planet's surface. The spot for largest terrestrial animal at that particular time, though, would go to a terrestrial variety of squid.

None of that mattered to Xiril - he just wanted to get back home.

As he made his way into the deeper tunnels, Xiril made sure to avoid the Dawi who bred moutains goats, though he did stop by a brewery first - Dawi alcohol was legendary, and he wasn't above snatching samples for himself.

The hold that these dwarfs called home was known as Karak Aksuul, and had been the first one established in a desert territory - dwarfs preferred mountains, wastelands, and savannahs to scorching deserts, but they were a hardy people, and cold deserts weren't exactly something they couldn't adapt to. Though the longbeards would inevitably complain, when these circumstances came about, adaptation had to occur.

Xiril didn't normally interact much with the Dwarfs - not because he didn't like them, but his kind preferred to live in great underground lakes where they could swim. Dwarfs did occasionally come to those lakes, often to battle the beasts that dwelled their (including something the creator referred to as 'looking like the watcher in the water', which the worms occasionally aided them in. The dwarfs were also appreciated for raising goats, which the bristle worms had found to be incredibly appetizing. In turn, the worms would often share choice fish and other swimmers from the lakes, something the Dawi were happy to enjoy.

Finally reaching his home, Xiril made his way into his room. His sister was napping, whilst his mother and father had retreated to their room, and from the sounds of it, were making the beast with two backs - some concepts carried across languages. Idly, Xiril wondered if his mother would be laying another clutch or if father would be the one to gestate the next generation - worms were hermaphrodites after all, so who would be sire and mother came down to each partner's choice. Xiril himself wasn't sure yet whether his would be mother or father for his first clutch.

*Crunch*

Though given that his girlfriend, Karsis, was a huge NEET, lived in his tunnels, and spent most of the day eating potato chips, he wasn't actually sure he'd have any shot at getting children for a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The Drone watched over the Commander's forces, trying to discern what to do next. Attempts to exploit this convergence event had so far failed, leaving the human to only grow stronger, instead of off himself through overextending his forces.

This could not be allowed - the masters' could not afford to have any disruptions to their plans.

Thus, the commander would have to go.

Cautiously, the drone pulled a piece of metal out of storage. This metal was hardly of use as a weapon, though it might serve to weaken this fool of a commander. After all, he would never abandon an innocent...

And the world from which this magnetite came was too pathetic to defend itself.

AN: Hmm, I wonder what the Old Blood will be used for...

For those wondering about it, the green pulse was the healing ability the Ancient Healer from Warframe has.

As for Xiril, he and his kind are based upon the garden worm from the Future Is Wild:

[URL unfurl="true"] wiki/Garden_worm[/URL]

Anyway, I'm putting the main story on Ice while I update some of my other stories. I might still do sidestory and info bits, and I will answer any questions you might want to ask on Discord. So, without further adieu,

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	271. Annihilation 230

Okay, so, let's recap: I got attacked by an upgraded corruptor, Synais says I'm emitting some kind of weird energy signal, there are still a ton of magnetic anomalies opening up around what used to be the Southwestern United States (and thankfully nowhere else), and my son and Cassidy's daughter built a gigantic vault to hold anyone who gets displaced by further anomaly activity until I can send them home. We up to speed? Good.

Now, where's the nearest anomaly?

"Commander, that would be in this sector - what used to be Arizona, specifically the Grand Canyon."

Thank you, Fide. Also, how is Vivian doing?

"Splendid, sir. Her recovery is going smoothly."

"I see. Alert me if anything changes...oh, and make sure she has a view screen - I want her to see what is happening when we deal with this next anomaly."

"Understood."

XXXXXX

The Condor Dropship deposited me two kilometers South of my target, where a group of genprey were fighting a sawtooth for dominance. Theseus and Zoe had been recalled following new developments in the New World, and were now being deployed to a frozen island know as the Hoarfrost Ridge. Geralt had elected to stay a while longer, though I wasn't exactly sure where he was right now - he could be in the heart of Eclipse territory, really, given how his adventures tended to go. Aloy was still on her adventures, though it seemed that she was pretty close to finding the secrets she needed to know about the old world.

All of that was put aside, though, for I had to focus on figuring out what was causing these anomalies - and how to stop them.

Carefully, I made my way across the desert, taking pains to avoid the larger machines and monsters in the region. Briefly, I saw a Deviljho fighting against a Thunderjaw, with the machine actually managing to fell the World Eater. As I got closer to the anomaly site, though, things began to get more odd in appearance - the ground, for instance, started to look like it was the haven of burrowing mammals, for the more or less flat landscape had been replaced by a set of tunnel entrances and exits - all far larger than would necessary for most burrowing mammals. Just what hte hell had come through these anomalies?

"Hell if I know, commander."

"You're input was unnecesary, but appreciated."

"Thank you sir-"

Without warning, a genprey pair tumbled into me, sening the three of us hurtling toward the ground. Rolling out of the way, I watched as the two creatures battled it out, only after a moment realizing that one of the creatures was not a genprey - rather, it looked a...regular old raptor. Specifically, the Hollywood _Velociraptor_: human sized, scaly skin, terrifying appearance, and so on. Oddly, though, this one had a sort of feathery fuzz on its head, neck, back and tail, which resembled hair more than feathers, but that was semantics at this point.

Oddly, though, I felt like I knew what work this raptor came from. What that exact work was, though, lay beyond me.

The raptor swiftly defeated its opponent, tearing out the bird wyvern's throat in a matter of moments. One traq dart later, though, and it was curled up in a bundle, sleeping like a baby.

Then, to my surprise, three more raptors joined it. I tranquilized them too, and then called in four conservation drones to pick up my catches.

"These raptors look like anthing from the archives, Fide?"

"Haven;t found a match yet, but I will keep looking-"

Any other words my second in command wanted to say were lost as the ground started to shake. Then, without warning, a huge form forced itself out of the ground mere meters away from me.

The form was decidedly insectoid, what with six limbs, hard caapace, and antennae. Also, _good god, those mouth parts were hideous! _Seriously, why had evolution granted insects such horrifying chompers? WHY?!

"I do not know, my former pawn, but I suggest you defeat that thing quickly - there's more heading your way."

"So you're up. Good. Also, how many?"

"Looks like at least five, possibly more - given their size, I think they made the tunnel entrances you saw earlier."

"Eh, figures. This place needs to get fumigated ."

"Elling just asked me if we could throw some super pesticides into the tunnels, then use mortars to ignite the pesticides to make sure they stay dead."

"...That's certainly overkill, though I won;t complain."

"Like you have a right to do that. Anyway, try to kill that thing quickly and bring back samples - be they my forces or yours, they can get stuff done faster if they have good samples to work with."

"True."

The bug charged at me, ready to make me into a meal. Without missing a beat, I pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and shoved it down the beast's throat. I swiftly rolled to the side, and a moment later, a veritable flood of bug juice flew out of the critter's mouth, at which point it keeled over, dead.

Hoisting the carcass over me, I started runing. Not even a moment passed before a bug emerged next to me, followed by another, and another. Soon five were following me, all trying to turn me into lunch. I easily mange to outmaneuver them, however, and it wasn't long before I was at the pickup point. There, the condor dropship was ready to pick me up, while a pack of Hyenas opened fire upon the bugs, giving me an opening to escape.

Defeated, the bugs tried running back into the tunnels. I, however, was not going to give them a chance to become an invasive species. Using a fabricator I'd added to this model of condor, I hastily constructed a...specialized version of the lanka, took aim at one of the bugs, and fired.

Ten minutes later, and the first bug chunks finally hit the ground.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Yeah, back to updating this. Expect more chapters and another Christmas episode soon.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	272. Annihilation 231

Even before I'd returned home, I'd begun comparing the bugs to any fiction I'd ever seen - stuff with lost worlds, time travel, alien planets, everything. Hopefully this would lend some insight into what I was dealing with.

That insight did eventually come, but not from what I had been expecting. But that is for later.

As for my current situation, most of my erstwhile allies had returned home - Geralt was still here, for sure, but Zoe and Theseus had asked one of my followers to send them home while I was messing around with the bugs. Apparently, they had a cold weather assignment to handle, at least according to Synais, of all people. With the Witcher focusing on dealing with the monsters from his world and Aloy trying to find out who she was, my forces were the only ones trying to deal with the portals, not that we'd really had any help.

And yes, I'm not forgetting about you.

_I did decide to follow your lead._

True. So, what now?

"Well, Leal just informed me that another portal has opened up recently, and that it is...actually rather far away from any major settlements, none of which I am familiar with - it's on the California coast. Also, this portal is _very _different from the others - its energy signature is unlike those of the other portals we've encountered. I'm not exactly sure what is the cause of this."

Then let's head over and figure out what is causing the oddities.

"Sure. Just be careful - we already have enough trouble with the _normal _portals."

Do you want to come along, then?

"...Eh, why not?"

XXXXXXX

Five minutes later, we had landed on the coastline. The waves crashed against the sand while gulls and other creatures paced about further up the beach, hoping to catch morsels that the ocean threw onto the land. Bobcats were also among the waiting scavengers, some particularly eager to score a meal.

Our target, however, had long since faded away, though there were still traces of its presence. Footprints of unfamiliar creatures littered the dry sand, and odd shapes darted about, just out of sight.

"Think the portal will open again any time soon?"

"No," was Viv's reply, "but I am picking up residual energy signatures from the portal at a location one hundred meters away. I suggest we examine it before you go off and get into trouble."

"Assuming trouble doesn't find us."

"No need to be smart with me."

"But I want to."

"Then save it for after we get the portals to stop causing so much havoc."

XXXXXXXXXX

The destination Viv mentioned turned out to be a nearby hill, where we found a strange, yet familiar looking machine.

"...You think the machine that is aiding the Eclipse made this?"

"Give the man a gold star!"

"I'm not the only one who needs to limit the smartness, it seems."

"...Killjoy. Think you can pull some info out of this bucket of bolts?"

"Alaready on it."

Said bucket of bolts was actually very well encrypted, to the point that it started deleting its data once I began to hack in. Despite this, I was able to pull out some useable audio-files before it bricked itself.

"So, what does it say?"

"Let me hit play."

One flick of the button later, and the recording was live.

"PORTAL GENERATOR ONLINE. SYSTEM NOW LOCATING TARGET DESTINATION."

"WARNING: TARGET DESTINATION EXPERIENCE INTERFERENCE FROM NATIVE SIDE. PORTAL STABILITY WILL FLUCTUATE. CONTINUE?"

"CONTINUING."

The audio file promptly fizzled out after this, but that ultimately proved to be no setback - I had gotten what I had needed.

Somehow, the Coelohim was influencing the portals.

"Yeah, somehow. Though I doubt it created all of them."

"Why do you assume that, Viv?"

"Just ran a scan based on what we were able to get from this machine, and so far, only five of these generators have popped up - way too few to generate the number of portals we've dealt with. I think this creature is just taking advantage of an existing crisis - and making it worse - to achieve whatever its real goals are."

"Well, isn't that worrisome. Want to head back now?"

"Not quite - I've got a trail I want to follow."

It didn't take me long to find that trail, though I was puzzled by its appearance - based on the shape of the footprints, it appeared that whatever had made the trail had been a biped. Additionally, the number of footprints indicated that there were two of the creatures - which worried me a little bit, since that could indicate a breeding pair.

"You want to make a cast of the footprints?' asked my former ROB.

"Not now. Why do you ask? Do yu happen to have the stuff needed to make a cast of them on hand?"

"Yeah, I do. I also have some pokeballs, bug jars, fish bait, logs, and lots of snacks. Really, for someone who likes to be prepared, I'm surprised you don't have those on hand."

"I'm a commander - being prepared for physical combat isn't exactly my forte, even if I'm trying to get better there."

"I see. Well, let's go - "

Before we could move, a shape suddenly darted in front of us, followed by the form of a raptor of some sort - a maccao, I realized after a moment. The creatures were travelling perpendicular to the trail, which presented us a dilemma - follow the trail and lose the shape, or follow the shape and let the creatures making the trail get away without a fuss.

"...split up?"

"I think so."

Viv just smiled. "Want me to get the raptor?"

"Sure. I'll get the trail."

Our paths decided, we made haste to find our destinations.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Following the footprints lead me further inland, until I reached a nest of sorts by a small pond. There, a set of branches and leaves had been arranged together, forming a surprisingly well built mound of earth, adorned with leaves, branches and straw.

And nestled at the center of the mound was clutch of eggs - five, to be exact.

Oh dear. It seemed whatever had come here had reproduced.

Cautiously, I approached the nest, always on the lookout for the parents, hoping and praying that they would not return. Fighting them now was not something I wanted to do, especially with the eggs so close.

I had almost reached the nest when a loud crack filled the air. For a moment, I thought one of the eggs had begun to hatch. Yet when another crack followed, none of the eggs moved with it.

It was only when I saw the dodo-like shape of the Kulu-ya-ku that I realized the sound had not come from the eggs, but from an egg thief. Normally, the scratching bird preferred larger fare, but these eggs, all alone and exposed, would certainly be enough to wet its appetite.

Well, not if I had anything to say about it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Darkness filled the shelled oval that the little one knew as the world. This place had kept the little one warm and safe for as long as it could remember. Yet it knew the world as it was would soon be at its end - the shell was beginning to weaken, and soon, it would break.

Even with the shell still intact, though, the little one knew that something weir was happening just outside. It could sense two creatures that were not its parents facing off against one another. One was small and stood like its parents, while the other was larger and more confusing.

The two clashed with fury that could barely be described in words. The forest around them was soon torn apart, with trees and bushes thrown around like rag dolls, yet the carnage never reached the nest, for the smaller creature would always let out a cry before frocing the larger one away from the mound.

Eventually, however ,the fight grew quiet. As the little one began to wonder what had happened, a pair of three figured hands gripped its egg. Sensing danger, the little one began to try and crack the shell, but before it could make any progress, the hands released it, at which point a smaller pair of limbs gripped it for dear life.

...What had just saved it?

And what was the weird roar?

XXXXXXXXX

I just had time to duck before the fanged wyvern collided with the bird wyvern. I stared on in silence as Vivian tumbled to the ground in front of me, just barely avoiding being crushed by pair of wyverns. She barely spared me a glance before rushing off after the strange shape from earlier, though not before throwing a bunch of supplies at me, and then telekinetically sending me a ton more after she slipped and dropped several out of her pocket. Funny.

Now all I had to do was - why was the egg shaking?

XXXXXXXX

The little one was really confused by all of the noise - confused enough that it wanted to see what was happening. True, that would bring it out of the safety of its egg, but such was life - and sometimes, caution needed to be ignored.

XXXXXXXX

Suddenly, a loud crack filled the air, and this time, it was accompanied by a fissure on the shell of the egg in my hands. A second crack heralded the fissure growing larger, until a third and final crack filled the air, at which point the egg shattered, revealing...a puppy sized blue chameleon?

Said chameleon stared at me for a moment, somehow looking adorable beyond belief.

"...Um, hi little guy-"

A sudden squawk caused me to turn my attention toward where the wyverns had collided. The raptor bird wyvern had vanished, but the dodo bird wyvern had righted itself, and once again, its attention was on the nest. It promptly let out an even louder squawk, which reduced the lizard to tears...how was it crying?!

Well, now I had another reason to beat up the bird wyvern - it made the baby cry.

XXXXXXX

The little one managed to fight down the tears just in time to witness the small creature engage the larger one in battle. Wielding a sword and shield that could be combined into an even larger blade, the small creature forced the feathered one to stay away from the nest. Each swing of the greater weapon released water on impact with the bird creature, which only seemed to heighten its pain. Then, however, the bird thing pulled out a rock and used it to block the oncoming blow. Without missing a beat, it then slammed the stone into the smaller beast, before whacking it a few more times for good measure.

The little chameleon creature watched as its savior desperately tried to stand up, pulling out a strange object as it did so. As it readied for a final stand, though, the bird lifted the stone into the air one more time, intending to finish the fight.

...Well, that wouldn't do. Not at all.

XXXXXXX

A braced for the impact of the rock when, much to my surprise, the little chameleon rammed into the wyvern, knocking aside the rock, before promptly spitting a _surge _of water at the larger creature. The bird looked ready to attack after this, only for two jets of water to appear from behind me, washing the larger creature away. Confused, I looked behind me, and found a pair of what could best be described as humanoid lizards - ones that looked a lot like the baby lizard.

Within moments, the baby one had run up to the adults and was being cherished by what I realized were its parents. After this went on for about a minute, I decided to try and back off for the moment, mentally settling on leaving them alone for now and putting off trying to relocate them until later. That only lasted about ten seconds before the baby lizard noticed me and promptly catapulted itself toward me and...giving me a hug?

Awkwardly, I returned the gesture, whilst also giving its parents a wave. Then, carefully, I removed the little one from me and tried to give it back its parents...only for it to jump at me again. And again.

I was about to be more forceful with it when one of its parents, seemingly realizing something, walked over to the supplies Viv had thrown me and promptly threw something round at me. Without hesitation I parried the ball...which the baby jumped toward. A flash followed, and the ball was on the ground shaking, with the baby lizard nowhere in sight.

Then a familiar ping filled the air.

Dumbfounded, I walked up to the ball.

Said ball was, as it turned out, a pokeball.

...Did I just catch a pokemon?

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Been planning to add pokemon to this story for a while, but I decided to bump things up after I got Pokémon Sword for Christmas today. YAY!

For those wondering, the lizard is the water starter from Generation VIII, Sobble.

Read, Review, and have a Merry Christmas/Whatever Holiday You Celebrate! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	273. Annihilation 232

So, as far as I managed to work out, the portal had somehow opened up to the world of Pokémon (well, at least one version of it, since Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon proved that multiple versions could exist) and deposited Pokémon from the Eighth Generation into this world, albeit it only a few of them, and fortunately none too far from the portal. All of whom had been relocated to my hub so as to avoid causing any additional headaches for the Zero Dawn world, of which there were already enough.

"Yeah, no kidding."

Thank you, Synais.

"Any reason you're so angry?" Asked Fide.

"Well, not really, except that _we still have no idea what is causing these portals or how to stop them!"_

"Dude, we're working on it!"

"And has that produced any results?"

"...You have a point."

I sighed. "Okay, that was uncalled for, but seriously, this needs to be addressed - we've yet to come up with any way to deal with these portals and I don't want to have to deal with too many more things coming through them."

"We get it, but what do you want us to do? We're just as in the dark about them as you are. For all we know, most of these could just be natural phenomena that need to run their course."

"I assume the portal to the Pokémon world is why the exception you were implying when you said most?"

"Yes," replies Kathikon. "That portal was definitely unnatural."

"Well, I guess we know one thing for certain. So, any suggestions?"

"Do you have any plans for dealing with anyone else who comes through the portals? Because if the portals don't stop opening, you'll need to answer the question of what happens to the people who show up here, especially if the portals close. And assume that we can't reopen the portals."

"...I guess I'll let them live on our hub."

"What if they try to attack you?"

"Put them in stasis until they can be sent home."

"They're particularly nasty criminals back in their home universes?"

"Put then into stasis until they can stand trial in their home universes."

"They're enemies of all living things?"

"Send them to the firing line!"

"...They're Mamono?"

"If they cannot be purified of DE, then slaughter them and feed them to the Lizardmen. That world can burn for all I care."

"Is that more than a little overkill?" Questioned Vivian.

"That universe portrays the inevitable extinction of mankind via being bred/raped out of existence as a good thing. Forgive me if I take issue to that."

"What if they are other monster girls?"

"As long as they aren't from MGE or MGL, just send them home."

"Okay. Hey, how's the underground base Coeus made doing?"

"According to the most recent reports, pretty well - population growth has been steady yet manageable, though Coeus is worried with what will happen to them in the future - they might not have a place in this new world. After all, everything they knew is gone, and the Tribes might Blake them for what happened to their world."

"That they might," noted Fide. "So, you plan to bring them to the Hub?"

"Only if we need to."

"Okay," interrupted Vivian, "that's all well and good, but do you think they'll get along with all the other people inhabiting your hub?"

"Well, it hasn't fallen apart yet. I mean, the Imperial forces just set up a Cathedral for the Emperor without ticking off anyone else, the Dread Lords haven't caused any major stinks, there's been no reports of major crime like Human Trafficking or Slavery from the hub - well, at least not yet - and even the races that normally have titanic egos seem to have realized the need to swallow their pride for now and focus on other goals."

"For now."

"For now. But I want to focus on the immediate issues before we deal with any future ones."

"If you say so...Um, sir?"

"Yes, Fide?"

"A new magnetic anomaly is opening up, and this one is emitting a lot more energy than normal!"

What?! "Where?!"

"Sending you the intel now. Think this one might solve our problem?"

"Maybe."

Right now, I was really hoping it did - any lead would be appreciated at this point.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Birthday chapter is up! Wanted to tide you hush over while I work on porting some of my stories to other sites!

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	274. Interlude 42

Fide looked over the readings she was getting from the portal, as did Kathikon and Synais….the latter of whom had just started looking up a bunch of tv shows...and marked them as Mission Critical Research?!

"Do you have any better idea on figuring out where these portals are coming from?!" shouted Synais, answering her unspoken question with one of his own.

"Why so many series, though?"

"I think I recognize these anomalies from one show, but the only thing I remember for certain about the show is that it was written in English. It could have been made in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, or even Australia. So forgive me for only being able to provide a broad search."

"...Did you try to narrow down the search a bit? Maybe look up other things?" questioned Kathikon.

"Give me an example and I'll try."

"...Giant burrowing insects, a weird lizard with a long tail, and magnetic anomalies?" tried the most composed and rule-abiding of the trio.

"Thank you, now let's see how many results that-what? Only one?!"

Instantly, the trio charged over to where Synais was sitting. Sure enough, there was only one result left now amongst his possible candidates.

….Well, that was disappointing. It seemed that things were manageable.

Of course, that probably meant a curveball was coming. But what kind?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, that's certainly a relief. At least now we're not fighting Daleks," noted Leal.

Fide frowned at that comment. "Don't you guys have a few Daleks living in your hub?"

"Yes, but those are hardly representative of their species. So, how long until our masters reach the anomaly site?

"Not too long – their transports fly pretty fast. Still, I do worry for what they may encounter – the universe seems to enjoy letting us think we know everything, and then pull the rug out from under us."

"True enough. How is your Master's son doing?"

"Good, very good. Still working with your Mistress' daughter to help their parents with their plans."

"As any diligent child should. So, have any other oddities come through the portals so far, beyond those Pokémon?"

"Oddly, no, and I find that rather disappointing. I was expecting crazier things to happen by now."

"Well, it seems that the powers that be truly want the upcoming curveball to be rather large."

"So it seems. Any new reports about how our allies are doing?"

"Well, the Guild is dealing with _something _back on their home turf, Geralt is still hunting monsters alongside his new wyvern fan, and Aloy seems to be preparing to sneak into the Eclipse Capital. I anticipate that she will ask our leaders for help….well, that or they ask to be brought into this."

"A likely scenario. So, how are your companions doing?"

"Well, Mortarax and Adeline are sparing, while Elling….all I know is that he got bored and asked Celm if there were any in need that he could help in another universe. Celm said yes and claimed that many lives would be saved if Elling helped this one man and his family."

"I thought Elling had confidence issues?"

"Only when he isn't with machines."

"…You think Celm was sending him on a fool's errand?"

"Maybe…"

XXXXXXXX

Elling put his hand up to the bandit's neck to be sure that he was _absolutely_ dead. Then he pulled out a canister of gasoline and started pouring it on the corpse – this was a universe where zombies were a thing…wasn't it?

After making sure the cadaver was nice and crispy, Elling turned his attention back to the three innocents he had saved…well, to the innocent woman he had saved and her husband and daughter, who were currently staring at him in fear.

"…Apologies for getting so much blood on you."

"We'll….manage," replied the rather dapper looking father in the trio. "Um…thank you?"

"It's nothing…also, here's a bit of money to…help with the mental issues I may have given you."

"Did you need to squish his head like a bug?" asked the little girl, who was currently hiding behind her parents, though she wasn't nearly as terrified as expected.

"Probably not, but I prefer to make sure my enemies stay dead when I want them dead."

"Fair enough….I guess…"

"…Well I must be going. I hope you living long and fulfilling lives!"

With that, Elling teleported away.

The women turnd to look at her husband. "Jack, what the hell just happened?"

"I have….absolutely no idea."

"Well, that hardly helps. So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna take the money he gave us and see if I can find someone to help us forget this ever happened. Especially Angel."

XXXXXXXXX

"..Yeah, probably a fool's errand. So, what do we do now-"

An alert interrupted the duo's conversation and turned Fide's attention back toward her console.

What she saw was a massive surprise.

"Um, what's gotten your attention?"

"The probe's we sent out to enter these portals and find out where some of them lead? One of them just sent a response."

"Oh. Interesting. What do you see?"

"I see a bunch of tribal people living with dinosaurs and using steam powered contraptions."

"….Paraworld, then?"

"No, architecture is too different. And besides, there's something else I'm worried about."

"And that would be?"

"The portal where the signal is coming from? _It's the same one our bosses are flying toward right now."_

_"….WHAT?!"_

"Yeah. Let me see if I can't call them up and-"

"Warning: jamming field detected over receiving end of transmission. Communications disabled."

"FUCK! Aw hell, now what do we do?"

"…Hope for the best?"

"I can't believe it, but I think that's our best option."

XXXXXXXX

The probe watched as the villagers and teenagers fought with the strange creature. The fact it was giving a _Tyrannosaurus _a hard time was rather worrisome. Hopefully, they would survive until something came to save them.

…Maybe master would help them?

XXXXXXXX

AN: Good luck figuring out where, exactly, the probe went.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	275. Interlude 43

"So, how many universes does that make?"

"Thirty seven and counting, Lord Celempheros."

The Progenitor sighed - The World Was Always Doomed, wasn't it?

It was not surprising to hear of how many worlds/universes were under existential threat for some reason or another. Plagues, wars, asteroids, supernovas, even _universal heat deaths _were all problems to contend with. For every world that was saved by its own heroes, those from other worlds, or visiting self inserts, a thousand more went silently into the grave. Some were even condemned to oblivion by the very people trying to save them - be they their inhabitants or self inserts who didn't have a complete understanding of the world they were going to.

"So, how many can we save, sir?"

"Focus on the thirteen that are on the cusp of an immediate end. We can find places to resettle the inhabitants with the universes we have available. As for the rest, I'll see what my compatriots can do to help."

"...Aren't you a random omnipotent being?"

"As far as I know, but for some reason my powers aren't so unbeatable anymore. It's...rather nerve wracking."

"I see. Very well, I shall relay your request, my lord."

"Thank you. Do you have any questiosn that need answering before doing so?"

"Just one: should I send some of those in danger to the Commander you are monitoring?"

"...Leave him be. He has enough problems as is. Plus he seems to take forever to get anything done."

"By your command."

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Sorry about the lack of updates - still updating one of my other stories (trying to get one version up to speed with another on a different site). Should almost be done with that by this Sunday.

Just to ask, are there any settings you guys want me to visit that are just before the end of the world as we know it? Want to keep some in mind for future arcs.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	276. Annihilation 233

**AN: Warning - following chapter involves events that may jump the shark. To all readers on FFN: please refrain from mentioning these events in the reviews section on the version of this story. If you do not like them, then you are free to leave, but don't spoil them in the reviews - I am fine with people leaving my story because it does not match with their personal tastes, but I want them to judge it for themselves, not based on spoilers. Thank you for reading this.**

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Shaking within the dropship's seat, I mulled over what I did and did not know regarding this portal. Wordlessly, I seethed over just how much of this portal was an unknown to me - what was causing it? What was coming through it? Was magic involved? Or was it super science? ARGH?! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE A COMMANDER WHO DIDN'T GET EASY SAILING?!

"You gonna keep raging impotently over there or are you going to try and study this portal?"

Thank you, Vivian.

"You're welcome. So, is there anything you know about the area we're going into, since the portal is an enigma?"

...Well, actually, there was one thing I knew about it - the portal seemed to be generating radio interference at 87.6FM, but while I remembered that being important from somewhere, where exactly that came from was currently beyond me.

"Eh, good enough for me. So, any reports of Faro machines in the area?"

"Not particularly many, though the tribes say this place is guarded by something called the Dread Shadow-"

"WARNING: INCOMING PROJECTILE! TAKING EVASIVE-"

The automated voice was cut off by an explosion shaking the aircraft, at which point we started spiraling out of the sky. Without warning, Viv grabbed me and jumped out of the falling vehicle, a jetpack materializing behind her. With minimal difficulty, she found a clearing for us to land in. Moments after we touched the ground, the aircraft crashed, producing a noticeable explosion.

Before I could compliment Vivian, a shadow loomed over us. Looking up, I found myself staring at a peculiar looking Faro machine - while the basic shape was one of the chariot line, it lacked legs, instead having four rotors that allowed it to hover in the air. It reminded me of a Quadrotor from the second Call of Duty: Black Ops, but significantly bulkier.

"You got any idea what that thing is?"

'No, but Coeus did finally give me a database on Faro robots he fought against, so let me look through it...Also, I can't believe that thing hasn't seen us yet.'

"It's still looking over the crash site for survivors."

'Touché...ah, found it!'

"And it is?"

"FAS Kite - an aerial version of the Scarab. It's designed mostly as a resource acquisition system, though unlike the Corruptors, it was also intended as a harassment unit. Really, though, its meant to be a general purpose aerial unit - scout, fighter, engineer, you name it, the Kite can do it."

"I see. So, how do we kill it?"

"Honestly? I'm just gonna drop a laser on its face...right now."

A pillar of light shot down and - _where the fuck did that shield come from?!_

...Oh crap, its staring at us.

The two of us just barely leapt to cover as the machine fired a set of mortar equivalents in our direction, obliterating the ground we had been standing on.

"Where the hell did it get a shield from?"

Like I know, Viv!

"I believe it cam from their Eclipse's mysterious benefactors, boss."

Wait, Synais? Why are you the one talking?

"Because Fide and Kathikon are trying to figure out that shield's weakness. And to explain my previous statement, the shield seems to match up with the technology form that robot that tried to suicide bomb you...well, at least from the samples and pictures we have of it."

I see. So, any advice on how to kill it?

"At the moment, I'd just suggest shooting at it and seeing if anything works."

Before I could grouse at how vague that plan was, Vivian materialized a rifle and shot at the machine...and amazingly, managed to hit it, if the sparking was any indication.

"Interesting. Could you ask Viv to shoot it with something that goes boom?"

"Um, you know I can here you."

"Yeah, I just like hearing the sound of my own voice."

Rolling her eyes, Vivian materialized and fired a rocket and a lightning bolt at the machine. Both were intercepted by its shield.

"Hmm. It seems that the shield is designed to protect against extreme threats, but not minor ones. Looks like you'll have to whittle it down the hard way, boss."

Eh, wouldn't expect any less. But why would the Eclipse give the machine a wimpy shield like that?

"Odds are its just so they can observe how you fight - they probably have cameras all around trying to search your fighting style for any weaknesses.

...Fuck.

"Yeah. Now go and turn that toaster into scrap."

Easier said than done, but I like challenges.

"Then go crazy."

With pleasure, Viv.

XXXXXXXX

Darting out of cover, we fire at the machine, focusing on trying to damage its rotors. Caught off guard, the machine ended up having one of its rotors reduced to a sparking mess, though it was still able to keep itself airborne. Before we could get in anymore hits, though, it released some kind of pulse, causing a trio of corruptors to emerge form the ground. Glancing at Viv, we merely shrugged at the new annoyance and turned out guns to the ground based robot, deciding to hand warning each other about aerial attacks to Synais.

As the first corruptor fell to the ground, reduced to a sparking mess, I couldn't help but smile at how effective bluescreen rounds were. While they were only somewhat useful against the Dread Shadow, likely because it had been upgraded by Eclipse's mysterious benefactors, a quarter of a magazine of these bullets was enough to permanently knock a corruptor offline. Soon, the two of us had reduced the machines to sparking scraps, unable to continue a fighting. Without missing a beat, we turned out attention toward the Dread Shadow and fire again, blowing out another of its rotors.

Once again, it summoned forth more corruptors from the ground, which we easily reduced to scrap. A third hail of bullets knocked out one more rotor, sending the machine hurtling to the ground. Oh, how anticlimactic-why is the grounds shaking?

Out of nowhere a corrupted behemoth leapt through the air and landed beside the crashed Dread Shadow. Revealing tendrils much like those of the Corruptor and Metal Devil the Shadow heaved itself onto the behemoth's back, before turning its attention to us.

Sighing, we leapt out of the way of its charge and began firing at the behemoth's belly, trying to detach the cargo container. Unfortunately, as soon as that was gone, the Behemoth promptly activated its lifter modules and lifted _us _into the air, before chucking us away. A normal human would probably have broken a few bones from the impact, but Vivian and I? Just a little whiplash.

Getting up, I noticed that we were now within sight of the portal, which looked slightly different from the other ones I'd seen so far - this one occasionally seemed to produce what looked like floating glass shards. Somehow, I knew these shards were familiar, but I couldn't peg where exactly they came from. And any further musing would have to wait until the machines were defeated.

Speaking of the machines, the behemoth hurtled over a nearby hill, once again readying to charge us. Waiting until the right opportunity to dodge, we rolled to safety and blew out the freeze cannister and power cells, tipping the machine over and damaging the Dread Shadow.

It's response was to open up some compartments on the side and start dropping odd looking orbs, which the behemoth caught in its lift field and started hurling at us. We made to evade just before the explosions started - it turned out the orbs were bombs.

Instantly, an idea came to me. When the next set of orbs was released, I fired upon them. As expected, several detonated, further damaging both machines. Turning to Viv, I found myself surprised to see her channeling lightning once again. This time, though, she fired it at the airship crash sight...which was now right next to the behemoth, who was preparing to fire off another volley of bombs. And apparently, the shield didn't register this as an attack.

As the behemoth and its passenger struggled to stay upright, I turned my attention to Synais. "Is that shield still active?"

"...Doesn't look like it."

"Then let the heavens burn this thing!"

Once again, a pillar of light fell. But this time, there was nothing to block it.

Amazingly, when the dust settled, the Dread Shadow was still only, though my scans of it confirmed the machine was rapidly fading.

Vivian promptly took the opportunity to make a demeaning gesture at its face.

The machine responded by, somehow, starting up its last rotor and flipping itself upside down, at which point its underside opened up and _oh god that is a lot of bombs._

The hail of bombs started embedding themselves in the ground around us, but none exploded. A quick scan revealed them to be delayed action explosives, similar to grenades.

Thinking only of survival, I grabbed Vivian and leapt into the portal.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as we hit the earth, I rolled off of Vivian and started looking around.

...Oh great, we're in one of those worlds where the dinosaurs survived on some island with tribal natives. Were we in King Kong's world?

Also, what are the modern people doing here.

What is that thing the rex is eating-Wait.

Nude body, eyeless face, three holes in the face?

...That's a future predator from Primeval.

Just who are these people?

Hearing someone whistling, I turned to face a man who looked to be about my age.

Without thinking, I spoke. "Who are you?'

"...I'm Tristan Saurus."

"...Seriously?"

"Yeah, I get that alot. Now, who are you?"

...I did not think about that.

"...Call me Phil."

...Yeah, he knew that was a lie.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: So, yeah. For those of you wondering why I was focusing on updating Prehistoric Park: Returned From Extinction at the expense of this story for so long, this is it. I am crossing them over.**

**Really, I've been planning on doing this for a while - as in, more than two years. However, it was originally planned to take place significantly further into both stories. Then someone named Zuikaku on Space Battles suggested that I have the Prehistoric Park cast meet the creatures from Monster Hunter World, and since that's where I was for this story, well...**

**Also, just for the record, of all my currently posted and consistently updated stories, _only _the ones in the Prehistoric Park: Returned From Extinction mythos are crossing over with Conquest. Ten Zero, Phantoms of the Bay, and Lelouch of the XCOM are in separate multiverses.**

**Apologies if this is a deal breaker for your interest in the story. To those who still enjoy it, you support is appreciated. **

**Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	277. Annihilation 234

_Okay, I'm stuck with a group of people living with dinosaurs, that somehow have modern technology, and I doubt they believe my lie. So, what to do?_

_'Come up with a better bluff?'_

_I doubt that will work now, Viv._

_'Commander, this is Synais. We may have a problem.'_

_OH COME ONE! WHAT IS IT NOW?!_

_'Another one of those machines is headed toward the portal. Think you might want to get your friends away from it.'_

_Alright, just let me convince these people to-_

Before I could finish my line of thought, an unholy snarl filled the air. Instantly, I turned toward it, and found myself staring at one of my worst nightmares - _another _of those horrid future predators. Just seeing them from a posting of the final episode of _Primeval _online was enough to make me want to hide under my bed, even into adolescence. Those things were _so fucking __**terrifying!**_

And it wasn't alone - I counted at least five of them. All staring at us with eyeless faces, seemingly sizing us up, readying to attack. Given that these people had killed one of the predators' kin, I had a feeling this was personal.

Tristan swore. "I thought we killed all of them."

Throwing a worried glance at Viv, I tried to reach for my weapons, ready to stand with these strangers against these beasts. I would _always _oppose these predators, no matter what universe I was in.

Yet before we could react, something soared over our heads. Looking upwards, I blanched - the machine Synais had warned me about had arrived. Before anyone could question what the robot was doing here, its weapons emerged and focused on myself and Vivian, scanning lights bathing me in menacing shades of red.

I was saved, however, by the hiss of one of the predators. Slightly surprised, the machine turned its attention toward them and started scanning. To my amazement, its lights turned from red to yellow, and then to green. Without warning, it stowed away its firearms, replacing them with mechanical tendrils, which swiftly grabbed the preadtors and electrocuted them into unconsciousness. They then moved to snatch up the one the group had slain, along with several others I had not noticed, at which point it promptly darted back into the portal, leaving us alone.

"...So, how are you doing?" asked Tristan rather sheepishly.

I glanced at him for a moment, before shrugging. "I've been better, but I've been worse."

"Same here."

A loud shriek filled the air. Looking upwards, I watched, only mildly shocked at this point, as a dracolizard fought men riding azdharchid pterosaurs.

"...I'm guessing you've seen stuff this weird before?"

"Watching a wyvern do battle with a group of Dinotopia imitators is hardly the most surprising thing I've seen."

"So Dinotopia does exist in your timeline. Interesting."

"I see..."

"You want us to give you a ride to the nearest town?"

Honestly, I should probably get back through the portal, but I was too curious about this world to leave just yet.

"Yes to going to the nearest town, no to the ride. I've got my own."

Before anyone could question what I meant, I sent an order to the probe. Within moments, it constructed a car, which I swiftly entered, as did Vivienne. Our 'hosts', for lakc of better term, just gawked in shock.

Eh, I could answer their questions later. And I doubt they would be too difficult to answer.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"...Did you make that car using stuff from Planetary Annihilation? Or maybe Supreme Commander?"

Apparently I was wrong.

Once we had arrived at the nearest town (which was actually a city), I'd wasted no time introducing myself to my hosts. I'd made sure to avoid revealing anything too confidential to them, though they did not extend the same caution to me. Then again, I'm pretty sure arriving how I did made them consider keeping secrets a waste of time.

So, here was what I had learned: apparently, I was on a world where time travel existed, and apparently it was a fusion of two series by Impossible Pictures: Primeval and Prehistoric Park. As in, this island was used by Prehistoric Park, which was headed by Nigel Marvin, but the natural time portals (read: anomalies) were from Primeval.

...Wait, didn't Nigel get eaten by a _Giganotosaurus _in that series? How was he alive here?

..Eh, that's really not something I cared about knowing. Now back to the question I had been asked.

"...Well, I-"

"You did, didn't you?"

Staring at Tristan's eldest sister, I tried to find an answer, before finally biting the bullet. "...Yes."

"...Huh, guess that's another fictional universe that actually exists."

...What?

"We once went through a time portal to Isla Nublar. Rescued the Brachiosaurus while we were there."

...Seriously?

"Yes. And I think you are saying your thoughts out loud."

I glared at the youngest of the seven siblings I was being hosted by, before sighing in annoyance at my own childishness.

Oh, I didn't mention that? Well, see, Nigel had some big corporate dude backing him in this universe, who's kids were part of the staff. Surprisingly, they weren't like the average Jurassic Park tagalong kid and actually pulled their weight very nicely. Neat.

"Well, since where I got this fabrication technology is no longer a secret, anything else you want to ask me?"

Tristan raised his hand, then lowered it, an expression of doubt on his face, before raising it again, albeit with less certainty on his face this time.

"Yes?"

"...Are you one of those people online who got sucked into a PA Commander without your consent and then set loose to travel the multiverse?"

"..."

_The fuck?!_

"...Yes, but this is not my home universe, and how do you know that?"

"..Some other people post stories about that online on some website I read regularly...wait, does that mean that-"

Okay, time to put my foot down and keep them from having an existential crisis. "I honestly don't know. It's possible my home universe is some big sitcom in this universe and vice versa for yours in mine. But I'm certain that _this _universe, the one you call home, _is real."_

Despite what I said, the group had a look of unease on their faces. Guess I didn't completely succeed in reassuring them.

"Can we please put questions regarding whether or not you people are real aside for now? You're real _to me_, ok?"

"...Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," chimed in the eldest of the sisters. "Not that it helps."

"Eh, I can't solve everything with superior firepower. So, um, why exactly is there a high-tech city on an island in the Caribbean that has little to no outside contact?"

"We seem to be a, for lack of better term, dumping point for people from all over history," chimed in a person of Native American descent.

"Forgive me, but I don't think we've been introduced."

The man didn't even miss a beat. "I'm Mozetque. My people have lived here for as long as we can remember...and for roughly that long, we've had these time portals opening up, bringing dinosaurs and other beasts to our islands."

"Wait, this happens on the other islands around here?" questioned the eldest of Tristan's brothers...man, I really needed to learn their names.

"Yes, but only rarely - most of them only have a portal open once a year, some have even had them open only once in a generation. Here, though? The open twice a month on average."

"And you never told Nigel about this?" questioned the teen.

"He did ask once. We only told him that it was not his concern. We were...rather forceful about that."

Snorted in derision, the boy grew quiet.

Tristan turned his attention back to me. "So, how'd a portal to our world open up to yours?"

"It's not 'my' world, and I have no clue. Maybe just bad luck?"

"...Maybe. Hey, um, you have that ridiculously good Planetary Annihilation building technology, right?"

"Yes, so?"

"...You mind helping us look around this island for more of those anomalies?"

I glanced inquisitively at Mozteque, who nodded in affirmation toward the unspoken question.

Within minutes, a trio of hummingbirds had flown through the portal and soaring through the skies, sending us data on the island the park was on...wait, why were we getting weird readings from a nearby storm?

Why did the island have a desert and tundra on it?

_Why were we getting weird readings from some undersea caves?_

**_AND WHY WAS THIS ISLAND SO DAMN BIG?!_**

**_XXXXXXXXX_**

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	278. Annihilation 235

I focused my attention on Tristan. "Did you - _any of you_ \- know about this?"

The boy and his companions shrugged. Even Mozetque seemed surprised.

"Nope."

"This is a first."

"I only know of this city and the park on the other side of the mountain," answered Mozetque.

Well, _that _was hardly helpful. "Well, this just gives more questions than answers."

"Hey, 'Phil', can I ask you something?"

"What would it be?"

"These time portals...have you ever seen something similar to them?"

"...Yes."

"Is it possible for many of them to open up over one area for a protracted period of time?"

Vivian saved me the need to answer that question. "If he's thinking of the series I'm thinking of, then yes, it's possible. A bunch could even open up simultaneously. And before you ask, call me Melissa."

"Is that really your name?" inquired the second eldest of the boys, Sean.

"Part of it. And if you're wondering how you can trust me, I won't offer any reason beyond pragmaticism."

"...Well, that's something, I guess."

One of the girls - not a member of the siblings, of that I was certain - cleared her throat. "While I do find this conversation interesting, the fact remains that we are hosting guests from an unknown timeline, that from how you treat it could be an alternate universe, one where creatures known to be fictitious here are real. And while I am willing to give the benefit of doubt to fiction becoming fact due to alternate timelines, the fact remains that _we know nothing about this world and have no idea what kind of problems its natives could cause us."_

Viv glanced at Sean. "Who is-"

"Her name is Cassandra, she's from a few million years into the future, this is a topic to be discussed later."

The girl in question smiled. "Some respect is nice. Also, where did the giant iguanas come from?"

"They're wolf-analogues from a world I've visited, and they're some of the smaller predators in their native ranges - the bigger ones make me wonder how the food webs in their native environments don't collapse from having too many predators."

Cassandra quirked an eyebrow at that. "So that world is some generic fantasy world?

"Low fantasy world - magic isn't much of a thing there."

"Wait, magic exists there?!"

Vivian actually shifted slightly in surprise at Cassandra's sudden change in demeanor. "Um, yes?"

The future girl turned her attention toward the rest of her companions, eyes taking on a pleading form. "Can we please, please, _please _get samples from that world?"

Tristan glanced at me. "Can you provide some samples?"

No harm in doing that. "Sure. I won't even ask for compensation. But can we return our focus to the oddity of this land?"

"That's probably a good idea," conceded Elise.

"Splendid."

Returning my attention to my probe, I ordered it to make some new scouts to examine the surrounding ocean. Maybe this would shed some light on the strangeness of this land.

Tai watched as the drones soared over the beach. "What are you looking at now?"

"I'm going to investigate the surrounding ocean, see if I can find any other oddities...is that a _Hibbertopterus?"_

Glancing at the screen, the group's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"...Huh. Must've come through when we rescued the _Dunkleosteus,"_ noted Ava.

"I see." Wow, didn't expect to see such a large eurypterid here.

Suddenly, the screen changed to a picture of several of a grassland, where several animals were grazing. Among them were hadrosaurs, mammoths, and caseids. All creatures that shared the same niche, but lived side by side.

"Why'd the screen change?" questioned Tai.

I shrugged. "Eh, it looks like there's a bunch of magnetic rocks nearby this area - I set them up to notify me if extremely strong magnetic signals were detected. Maybe I should find out if radio helps track them."

"Nigel said that the portal does interfere with radio communications on FM 87.6."

It was the middle child among the three sisters who answered to my question, to which I merely nodded in understanding.

"I see...you know, looking at these creatures just makes me more curious at how big this island must be."

Cassandra was the one most surprised by my remark. "Is it because this environment should logically be unable to sustain so many large herbivores?"

"Only partially. There's also the fact we're seeing horses, hadrosaurs, and edaphosaurs all living side by side despite lack of niche partitioning."

A curious 'hmm' emanated from the future girl, implicitly asking their guest to continue. Viv answered before I could speak up, though.

"All of the animals we're looking at are grazers, yet they share the same environment and feeding time. Logically speaking, this shouldn't be possible - natural selection would favor whichever animal was better at avoiding predators and allow it to thrive while the remaining species either died out, migrated away, or found a new niche. Alternatively, they could engage in niche partitioning - perhaps the smaller edaphosaurs could learn to feed at night, allowing them to avoid competing with the larger herbivores. That's how owls and hawks manage to live in the same environment and eat the same kinds of animals without coming into direct competition."

"And yet these creatures are living in harmony with each other despite both of the above you mentioned, indicating that either they are recent arrivals...or that this environment is large enough that they normally do not compete with each other and merely meet one another on occasion, correct?"

"Yes, Ms. Cassandra."

Suddenly, a massive spike in magnetic activity registered on the sensors. Without warning, a portal opened, and out came a leshen. While the hadrosaurs turned to stupidly stare at it instead of, you know, runnning away, the leshen slammed its hands into the ground, sending forth trees roots...which promptly stopped halfway between the relict and the herbivores...what?

Confused, the tree creature slammed its hands into the ground once again, but this time, no roots emerged. The hadrosaurs and other herbivores dimly stared at the new arrival, only taking at most a few steps away from it.

Without warning, a flock of wood peckers descended upon the woodland spirit, viciously attacking it, not retreating even when it swatted one of them away. Eventually, the onslaught proved to be too much, and the creature retreated through the portal, which closed a moment later.

...How the fuck had birds been able to attack a leshen? That thing could control lesser beasts!

Wordlessly, I turned toward my hosts. "...You have any idea why that happened?"

They merely shrugged.

Well, crap.

XXXXXXXXX

**AN: One more chapter in the Prehistoric Park-verse after this, then we're going over to the Zero Dawn Earth.**

**Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	279. Annihilation 236

At this point, I was at my wit's end. These place was just _too fucking weird._

Seriously, how was this place even able to exist? It just made no fucking sense!

"Forgive me for asking, but is there a particular reason you all were so shocked that the...creature that just came through the portal was attacked by a flock of birds?"

My gaze settled on Cassandra. "The creature is called a Leshen, and it is said to possess the power to control animal and plant life via magic, such that the birds should've been immediately enthralled by the creature and fought for it as an army of slaves. And yes, I can confirm those tales are true."

"I see. Is it possible to coexist with this creature?"

Tristan beat me out in answering that. "Yes, but Leshen are _ferociously _territorial."

"True enough...I have an important question, directed at my companions rather than our guests."

Tristan's gaze was inscrutable. "Shoot."

"Should we tell Nigel about this when everything is said and done? And if so, do we tell him the full truth or leave out the more...fantastical elements?"

To my surprise, it was Sean answered that. "We tell him, but only the less fantastical parts. This is weird enough as is, and I doubt it would be a good idea to drag Nigel into something this big."

The rest of the group acknowledged this point, deciding to let the topic rest.

_'Commander, this is Synais'._

_Yes?_

_'Just want you to know, Aloy is making her way toward the Shadow Carja capital. I doubt it will be long before Helis captures her. Also, the Man in the Wall gave some magical substance to the research team working on adapting the nullifier to work on all forms of magic. He said it was an aphrodisiac, and that he wanted you to 'stop being so paranoid about it driving people mad with carnal desire'._

_...Oh. That was nice._

_'Yeah. You want to try and rap up things wherever you are and get back to the Zero Dawn Earth?'_

_...I'll leave when I understand what this place is. _

_'Alright, fine. Also, a Tenno using Protea is headed your way to pick you up.'_

_Good to know. Also, people are staring at me, so I think I need to end this conversation._

It just so happened that Elise decided to speak up just as I finished my chat with Synais. "You having a conversation with someone else?"

"Yeah. They wanted me to hurry up and get back on the other side of the portal."

"Does that mean you're leaving now?"

"Not until I help you figure out what this place is."

"Sweet. Anything else we should know?"

"I have someone coming to guard me/pick me up."

Sean decided to interject into the conversation at this point. "Are they from a video game we might know of?"

"Depends. Does the name 'Digital Extremes' mean anyting to you?"

Sean blinked in surprise. "You've been to Warframe?"

"Yes."

Cassandra was unaware of the significance of this, but the rest of the group seemed pleasantly surprised...okay, most of the adults were also somewhat confused.

"Neat. Which one is it?"

"Protea."

Sean tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"

"You wouldn't know about it - I don't think she's been added into the game yet."

I wasn't exactly sure when Protea was/would be added into Warframe, only that it wasn't right now - she hadn't dropped in Summer 2019.

"Oh. I see...You got any ideas what, exactly, this place is?"

I was not surprised he changed the subject back to this location, but I was still at wit's end there. "Nope. Gonna check my mini-probes now, see if they found anything useful."

Starting with my oceanic probes, I began looking over their examination of the ocean floor and...whoa.

"Um, you said that out loud."

I glanced at Vivian. "How much?"

"Just the whoa."

"What did you find out?"

Glancing at a curious Elise, I merely projected my finding onto nearby screen.

"This is a map of the sea floor for the surrounding area."

Said map was primarily a mixture of rocky outcroppings covered in coral and sandy seabed. Particular focus, however, was drawn toward a set of underwater caves.

Sean was not exactly sure why this was important. "Why are the caves of interest?"

Without missing a beat, the map updated, showing a probe had traveled through the network and ended up exiting into an outcropping bordering the open ocean.

This time, Elise was the perplexed one. "So it traveled all the way to the open ocean, big deal. Your mapping of the area shows that the open ocean isn't too far away, so I don't see why this is so odd."

The map promptly adjusted to show the distance the probe had traveled between the entrance and exit of the cave.

That gave everyone pause, unsurprisingly.

The distance from the cave entrance to the open ocean was quite a few miles as the crow flies. The distance between the entrance and exit of the cave, also as the crow flies?

_Just two hundred meters._

And that wasn't all - examination of the surrounding area reaveld that the cave exit was significantly further from the island the park was on...which, somehow, was actually _smaller _than the one all of us were on.

Yeah, that was weird.

"..But...but...but..."

"Yes, Cassandra, this makes absolutely no sense," I said, smirking. "Also, this is just the least odd thing here."

The images displayed changed, now showing the island itself. Except Island was no longer really an appropriate term - this landmass was _one-fifth the size of Australia._

And that wasn't even accounting for all the people living on it...some of whom were busy fighting each other for whatever reason. I didn't know why they were fighting, and for once, _I__ really didn't care why._

At this point, my hosts had just settled for staring stupidly at the screen, unable to form any coherent sentences.

"Is there anything else you want add that makes this place weird?" questioned Viv.

"...The stars here don't match anything I've ever seen, in the past or the present...or in the future, according to Tristan."

I quirked an eyebrow at the boy named Lucas, genuinely surprised by his testimony. Then I gave the order for some of the mini-probes to start heading toward space.

It took only a few minutes for them to reach the exosphere and...wow.

Oh, the stars sure were different here. The moon also looked a bit different, having a few craters and mare that weren't on Luna.

The real difference was the Earth, though.

Not only did it not match up with what I knew and remembered, it was also a lot bigger. As in, even with the probes up high, _I still couldn't see the curvature of the Earth._

"...I am now officially completely beyond the capacity to give fucks."

Viv glanced at me. "Did you mean to say that out loud?"

"Yes, yes I did."

"Okay. Also, our friend should be coming through the portal now-what?!"

Instantly, all attention was focused on Vivian. "What happened?"

"The Tenno is saying that something screwed up her frame. Most things are fine, but she's getting weird readings and having some trouble with her abilities...specifically, she can't get Temporal Anchor to work properly."

"Well, why could that...be a...problem..."

_OOOHHHHH. Now things started to make sense...well, a bit more sense._

Tristan stared at me, concerned. "You figure something out?"

"...Have any of you guys ever noticed anything weird regarding the island?"

"...Well, we've always entered it with our vision obscured by something - either storm clouds, fog, and in the case of a mini-sub, murky waters."

Interesting...

"Why, exactly, is this important?"

"Well," I began, finally having some idea on why this place was so weird, "I think I might finally know why this place is so odd."

All eyes focused on me. I couldn't help but smile.

"See, this place is a deposition zone for beings from all across time, as the presence of so many time portals would indicate."

Cassandra nodded in agreement.

"Yet it appears that attempts to travel backwards and forwards in time here are met with failure, since my companion was unable to reverse time with one of her powers."

The group clearly had questions, but chose to remain silent until I finished.

"Additionally, the surface of this land does not match up with that of Earth at any known point in history, nor do the stars or moon... which could be explained if we aren't actually in history, in ongoing, passed, or yet to be."

Cassandra seemed to be getting annoyed at my vagueness. "Can you get to the point, please?"

I nodded. "I think the reason this land is so different from the rest of your Earth is that this land _isn't _part of Earth."

"What?!"

I smirked. "I believe that this land exists parallel and atemporal to your Earth. More simply, it is a land outside of time."

Immediately after I said that, everyone moved to raise objections...only to drop them. Wow, that was fast.

Cassandra, in particular, had a look of understanding on her face. "You suggestion is...odd, to say the least, but it does have its merits. And sounds more reasonable than any other possible solutions."

"That's what I thought."

Before anyone could begin a discussion, I raised my hand. "Look, I admit that this is a groundbreaking idea, but I need to get going. Now. And I would be remiss to leave Melissa behind."

"...Can we see you off?" asked the youngest of the siblings.

"...Sure, why not?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Standing on the other side of the portal, I took in a deep breath - it was good to be back in the Zero Dawn world.

"Is this where we part ways?" questioned Tristan.

"..Yes, I do believe it-"

Without warning, a pillar shot out of the ground and fired a beam of energy at the Protea, causing it to collapse in shock. Not missing a beat, it fire a burst of electricity at us and-

And then I blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXx

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	280. Annihilation 237

I found myself in an empty black void, a strange feeling overcoming me. A dream, I realized, though not one I was familiar with.

Slowly, the darkness turned into recognizable shapes: a bed, with a girl slumbering within. A moment of observation revealed it to be Vivian. Nearby, Celempheros was watching her, an inscrutable look on his face.

An image appeared above the slumbering progenitor's head - that of her battling the monster Celm had slain. As the version of her in the image was beaten down, the slumbering girl began to toss and turn, sweat slowly forming on her brow.

The image was her dream, I realized, though how I could see it, I did not know. What was clear, though, was that Celm also saw the image, for within moments he was at her side, right hand softly glowing. The minute he put it on her forehead, the tide in the dream battle changed. Slowly but surely, Vivian's imaginary form beat back its opponent, until at last the beast was slain. In the real world, Viv's lips twisted into the faintest of smiles.

Apparently satisfied with his work, Celm walked away, at which point the dream came to an end.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As my eyes fluttered open, I found myself within a cage, overlooking an arena. Instantly, I knew where I was - Sunfall, capital of the Shadow Carja. Within the ring, Aloy was being loaded into a cage, evidently for Helis' planned sacrifices. Vivian was in a cage to my left, while opposite of us were Tristan and his companions, all given an excellent view of the arena. There was hardly any doubt that they would be sacrificed once Aloy was dead.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to force open my restraints...and nothing happened. Confused, I cycled through all of my powers, only for my bindings not to budge. Somehow, whoever had restrained had done in a way that I couldn't escape.

"So, how does it feel, to be trapped like a rat?"

I would've yelped in surprise, but I found that a gag had been placed over my maw, leaving me unable to vocalize. A quick glance at Vivian revealed that the same was true of her. Seeing no better option, we both turned toward the source of the voice.

Said source was a cloaked figure - it appeared to be a human, but a quick scan revealed it to be a humanoid machine, face hidden by a mask.

"I presume that you would want to know what I am?"

I nodded.

"Well, the Eclipse call me the speaker of shadows. They see me as a sort of sister entity to The Sun In Shadow, though I believe we could save a lot time if we referred to him as HADES."

So they knew who was really running things? Interesting.

"I'll admit that you've been a nuisance for my organization's plans for this world, but I doubt you will remain so for long. Even Commanders have limits."

_It knows I'm a Commander?_

"I am familiar with the technology your kind uses, and you should really keep your expression blank."

Ah, fuck.

"I admit that HADES is the prize here, but Eclipse is surprisingly useful for achieving our ends. Perhaps we can convince the subroutine to spare them, so that they may be folded into our ranks. Fanatics have their uses, after all."

Groaning, I glared at the machine, silently wishing it would hurry up. Also, should I call it a she? The machine had a feminine voice, after all.

"I presume you're wondering why I'm telling you my plan? Well, who says I am telling you everything? And besides, there is only so much you can learn. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off. Oh, and don't expect Aloy killing the behemoth to save you - while I expect her escape to go off without a hitch, and for her rescuers to also save you and those people from that Primeval world, you don't even know where my group is based. How can you hope to defeat us if you don't know where we hide?"

Yeah, yeah, hurry up.

"...Well, I do believe we are done here. Goodbye, Commander. May you fail to defeat us in the end."

As the machine took her leave, I got a call from Synais. Looks like there was one thing she hadn't blocked me off of.

"Boss, how are you doing? You blacked out for a while."

_I'm bound and gagged in a cage, about to be sacrificed to robots by a bunch of cultists. How do you think I am doing. Also, Vivian is in a nearby cage, and so are the people we met in the other world._

"...Thought so. A rescue team is already on the way, and is following Sylens as we speak. Also, apparently some uber-smart dinosaurs are also part of the rescue group."

_I see...any updates from Coeus?_

"No, but since Eclipse wants to wake the Faro Plague, I think it is now a good time to tell you that an inactive metal devil is located just outside of Coeus' base."

_Figures. I'll talk with you later - Aloy is about to get thrown into the arena._

"Well, good luck then, boss!"

XXXXXXXXX

Things from there had gone as expected based upon my meta knowledge of Horizon: Zero Dawn. That is to say, Aloy tricked the corrupted behemoth into dropping her equipment into the arena, then slew it, after which Helis ordered her killed by a pair of corruptors, only for Sylens to swoop in to save her with some tamed machines. This time, though, Sylens was aided by some of the dinosaurs from the Prehistoric Park world I had visited, as well as some creatures from my hub - a surprise gift offered to him by Synais. Said creatures leapt up to rescue me and Viv, while the dinosaurs freed their keepers.

Once we were far enough away from Sunfall, Sylens and Aloy had their conversation, with everyone else, myself and Viv included, remaining silent until, when the conversation ended, Tristan spoke up, and basically gave a rundown of the Horizon: Zero Dawn plot up to this point, with Sylens confirming it to be true, before thrwoing a question at the boy.

"What happens to you now?"

Tristan answered that question. "We're going home...Wait, ino one is going to object to this?"

Sean shrugged. "We have no personal envestment in this conflict, so I see no reason to get involved right now."

"Yeah," agreed Elise, "and it sounds like there is going to be a lot of fighting coming up soon, and I'd rather not hurt anyone."

"Perhaps we could offer supplies," suggested Cassandra, "but commiting forces to this battle seems...stupid."

Huh. Guess people could be reasonable. "Well, then I guess this is where we part ways. I have to seek out my allies to prepare for this."

"...Well, goodbye then."

Nodding at the youngest of the siblings, Viv and me boarded the mounts Sylens had provided us with, and rode off toward Coeus's base.

"Synais, how is Coeus' base doing?"

"It's unharmed, but I think we have a problem,"

**_Oh what now?_**

"In short? I was running a scan of your restraints, and something happened that caused most of the factories we have in this morning universe to go offline."" And I still can't get them reactivated."

...**_Oh come on!_**

**_XXXXXXXX_**

**_AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!_**


	281. Annihilation 238

Seriously, why the hell did I have to be one of the only commanders who had to fight things that could actually beat him. WHY?!

"Boss, stop thinking out loud."

_Sorry._

"No problem. Now, what do you want to do now?"

"Can you send in my commander?"

"...Are you sure that is a good idea after what happened last time?"

"Good point, boss. Alright, well, I do have one bit of good news."

"And that is?"

"It looks like whoever is helping eclipse decided that the need for secrecy is over - I've picked up several of their signals and have marked them for your viewing."

Without hesitation I put an eagle eye over those coordinates. To my surprise, all of the machines seemed to be clustered around one area. Why they would fall back here was beyond me, and I was almost certain that this would be a trap.

"...That's totally a trap."

Thank you for the obvious, Synais.

"I can feel the sarcasm. So, what's the plan?"

Whatever air and orbital assets I have, I'm sending them in to soften up the targets. Then, I'll move in with my ground forces...wait, I forgot about the Nora!

"Already handled that, boss - sent in some doxes to help cut down the Eclipse numbers. Aloy shouldn't have any problems taking out HADES and Helis, even without our help."

Good, good. Now what else did I need to consider...Oh yeah.

"Coeus, how are the humans in your base doing?"

"Excellent. Also, some are beginning to awaken from stasis."

"...I see."

_What the hell am I going to do with them? With how their world is right now, just leaving them to integrate with the tribes is a no-go._

_...Well, more people for the hub. Even if for once, I wish there was some place else I could send them._

"Um, boss, back to beating the enemy?"

Oh, right. "Are we detecting anymore portals in the immediate area?"

"...No. None. You think these guys are responsible?"

"Pretty sure they are - they're the ones who opened a portal to the Pokémon world, so it stands within reason that they opened most of the other portals...though I still wonder how that one to Prehistoric Park opened up."

"True. Alright, I'm going to have Fide and Kathikon on standby to direct the Tenno and some other personnel groups and machines incase things go south."

"Hopefully, we won't need them."

"Yeah, hopefully...oh fuck."

Oh, what now?

"Some kind of energy shield just popped up, its completely enveloped the machines' base."

At least it was something I could understand. "Any beads on power sources?"

"Standby...Looks like they're coming from a few Eclipse Outposts. And from the looks of it, all of them need to be knocked out to shut down the shield. Also, I'm detecting some kind of tower that has the machines' signature signal emitting from it. The tower appears to be analogous to a corruptor. There are several copies of this tower located around Shadow Carja territory. I would suggest disabling them before attacking the base."

"How many forces will we need to do this?"

"We have enough, but I have a feeling we should hold off on disabling everything just yet."

...Why?

"I'm inclined to assume these bots will have secondary shield in their base meant to lock us out, or perhaps lock us in so that we can be forced to watch them complete their plans. Perhaps we should lull them into a false sense of security by disabling all but one of the bases, then striking when the Eclipse attempts to achieve HADES' goal.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

So it was that the day passed, as we waited for the Eclipse to attack. Vivian had ordered Adeline to assist in the defense of the Spire, with several Tenno joining her. As for the bases of these...Infernal Machines, most fell to our onslaught. The furthest one from our target, however, was approached but not taken. Instead, the team assigned to destroy it traveled up an underground river and set charges underneath the facility, and then waited for the signal to bury it.

My forces also harassed the Eclipse force, though we only got in a few hits before other Infernal Machines forced a permanent retreat. Still, a victory is a victory. Besides, what remained were weak enough that the Nora could still be expected to overwhelm the Eclipse on their own power.

As night fell, though, a sense of unease washed over me - somehow, I knew this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"Yeah, but it might be easier if you get some sleep."

No need to state the obvious, Viv.

"Maybe, maybe not. Though I will admit, you're a very strange commander. Just about every other commander would fight using bots, or avatars of some sort, yet you lead from the front. Why?"

I shrugged. "Recklessness, restlessness, misguided heroism, take your pick. I just don't like waiting for things to happen. Though I admit I'm not entirely sure myself as to why I do this. Maybe all the power is going to my head, even after the defeats I have suffered."

"Maybe. So, you think we'll ever go to a world with knights and dragons?"

The tone of the statement immediately set off alarm flags. "Why?"

"Because the qualities you mentioned sound like ones that would describe a knight, though chivalry is also needed. And frankly, I think you'd easily fit the role of a knight who would rescue a princess."

Oh really? "Aren't you a princess."

The amusement fled from Viv's face. "Formerly."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have any interest in marrying into nobility - politics are annoying as hell."

"No shit. So, ready to call it a night?"

"Yep. Try not to snore."

XXXXXXXXXX

We waited until the beginning of the Eclipse assault on the Spire to launch our offensive. As soon as the word was given, the last power base shut down, leaving the stronghold exposed. The Eclipse thugs, Kestrels, and Corrupted Machines guarding the base were no match for our onslaught. In only a matter of minutes, we were within the heart of the stronghold, where we found what looked like a transmitter.

Instantly, a shield came online. Without hesitation, a Nova-wielding Tenno opened a wormhole, allowing us to teleport past the barrier and wreck the transmitter.

That was...too easy.

Apparently, Viv agreed. Immediately, her Equinox gestured to our fellow Tenno.

"That was likely a decoy. Search around, let's see if we can find the real target."

"I'm happy to say you never will," intoned a familiar feminine voice.

Suddenly, the inside of the building came to life, and in moments, a massive surge of energy sent us flying outside. There, I found my former captor, standing atop the facility.

"I do believe we have not been formally introduced. I am Void, and I cannot allow you to destroy this facility."

A moment later, said facility started to glow, as pylons along its roof began to light up...oh crap.

Viv groaned. "Let me guess, that thing is a massive portal device."

"Correct," confirmed Void, just before the pylons fired off a set of beams that converged above the portal, forming a massive orb of energy that started pulsing.

"Boss, we have a problem."

"I know, I can see the portal."

"...Portal? As in singular."

"Yes...there's more of them?"

"Um, I'm picking up portals opening _all over the remains of the United States."_

...FUCK!

"Oh, so it seems you found out our secret plan. Took you long enough. I do suppose I can afford you some details: we don't have any target universes that are _too_ dangerous, and you need not worry about disabling the device - the thing you destroyed was its off switch, and since it is running on overdrive, it should burn itself out in a few minutes. Of course, there is keeping all of the new arrivals from killing each other..."

Deciding she was done with us, Void opened a portal behind her and disappeared. A moment later, a trio of corrupted bellowbacks and a hoard of corrupted sawteeth emerged from hiding, ready to fight us. A deathbringer also appeared, likely as backup.

Just as we prepared to engage them, though, a portal opened above us. Out fell a boy and a girl, wearing black clothing and blindfolds, accompanied by a pair of sentinel-like drones...wait, I know this game.

...YorHa is probably going to get really worried about this...

XXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	282. Annihilation 239

"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

click*

Onto the next channel Rory went - they'd just watched fifty episodes of Spongebob, it was time to watch something else.

"We are the Winx, We are the Winx-"

click*

Bianka had been the one to change the channel that time -she'd just finished season 3 of the Winx Club, and wasn't interested in seeing another episode now.

"..When will my life begin-"

click*

Whether Konrad or Teresa had been the one to change the channel, no one knew. But everyone had watched enough frozen in the past few weeks to simply not want to see it again.

On and on the siblings went, changing between channels, trying to figure out something to watch. Eventually, though, they realized that wasn't going to happen, leading to them turning off the television in defeat.

"So, what now?" wondered Elisha.

"...Go see what our parents are doing?" offered Cassidy.

"I don't think it's going to be that interesting," remarked Sophia.

An alarm promptly went off.

"...But I could be wrong."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Pod, what are we fighting."

"Unknown. Machine lifeform does not match anything in YorHa database and...warning: I am unable to contact YorHa command."

2B frowned in annoyance. "Try again."

"I cannot - my systems register YorHa command as not being in range...and with no indication for how far away they might be."

"So you mean that we're fighting blind?"

"Affirmative, 9S."

Only half paying attention to the conversation, 2B turned her attention toward a quartet of oncoming quadrupedal machines. 2B prepared to charge, only for an unknown android to breeze past her, swirling around with its sword drawn, carving through each of the machines. Without missing a beat, it pulled out a bow of all things and fire off an arrow, which pierced right through one of the spider-like machines, taking it offline.

"Pod, is there any information available regarding this type of android?"

"None that was present on the database before we moved out of range."

A mechanical roar turned 2B's attention toward a massive, somewhat spiderlike machine. Beneath her blindfold, the Executioner series's eyes widened in shock, though only for a moment. Steeling herself, 2B readied to charge...only for the other android to put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

Then things got weird.

The new android, alongside several others, walked in front of the machine and froze. A moment later, somehow, smaller androids emerged from frozen ones, with each being the size of a human child, according to the Pods' approximations. Without hesitation, the androids pulled back their hands, then shoved them forward...releasing a beam similar to her pod's charged attack. The swarm of beams overwhelmed the machine, causing it to explode.

As the last of the machines was disabled, the YorHa androids turned their attention toward the new androids. "Pod, can you examine our allies of convenience?"

"Affirmative. It appears the subjects possess unnaturally high amounts of biological components and...oh."

9S turned his attention toward the pod, a worried expression on his face. "What is it, pod?"

"...Subject is a human."

"...What?!" shouted both androids.

"Correction: all of the smaller subjects are humans."

"WHAT?!"

2B's mind practically shut down at that remark. These were...humans?! How was that possible?!

"What are you doing here?!"

One of the humans was caught off guard by 9S' response. "Huh?"

"You're supposed to be on the moon!"

"I was. Then someone tried to destroy it."

'...Does not compute,' went the minds of both the androids and the pods.

As the new arrivals tried to make sense of what they perceived as insanity, Etran turned toward the Commander. "How many more portals are opening?"

"Putting it simply? A metric fuck-ton."

"Aw crap. So what do we do now?"

"Synais speaking: I have located a form similar to the one utilized by the machine that ended up trying to kill our commander with a suicide attack. I think that jackass is the one in charge here."

"Then send us the location and let us kill it," remarked Vivian, itching for a fight.

"Well, I hope you can fly."

Etran turned back toward the androids and their sentinels. "Hey, do you two have a way to fly?"

"Affirmative: 9S and 2B arrived to this location with flight frames. Both are still intact and operational."

"Then get in them and get moving - we've got somewhere to go."

XXXXXXXX

_Exiting the portal, Thalya and her forces found themselves in a strange world, occupied by human tribes living side by side with animalistic machines. Suddenly, another portal opened nearby, popping out a strange looking man who-_

"Who the bloody hell are you?!"

_Wait, are you talking about me?_

"Yes, you! Whoever is using the big voice in the sky! Where the hell are we?"

_...Well, we're currently in an alternate version of your earth where humans live side by side with animal robots..._

A missile exploded nearby, causing Thalia and Captain Poise to turn toward the oncoming Eclipse Horde.

_And those humans and machines want to kill everyone else. So, can we declare a truce, Captain Poise?_

"...Fuck it, let's do this. ATTACK!"

XXXXXXXXXX

The dragons knew not where they had ended up, only that people here were plagued by beasts of metal.

Well, time to change that.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Picking up another portal ipening, Commander."

Oh joy. I wonder how Coeus is handling this."

"He's retreated his humans into the hub. He's also sent in a demolition force to demolish the remains of the Metal Devil near him."

Nice. What of our enemy?

"Aside from the machine hareassojg thos etime travelers vanishing into a portal with sole inactive Faro machine? Nothing."

Well fuck. "How are Aloy and her companions doing?"

"Fairly well - they've already routed much of the Carja forces, and even slain Helis. HADES has reached the spire, though."

Fuck. Time to take him down.

"Not so fast - Aloy can beat him on her own. Focus on the reinforcements."

Fine. Viv, how are 2B and 9S holding up?

"Aside from kicking the tar out of some glinthawks and storm birds? Excellent."

Huzzah. What's our main target?

"Marking position of the enemy commander. Fill him with lead."

You didn't need to say that twice.

XXXXXXXXXX

As soon as we reached the target, I cast off my arcwing and fell toward the Earth. My sword impaled through the machine, carving up a portion of its head. My companions soon followed, and the enmy forces were deciamted. While the Androids remained in the sky, the others tore aprt the enemy on land.

I, mwanwhile, contined to hammer my opponent, ripping and tearing at him, not guving him a chance to escape.

A portal opened above me. On instinct, my vampiric claws rammed into it, drainjng itd energy and closing the rict before something could pop out. I _really _hoped thst wasn't going to make me explode.

It was only a matter of minutes before Aloy finally bested HADES and stopped him from awakening the Faro Plague. Coeus team was almost finshed with destroying the Metal Devil, and my foe was just about dead.

"If you were trying to gain the Eclipse of the Faro Plague for you forces, looks like you failed."

"On the contrary, Commander."

Then, without waring, a portal opened and sucked us inside. I ended up hitting thr groud first, woth the machine panding on top of me, breaking a few of my ribs and my vertebrae.

As I struggled to get up, I heard the machine shooting at something. Turbing toward it, I blanched - it was stnading before the Metal Devil. And had just executed the demolition bots.

"Your allies may have stopped the face of extinction...but they did not stop its will."

Before it could elaborate further, the machine placed a palm on the remains of thr Horus and concentrated. A moment later, it fell over, offline...while the massive machine began to shudder...

...Oh fuck.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: For those wondering, the settings chsracters came from _that were shown _were Nier: Automata, Dungeons III, Anomaly: Warzone Earth, and War Dragons.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!


	283. Annihilation 240

Soaring over the battlefield, the white dragon watched on, confused. Below it, the petty insects known as humans fought against strange creatures made of metal, determined not to fall. So far, they were doing well, but it didn't look like they'd last too much longer. Then again, maybe they'd surprise her.

These...portals were proving to be more troublesome than expected. At first, they had only released small creatures or bands of human raiders, who stood no chance against the natives. Groups ranging from bandits to wolf packs and even intelligent apes had emerged from the portals, only to be cut down like mad dogs. The last group was pitied by the elder dragon – she could sense that they had legitimate reasons to oppose mankind, just as her kind did. As time had gone on, though, increasingly more dangerous entities had arrived. Six-legged crocodilians that turned creatures to stone. Great serpents that killed with a glance. Draconic creatures that apparently came from a world with two suns. And, most bizarrely, a dragon in the form of a human woman. Such a being shouldn't normally provoke more than annoyance from the Ancestral Dragon, but this one was an exception for many reasons. Firstly, this she-drake could change from human to dragon at will, which was more a curiosity than anything else. Secondly, though, she seemed to have an interest in human males….no, that wasn't quite right. She _fancied_ them….ok, that was also wrong. The she-drake _desired _human males (or maybe just _a_ human male), in the most carnal sense of the word. This did enrage the Ancestral Dragon – humans were to be purged or ignored, nothing more, nothing less. Worse still, the dragon-bitch apparently didn't care if the humans were not interested in her advances.

Regardless of her hatred for mankind, the white dragon did not believe them worthy of violation by her kin – they had at least restrained themselves from inflicting that indignity onto her kind, so some respect there was in order. This dragon, though, seemed to consider humans as only existing for her pleasure. And she wasn't alone – joining her were the humanoid female forms of other creatures, ones the Ancestral Dragon was unfamiliar with, but knew should not look like her mortal enemies. And just like the dragon-bitch, they also seemed to consider mankind their playthings.

That alone was enough to make the Ancestral Dragon want to destroy them. But she had more reasons than hatred to kill them.

When the mockeries of monsters had arrived, they had…_twisted _the land around them. Trees bore fruits with greater abundance and in healthier form. Vegetables similarly shifted toward perfection. Most bizarre of all, however, were the fleshy tendrils that emerged, covered in fluids that served to make them look perverse and disgusting. For reasons she could not understand, the Ancestral Dragon knew these tendrils had only one purpose – to violate humans who neared them. She also had the feeling that if they did so enough times, they'd turn into a form very similar to the creatures that had caused the tendrils to sprout.

All things considered, if this cancer was not cut out, the whole world would be twisted into a form reminiscent of this madness. And that could not be allowed.

The Ancestral Dragon had moved to attack, but her actions had been unnecessary – a Vaal Hazak, Gore Magala, Nergigante, and a younger member of her kin had sensed the oncoming darkness and acted. So had a group of riders, leading to one of the most unlikely truces she had ever seen. Together, they had brought ruin and extinction upon the defilers, and saved the land from blight. The humans would not have been able to slay these beasts, given they lacked the stomach for this kind of slaughter, but the elder dragons had no such qualms. The various beasts had tried to convince the dragons to side with them in seeking human mates, only to be repaid with fire, effluvia, frenzy virus, razor spines, and black blight. Watching the skin and flesh melt had been…quite satisfying. The only thing the Ancestral Dragon had enjoyed more from that slaughter was when she had found the invaders' brood, hidden in a nursery of sorts. She had observed them for only a moment, before unleashing her draconic breath upon them.

True, the results _had _been messy, and she had to clean the residue off her face, but she wasn't losing any sleep over it. And what was left had been extra tasty!

Afterwards, fixing the land had been a simple matter – the black blight caused the plants to wither and die in agony. The Ancestral Dragon had briefly imagined them screaming in horror, much to her delight. Once the blight did its job, the riders worked to reverse its affects – regrettable, but necessary. When the last of the corruption was gone, dragon and human retreated, postponing their conflict to a later day. Fighting so shortly after alliances was a good way to prevent alliances from happening, after all.

Now, though, even meaner creatures were coming through the portals – humanoid monsters that sought to glut themselves on mankind and could only be slain if their napes were slit. Dragons made from wood and magic. More creatures from the realms of Behemoth and the Leshen. Twisted metallic monstrosities made of scarp and piloted by a race of green skinned warmongers. And with the portals suddenly flaring up in number, it was only a matter of time before these things became impossible to stop.

Yet there was still hope – having left the battlefield, the Ancestral Dragon now found herself staring at a large portal, with incredible power and purity behind it. This one almost certainly lead to something heavily connected with the portals – possibly even the source of them. Better still, she could see a juvenile Zorah Magdaros heading toward it. Best of all, her mate had finally returned and was now acting as her wingman.

Sensing a chance to end this assault upon her domain, the Ancestral Dragon charged toward the light. The reckoning had come!

XXXXXXXXXX

I could only stare on in shock as the Horus unearthed itself. This was…this was…how was I supposed to beat this thing?

_"Use your satellites lasers, you idiot!"_

Oh. Thanks Viv!

_"Don't mention it!"_

With a thought, I moved my laser satellites into position and – _what the hell? They just blew up!_

"Oh, did you really think this was going to be that easy?" chided the familiar voice of the machine possessing the Metal Devil. "I had plans in place to stop you long before I revealed my trump cards."

..._Oh fuck._

_'Less whining, more machine killing.'_

_Well how am I supposed to do that?_

_"Well, there's a lot of machines heading your way, and you did get a slinger from Astera and knowledge of how to make stuff for the slings used by machine hunters. So if you don't want to use your powers, just pull stuff out of the nearby machines and start shooting."_

_...Thank you, Synais._

_"Don't mention it. Now go and make the Metal Devil cry."_

Pulling myself out of my silent thoughts, I dodged out of the way as a corrupted sawtooth lunged at me. With two blows I had the machine offline and its blaze cannisters in hand. Hastily combining this with metal fragments, I fired the resulting blast bomb at what I was able to identify as a soft spot in the machine's armor. The attack did negligible damage, but the fact it did damage at all was still a welcome sight.

Of course, if I wanted to put a dent in this thing, I was gonna need a bigger weapon.

"Deploying Archgun now, boss."

A moment later, my customized Imperator fell into my hands (holy hell that is heavy!). Barely missing a beat, I took aim and started pumping the machine full of lead.

_That _got results, though nowhere near what I wanted.

As I was about to formulate a new plan, though, more portals started opening up around me.

Oh, come on! What was gonna happen now?!

XXXXXXXXX

_And so, after a long and arduous battle, the Magnificent Evil and his allies of convenience vanquised their attackers!_

"..Is he always like this?"

"Yes, he is, Captain Poise."

"How do you put up with this, Ms. Thalya?"

_Hey! I can hear you!_

"Yeah, we know. Look, are there any other things that we need to kill out here? I mean, you seem to know what we're fighting."

_Fine, but no more complaining. Anyway, looks like everything is dead except for some machines in the north and...oh._

"Um, that isn't good, is good?' wondered the Dark Elf known as Thalya.

_Nope. There's a giant machine there that could easily kill everyone here, and unfortunately I don't have any way to get you off this universe, so it looks like you'll have to fight this thing._

"Well fuck."

_That does seem appropriate, Captain Poise. Prepare to enter the portal that will open in front of you._

_XXXXXXXX_

Out of the first portal came what looked like a bunch of orcs and goblins..were those naga...wait, that's Thalya. So they must be from Dungeons 3...and those machines they traveled with are Anomaly: Warzone Earth...are those dragons from an app game?...Oh shit, Aloy is here.

Said Nora seeker glanced at me, then the Metal Devil...and promptly just froze up in shock for a moment. Then she recovered and glanced at me. "..But...but...Helis is dead, and I just shut down HADES..."

"Someone else is helping them. And they seem to have a personal grudge against me. I take full responsibility for this, by the way."

"We can assign blame after this thing is dead. So, do you have a plan for that?"

"Well, its armor still has some weak points in it from when it fell last time, so I was planning to just hit it there until something gives, but I'm open to suggestions-"

Without warning, another portal opened, this one more massive than all the others. Out from it emerged _Oh shit that's a Zorah Magdaros **AND TWO WHITE FATALIS?! WHY?!**_

"...What are those things and why are you so terrified of them?"

"Big one is called Zorah Magdaros, it is a volcano on legs, and volcanoes are mountains that spew fire and rock so hot it acts like water. The other two are called White Fatalis-

"Also known as Old Fatalis," chimed in Vivian.

"-and they shoot white and red-black lightning. Also, they really hate people."

"I see. So, any new ideas?"

"Can I offer a suggestion?"

The two of us glanced at Vivian. "Yes?"

"Well, I'm not as strong as I once as, but I can open portals up for us to travel on."

"...So you're suggesting we get inside that thing and kill it?"

"Well, sabotaging the construction systems would also be a good idea."

I turned my vision toward Aloy. "You up for that?"

"Well, its better than nothing."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Uncaring of the humans' presence, the elder dragons viciously attacked the Horus. The scorching mountain dragon, however, cared not for the machine being the vessel for the one who created these portals - it just wanted to kill the thing for being too close. The Fatalis couple was happy to exploit this to their advantage. There were a few hiccups with the initial phase of the fighting, though - the humans were not the only other entities attacking the machine. Joining them were other strange beasts, like what appeared to be living magnets and gears, who busily blasted into their foes with lightning and weird energy. The Fatalis duo had initially been shocked by this, but soon learned to exploit it to their advantage.

The machine was completely caught off guard by the trio's arrival. Desperate not to be defeated, it focused its attention onto them - even if they did not destroy it, the damage they could inflict on it would make it more vulnerable to the rest of those it was fighting. Thus, they had to go first.

Hastily, it used what reserves it had to deploy a group of corruptors and a Deathbringer, with orders to gather more resources so that it could turn the tide. Unfortunately for the machine, the female Fatalis immediately noticed the machines' arrival and realized they must have an exploitable opening to emerge from.

Of course, at the moment, the machine had bigger problems to deal with down there...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hastily exiting the portal, the three of us found ourselves in the belly of the mechanical beast. Already, new corruptors were being finished, alongside smaller machines, likely intent for recon.

_"They're called jackals, boss."_

Makes sense.

"So, everyone got the plan memorized? Not that said plan is particularly complex."

"Just go around and use blast bombs to try and disable the production lines, correct?"

Viv smiled. "Yes, Aloy, that is correct."

"Well, then we have no time to waste."

"Agreed. Move out!"

**"Do you really think you can achieve victory, here,**** humans?**** I can already see you wandering about, trying to tear my vessel apart from within."**

"If you're going to try to talk us down, forget it. I already took down HADES and Helis. The three of us can easily take down you."

**"I Beg to differ."**

Instantly, all of the doors around us sealed up, while a dozen different corruptors emerged from their assembly areas. We were surrounded.

And then a Deathbringer popped up right in front of us.

**"Looks like you're out of options."**

"..Fuck you...wait, I don't even know your name."

**"Since it hardly matters, I will tell you: I am Main. And you are dead-"**

Out of nowhere, an explosion occurred, causing the whole machine to tilt. Another soon followed, causing a patch of sunlight to shine within the machine. Then, finally, a huge, white form smashed through the hole where the light emanated from.

Shaking itself off, the White Fatalis looked at us, then at the Khopesh.

Without hesitation, it leapt at the machine.

**"No...NOO!"**

"Well, that was a nice," noted Aloy.

_"True enough," _agreed Synais, who was projecting an image of himself so that Aloy could see him. _"Listen, the first two explosions were caused by the giant moving volcano fighting this machine. It appears to have ruptured a coolant pylon for this machine, alongside one of ammunition magazines. Taking them out would certainly help ruin this machine."_

_"Where do we g_o?"

"Marking routes now, boss. So who will go where?"

"I'll deal with the production line."

_"Boss is covered. What about Aloy?"_

"Heading for the coolant."

"I'll take the ammo, then."

_"Good, everyone has a role. Now let's crush this thing."_

XXXXXXXXXXX

Barreling her way through the Metal Devil, Vivian demolished all in her path. Unlucky machiens were split by sheets of metal, crushed under their own companions, and even ripped apart in the girl's own hands. Desperate to stop her, a swarm of corruptors barreled after her, only to be torn apart, one by one, as she fired off fire bomb after fire bomb, eventually killing all of them.

Destroying the ammunition supply was barely an afterthought for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Riding atop a broadhead, Aloy charged through the Jackals, arrows knocked and ready. As soon as she saw the leaking node, she released them, sending them hurtling into the heated coolant.

As the arrows were made to freeze targets, the results were rather explosive, to say the least.

XXXXXXXX

Only somewhat concerned about the machine shuddering, I took aim with my slinger and fired. Sure enough, the blast bombs blew away the production lines, rendering the machine unable to procreate. As of right now, it was effectively sterilized.

Smiling, I made my way back to where we had arrived, only briefly pausing to watch 2B and 9S use their frames to blast the machine's outer casing.

By the time I reached our rendezvous point, the girls were already there. Looks like we'd all completed our objectives..Wait, how were we going to kill this thing again?

**"Do you really think that you can destroy me from within? You haven't done anything more than inconvenience me, and you have no way of hitting a vital system-"**

SMASH

Out of nowhere, the arm of Zorah Magdaros tore into the Metal Devil's body, just barely missing us and the Fatalis and Deathbringer engaged in battle. A moment later, it was forced away...revealing a rather important looking component.

A scan soon confirmed it - we were looking at the machine's power core.

"...You were saying?"

**"...no..."**

A hail of bullets, arrows, sling bombs and lighting flew forth, blasting the core until it exploded.

**"EYALHGSOGHJRGSG"**

As the machine let out a cry in horror and rage at its impending doom, we dodged out of the way and prepared to leave...only for several pieces of debris to fall on top of the Fatalis, which had just ripped out the Deathbringer's AI core.

For a moment, I just stared. Then I took aim with my slinger.

"What're you doing?!" shouted Aloy.

"Something stupid."

"Mind if I join in?"

"Yes, Viv."

"Well, count me in too, then, I suppose."

A few blast bombs later, and the dragon was freed. We wasted no more time in jumping through the portal Vivian had opened, which proved to be the one thing that saved us - mere moments after the portal closed, the machine exploded.

"Looks like we got him."

I just nodded at Viv. Looks like he was down...wait, what happened to Void?

"Commander, this is Synais, we have a problem."

"Does it relate to the machine known as Void?"

"Yes."

Instead of getting an explanation, I was treated to an image of Void...standing right outside the portal to my hub.

**_WHICH WAS NOW ACTIVE._**

_XXXXXX_

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	284. Annihilation 241

Void stared at the portal. So, this was the accessway that her foe was using to travel to and from his home base? How could he leave it so….unprotected?

…Okay, maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit – he had included a fair amount of defenses here, including a nuclear self-destruct system on a three second timer and enough firepower to completely atomize a city besides, but all of that had been useless against her – the boy had been so distracted fighting her 'brother' (a term even they considered unable to describe their relationship) that he had neglected to pay attention to any of his sensors, allowing her to sneak over here with ease. From there, she had easily disabled his security systems, even rendering the self-destruct system inert. Ultimately, his actions had all amounted to nothing.

It was a shame the Commander would have to die here – Void was sure that he could still offer something of value to her masters' cause. Unfortunately, he had slain Main, which meant leaving him alive was no longer on the table. Oh well, she could find others the would further her masters' plans. There were always more commanders being created – Random Omnipotent Beings could hardly resist the urge to make them.

Activating the portal, the machine readied to march onto the Commander's host-world. Today, the light he had ignited would be extinguished.

"You know, you shouldn't talk out loud. I do, sometimes, and people say it makes me sound crazy."

Completely unsurprised by the outburst, Void held out her hand and fired off several bursts of energy. Said bursts destroyed all of the projectiles aimed at her, while also incapacitating the two who had tried to strike her down.

"Did you honestly think those petty attacks would hurt me, tiny human?"

"...No, but this might."

Before she could inquire as to what the boy was talking about, a sharp pain emanated form her back, followed by a small explosion as something hit the portal. Her scans revealed it to be energy from the Orokin Void.

"...Seriously? You just a beam of energy at a literal hole in the space time continuum _that could potentially destroy the universe if damaged...**just to wound me?"**_

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

...Her communication systems _had _been removed by that attack.

"True, but not for long-"

Without warning, a bolt of energy emanated from the portal and struck her back. Crying out in pain, Void collapsed, body smoking.

How? How had that blow wounded her? There was no way it could unless...unless.

Disregarding the battle around her, Void scanned the portal, searching for a certain signal...one that she found rather quickly on the other side.

So that is where those treasures had hidden themselves. Well, time to find them again.

Sensing that the duo was about to attack again, Void summoned a projectile to fire at them. On impact, the duo vanished from the face of the Earth.

She hadn't killed. But trapping them in another universe without any way to escape was close enough. And there was _nothing _either of them or their followers could do to reverse this.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Shaking myself off, I took note of our surroundings. My former pawn appeared to have been dazed by his landing, but swiftly recovered, allowing both of us to examine where we had arrived.

"...What happened, and where are we?"

I shrugged. "Looks like that bitch machine sent us to another world...hey, can you contact any of your other forces?"

"..Nope."

Fuck. "Neither can I. And I lost the power to open portals to other universes."

A loud snarl revealed that we were not alone.

"And I think the goblin people wearing red robes are not happy with us trespassing on their lands."

"Well, then hope for a Deus ex Machina."

Suddenly, a roar reverberated through the air. Turning toward it, we saw an enormous plant-monster heading our way, followed by other members of its kind.

"That Deus ex Machina better show up fast, then."

XXXXXXXXX

As the one known as Void entered the portal, all was calm. The various denizens of the hub continued on with their lives, unaware the machine was coming to end their world.

Yet within the portal annex, four minds pondered the coming crisis, wondering what they should do. Laying down and dying was not an option, nor was allowing them to rejoin those they had left behind. Choices had been made, and turning back now was no longer an option.

A decision was soon made - they could not allow Void to ravage their new home. Their last hopes rested upon the Commander they had united with, and allowing him to fall was unacceptable. The invader would know what they were doing if they acted to brashly, though, so they would have to shift him between worlds for him to reach salvation. His ROB was also an anomaly that could aid them, which meant keeping her alive was of equal importance to aiding the Commander.

As for keeping Void from wrecking this world, they could start by transporting her to a location where she could not immediately harm others. After that...

XXXXXXXX

"What do you mean that you can't find my dad OR Cass's mom?"

"I'm sorry, Rory, but they just seem to have vanished! I'm still trying, but I don't even know where to look!"

Sighing, I forced my emotions down. Getting mad at Synais was not going to make things better.

Of course, that didn't make any of us feel better.

Of the dozen plus kids in the room, Cassidy and me were probably the ones who were taking this the hardest. Everyone else had already lost one set of parents. They most definitely didn't want to lose another set of parents (well, parent, since Vivian and dad weren't a couple, as far as I knew), but having some experience with this kind of loss allowed them to lean on each other and fight through the pain.

For the two of us that had been artificially created, though, these were uncharted waters. Ones we knew not how to sail.

...Maybe there was a way I could help-

An alarm suddenly started to blare, yanking me out of my thoughts.

Instantly, my eyes fell on Synais. My expression alone told him exactly what I was wondering.

"An unknown entity has been released by the portal annex. For some reason, though, the annex deposited in one of the barren areas that Vivian never seeded with life and Flame never colonized so he could build stuff there later and...oh."

That sudden halt to the conversation probably had to do with the fact that we finally had a visual of the new arrival...and they did not look friendly.

"Is that one of the things that had teamed up with the Shadow Carja to kill my dad?"

"Yes...and I have no idea what to expect with this thing."

"I see...who's in charge of defending the Hub?"

Syanis quirked an eyebrow at me. "Your dad, but he's not here. I guess it would fall to Fide to do that, but but there's nothing official..."

How are we supposed to not die when we don't know who will lead the defense?!

I...I...I don't want to die. I want to see my dad again. I already almost lost him once. I don't want to lose him again..._wait._

"...What, kid?"

"Can I make a request?"

"Sure."

"Put me in charge of the defense."

"...What?! Why?!"

"This is my home. _And I am not letting anyone take it from me."_

"...Sure, but what about the rest of your siblings?"

"We can help coordinate this," answered Bianka. "We did it once in the Origin System, we can do it again."

Synais just stared for a moment, then sighed. "This is just ridiculous, but okay. I assume Cassidy is going to call her mom's forces in hten?"

"I'm not letting you guys take and the pain and claim all the glory. I'm in."

"So am I," added her adoptive sister.

"I see. Patching you in to the genetic heroes and the Tenno. Let's give this unwelcomed guest a walloping."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**AN: SOUNDTRACK START - HORIZON: ZERO DAWN OST: Drums in the Sun Ring**

How had she ended up in this barren waste? Shouldn't the portal have lead to another gateway? Or perhaps there was a defense mechanism that deposited unknown entities in a 'safe' location for classification. Either way, she really didn't see much in the way of complaining - she had already suppressed the control network for the Commander's forces. Even he made his way back in the next five minutes and regained control of his army, he would not be able to defeat her.

...Wait, what was that whistling noise-

Void barely managed to roll out of the way as a mortar exploded near her. More soon followed, and were joined by warriors - Tenno, by the looks of it. Missiles also rained down, trying to get a bead on her.

Presumably, those were part of the guardians of this world. But did they really think they could defeat her-

A lance of flame surged passed Void. Turning toward its source, Void blanched - how was there a _valkyrur _here?

...No matter, they would all fall. But maybe she could call some aid.

XXXXXXXXXX

"That thing is on the defensive, but I'm not sure how long we can keep it that way."

"Eh, we'll keep hitting it until we win, Adeline." I'd trained with Adeline, I knew she could keep this thing on edge, and easily beat it with assistance.

"Your confidence is appreciate...oh shit, it's opening up a portal."

"Tell me who comes through."

"Well, it looks like...looks like...looks like a mix of Vikings, Knights, and Samurai."

I turned to Rourke. "Can you get Hideki to talk some sense into them?"

"Maybe. Hopefully they don't try to kill us as well."

XXXXX

Just as the creatures prepared to attack us, a portal suddenly opened up behind us. My commander had a sheepish look on his face when that happened.

"Huh, guess the universe is helping us."

I glared at him. "Can we just hurry and leave?"

"Yeah, sure. But we are taking this goblin things with us."

"No argument there."

Hastily using some magic and organic tendrils, I grabbed all of the furry goblins and bolted through the portal, which closed just after Flame jumped through. Hopefully these goblin people wouldn't maul us after this...

XXXXXXXX

As I exited the portal, I saw Vivian trying to calm the creatures we had escaped with, unsure as to where they had arrived. I was about to join her when I heard someone shouting something in...Russian. Definitely Russian.

Turning my attention toward the voices, I found a group of people, some kids, others adults, yelling at a pair of boys. What they were saying was...rather harsh.

_"Filth."_

_"Monsters."_

_"You don't deserve to live."_

Someone threw a rock at them. The others soon joined.

...Oh, you did NOT do that to kids!

A woman grabbed another stone to hit them with. She only stopped when I grabbed her arm.

_"Wha-Why are you stopping me."_

_"People are people. These kids have just as much right to live as you do."_

_"No they don't. They're oripathy infected freaks!"_

I stared blankly at her. Then I tightened my grip. The bones my fingers were coiled around promptly shattered.

Instantly, one of the men moved to assault me. I dislocated his shoulder before he had the chance to do so.

After that, everyone went running.

When the last of the crowd had gone, I turned my attention to the kids.

"...What are your names?"

"...Eno..."

"...Sasha..."

Poor things. They looked terrified.

...More terrified than I expected - the minute I took a step toward them, they bolted.

A moment later, another portal opened where they had been. Reluctantly, I ambled through, as did Vivian and our new comrades.

XXXXXXXXXX

As soon as I exited the portal, I knew that we were in a different, more mundane universe.

Also, it seems that the portal had sent us to a government meeting...and now we were holding weapons in the middle of a government function.

Before anyone could react, I moved to lower my weapons, as did my commander. Hopefully this could make things easier for us...wait, why were those portals starting to open?

XXXXXXXX

Impossible. How could the duo be hoping between universes?

...The stolen ones must have helped them. That was the only way they could do so.

It seemed the stolen ones had allowed them to be stolen. No matter - Void knew they would be easy to..._reintegrate _once she was done with them. Of course, she would need to find a way to repair her communication system, but that was hardly going to be possible right now.

Keeping the human preoccupied was hardly a problem for Void - still having access to some Faro machines allowed her to send out her own minions to hunt them - machines Faro had christened as "Amut", the Egyptian eater of souls.

It was entirely possible they'd only serve to delay the commander and his entourage from returning...but she could afford that risk.

Now to deal with these little-ARGH!

XXXXXXXX

"Nice shot, Ms. Aloy."

"Thanks. So, the man who ended up at the Proving is your dad?"

"Yes. And I don't know where he went. And thank you for helping fight this thing."

"You're welcome. Let's end this."

Smiling, I closed off the transmission before giving a new set of orders to the Tenno onsite. Time to go for the death blow.

Sensing gunfire, the one known as Void leapt backwards, barely avoiding a barrage of fire from Titan...only to get blasted in the shoulder by an XCOM sniper. Crying out in anger, she summoned a gun and took aim, only to be rammed by Adeline using her shield. As she moved to retaliate, a ninja of all things cut her across the back with a katana, at which point Theseus swung a hammer at her. Void rolled for a moment, but landed on her feet. Sensing a presence behind her, she turned around...only to find a Vasto-wielding Mesa aiming at her head.

*BOOM*

The machine collapsed, a noticeable hole in its head. Not even a second later, the Mesa pulled out a Redeemer and stabbed the fallen robot many times, before hoisting her upward with the gunblade.

I couldn't help but smile. "We win."

The Mesa pulled the trigger...only for the machine to vanish. What?

"Not yet."

Suddenly, a portal opened up above the group. Hastily, I opened up many smaller portals of my own, pulling all of our forces and allies out of the area just as a massive machine arrived...whoa.

I think it had more weapons on it than a Metal Devil, even if it was somewhat smaller.

...That's bad.

"Your friend may have bested the Face of Extinction, your father defeated the Shadow of Extinction and is now fighting off its shades, and his briefest acquaintances are dueling its hand. But if you think you can slay my Sekhmet, the Echo of Extinction, then you are sorely mistaken."

...Really bad...

"Greeting, Rory."

The soothing female voice caught me off guard. "Augh! Who are you?...Wait, you're that nice voice that advises all Commanders."

"Correct."

"..Why are you contacting me?"

"The Commander Control Net is no longer offline."

"...My dad isn't here to use his commander."

"Correct, and I cannot transfer command authority for that machine to another unless he approves of it. However, all colonel sub commanders are now online."

...Did that mean it wanted me to use it?

Instantly, I felt a reassuring hand on my back. I turned to see it was Synais's...and that Fide and Kathikon had joined him.

"I don't want to throw you into the fire...but you've already proven yourself a leader," noted Synais.

"Experience is said to be the best teacher," commented Kathi.

"Your dad would approve, I am sure," add Fide.

I took one moment to think...then turned toward the AI's display. "How many colonels are online again?"

"All of them."

Synais was confused. "Why are you asking that kid."

"Because I'm not doing this...not on my own."

"...Huh?"

"I want you to help me. Cassidy too, and anyone else she can wrangle..."

"...Because this is _our _home, and **_all _**of us will defend it."

XXXXXXXX

**AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15, signing off!**


	285. Annihilation 242

(Infernum Federation Hub, Third Person POV)

On Origin, the heart of the Infernum Federation, a battle to decide said Polity's fate was about to begin.

But on the other worlds in the system, most were going on with their daily lives, unaware of the fighting happening on the Capital World.

Among those going on in blissful ignorance were the Immunocytes, the inhabitants of Dhumavati. Named after a Hindu death deity, its inhabitants were perhaps the most horrifying in appearance among those in the Federation.

Not that this was a surprise. They were technocyte creatures, derived from the helminths, who had wanted a world to engineer their own strains of creatures. Dhumavati had thus been given to them, and was where they had propogated themselves. Unfortunately, there were still problems, even here - an untamed strain of infestation had escaped into this realm, and had swiftly taken over portions of the planet. Now, hordes of infested monsters roamed the world, determined to wipe out the impure siblings that they viewed the Immunocytes as.

Now, though, they were getting strange readings from a spot in space just outside their orbital range. It was like a void fissure, but not. So just what was this oddity?

XXXXXXXXXXX

"What the...what the hell? This is Williams, I have _no fucking clue _where we are right now. Keep your eyes peeled - we might still have stragglers from the Swarm onboard. Search the ship, see if there are any stragglers - we are not repeating what happened at Jacob's Rest."

XXXXXXXXX

(Flame's POV)

Hastily shoving another official to safety, I grabbed the oncoming machine and tore its head off. Viv had already crushed a few, as had our misfit band of followers and the security personnel here.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the official I had saved.

I stared at him sheepishly. "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you right now."

"What does that mean-"

"Flame, portal's open."

Sure enough, a new portal had opened.

Turned to the official. "I have to go now, those things should follow us, and with luck, me and my associates will never see you again."

Not waiting for a response, I barrel through the portal, with Vivian right behind me….wait, why were there two girls on the other side, one wearing what looked like a maid's outfit-_OHSITI'MGONNACOLLIDEWITHTHEMARGH!_

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

(third person POV)

Dazed, M4A1 opened her eyes. For a moment, she had no idea what had happened, before a look around brought things back into focus.

Lying next to her was a human - a man to be specific, though since they were wearing a mask, she could only assume their gender from their body shape, while a few feet away was...

"Stupid...Griffin...Trash..."

Was Agent...oh no.

A groan turned the two T-Dolls' attention toward the human, who was starting to get back up. He only managed to starting curling upwards before Agent slammed her heel onto his belly.

"...Get...off...of...me," rasped the human.

"...No. All humans must be terminated," answered the Sangvis Doll, leveling her oddly placed guns at him.

"...Fine, the hard way then."

Then the human put his hands on the ground and _pushed. _The normally stoic agent let out a surprised gasp as she was sent flying, while the human hastily got to his feet.

"Where's the portal, where's the portal, where's the-THERE!"

The human was staring at a glowing light of some sort. Immediately, he started to make his was toward the light...only for a horde of Sangvis units to block his path.

Not for long, though. Without warning, another human - a girl, going off of body shades - literally barrely through the machines, pulverizing some and sending others flying.

"Let's go," she shouted.

M4 only briefly watched them leave...in part because she suddenly found herself being carried toward them by a strange group of creatures!

"W-wait, put me down!"

The creatures ignored her, though they did end up coming to a stop...but only because Agent blocked their path. Instantly, her weapons zeroed in on the AR team member.

"This is the end of the line, Griffin Trash."

A discarded can flew at Agent's head, which only served to annoy her. The human who had collided with M4 and Agent had been the source of the can, and was now trying to whack Agent with a discarded pipe...which promptly broke in half.

Agent was clearly nonplussed. "You embarrass yourself, human."

"Says the gynoid who shows people her panties when attacking."

That seemed to set Agent off. "You insolent-"

_CRUNCH_

For a moment, everyone just stared at the human, who's leg was now extended in front of him...and who's foot was currently pulverizing Agent's groin area.

Then a high-pitched noise sounded from Agent as she collapsed, face red, eyes glossy and pained looking.

The human turned toward M4. "Sorry about that. You run along and-"

A mechanical roar turned everyone's collective attentions back behind them, where a swarm of strange looking machines had suddenly appeared and were barreling right toward the group.

"Aw shit, run!"

M4 barely had time to process those words before the human grabbed her and started running toward the portal, though not before literally punting Agent away from both the portal and the machines.

...Now M4 felt bad for Agent. Somehow.

XXXXXXXXXXX

_Elsewhere in the same universe, at GK HQ_

"What do you mean that a T-Doll shipment just vanished?!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Helianthus, but the delivery group said that something happened and now the only thing they have from the shipment is the staff who were driving it."

Helian pinched her nose. Just...just...how had this happened?! One moment she had been preparing to receive a report from the AR Team regarding their mission, the next she was dealing with someone claiming that _a delivery truck had vanished through what people were calling a portal! _Who had even thought this was something that concerned her?!

Could this day get any worse?

_(Not a spoiler: it was definitely about to get worse)_

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

_(Rory's POV)_

"Sub-Commander, it appears that a truck filled with gynoids wielding outdated weapons was just sent through another portal."

I sighed. "Tell the Nebula Cell to pick them up. Also, divert our medieval guests to a safer location, accept for the archers."

"Are you referring to the Ashford Legions, the Warborne, and the Chosen?"

"...Yes."

XXXXXXXXXX

(Third Person POV)

XCOM Sgt. Anisa Perez barely managed to roll out of the way as the Frostclaw swiped at her. Groaning, Perez (also known as Rogue) fired her plasma rifle at the ursine-machine, aiming for the head and freeze modules. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to hit the machine before it struck her with its left paw, sending her hurtling away.

Without missing a beat, the machine moved to finish her...only to be blow away by an explosive. A moment later, the Nora Seeker Aloy leapt over a nearby rock and fired a pair of arrows into the machine's processor, finally knocking it offline. Paying no mind to the one she had saved, Aloy charged forward into battle - there were more in need of saving.

**AN: Soundtrack Start: Miracle of Sound - Force of Nature**

Rolling into a bush, Aloy barely managed to avoid the notice of a corrupted watcher, which she promptly put an arrow in. How this Faro machine was able to produce normal ones eluded her. But that wasn't unimportant - besting this machine, on the other hand, _was_.

Taking aim, Aloy let loose another arrow, this one taking out a corrupted scrapper. More arrows flew by, with the Seeker only pausing to impale a watcher with the lance Sylens had gifted to her.

The barrage only halted when a stalker pounced on her. Before it could deal a killing blow, though, a strange being wielding clawed gauntlets teleported up to her and impaled the machine through the head. An opportunistic group of glinthawks trying to get in a kill met the same fate when what looked like for hellish dog shot fireballs at them. One final machine, a ravager, attempted to take them all on, only to be set alight by a familiar face - the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, who offered the Seeker a hand.

Just as she stood up, a new sound filled Aloy's ears. Turning toward it, she found the Sekhmet disgorging another Faro machine - a Deathbringer.

Aloy stared at it for a moment, before turning to her right. There, her grazer was staring at her.

Smiling, Aloy hopped atop it and made her way toward the Khopesh.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Unnoticed to Aloy, a corrupted Thunderjaw was zeroing in on her, ready to strike...only to be diverted at the last moment when something slammed into it. Dazed, the machine turned to find Theseus standing on a nearby rock, wielding a strange-looking blade and a bizarre wrist mounted gauntlet - a clutch claw, only recently developed following certain oddities that Astera wanted explored.

**AN: Soundtrack Start: Miracle of Sound - Place in Nature**

Roaring, the Thunderjaw opened fire, only for Theseus to block the onslaught with his blade. A moment later, a bomb pod flew out of his slinger, blasting the machine's jaws, and taking out its cannon in the process. Enraged, the machine moved to use its disc launcher, but only got a few shots off before a meowlotov cocktail blew the launcher off.

Never underestimate a hunter's companions. Especially if they were riding a cross between a cobra and a komodo dragon, which was not trying to tear into your back.

Howling in surprise, the Thunderjaw tried to shake its foe off, only for Theseus to use the clutch claw to grapple onto its face. After punching it toward the direction that he wanted it to run toward, Theseus unloaded all of his slinger ammo into the machine, sending it charge...right into a field of blast sling proximity bombs.

As the machine collapsed, Theseus and his companions leapt to safety, before wailing on the machine while it was still tipped over. Only when it managed to right itself did they back off.

They still had a long way to go to finish this thing off.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Flame's POV)

We're in another world now, where one guy was about to kill another man and _oh god is that the Infinity Blade?!_

My gushing was cut short when more of those machines showed up. Additionally, much to my surprise there were _two _exit portals for us to leave in.

Hastily, we charged through, though not before I grabbed the armored man who was about to be executed. If I knew who this was, sparing him was probably for the best.

Unfortunately for me, Vivian and half of our followers entered the other portal. I could only hope we'd meet up again.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

(Third Person POV)

The Stolen who dwelled within the portal nexus felt their link on the Commander slipping - already they were losing access to the portals they had opened to help him return. Void didn't even know they were helping him, but her mass portal opening was disrupting their link to the boy. They needed to get him back soon, or else they would lose the link forever.

Fortunately, there were six more universes they could send them through that would eventually lead him home. The link would last for at least ten more universes, which would make this rescue...almost child's play.

XXXXXXXX

(Flame's POV)

I'm in a fantasy world now, where a bunch of kids are trying to fight off some kind of monster. With more machines on my tail, I hastily grabbed the trio in front of me and made a break for the exit portal.

I wonder where Vivian ended up?

XXXXXXXXXX

(Viv's POV)

As I jumped through the portal, I worried about the kid who had grabbed onto me in shock - it looked like he was pretty important here, since he had a bunch of guards and seemed to be in some kind of royal court.

But letting him stay would leave him at the mercy of these machines. And htat was unacceptable.

I just hope I didn't screw things up too much.

XXXXXX

(Flame's POV)

Exiting the portal, I found myself in a laboratory under attack. I wonder what they are researching...wait, does that wall say _Sarif Inustries?_

_..._I'm in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, during the prologue.

...Time to bail before the Illuminati goes after my ass. I'd like to help Jensen save the world, but right now, getting everyone following me to safety takes priority.

Though I did end up killing a few of the terrorists launching the attack before I found the exit porta. Not much, but maybe I saved a few scientists who would not have survived in canon?

XXXXXXXXXXX

(Viv's POV)

I found myself running through a run down hotel, where some police (I think?) were battling off a group of cyborg terrorists while a sand storm rolled in. After helping one of the police to safety, I guided my entourage through the nearest portal, taken extra precautions to shield my small cargo from the storm of bullets around us.

I _really _hoped I'd meet up with Flame again in the next universe we went to.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Synais' POV, third-person)

As the sniper bots teleported around, targeting the Sekhmet's joints, Synais couldn't help but laugh. Die, you evil machine, die!

Unable to see her foes, Void responded by firing a barrage of artillery at them, only for it to harmlessly impact on an energy shield deployed by Kathikon. Moment's later, a counter barrage was unleashed by SABRs under the control of Fide. The rain was coming, and it was burning hot!

The Sekhmet readied another attack, only to get jumped on by several strange biological creations - lithe lizard-like creatures under the control of Cassidy, and gorilla-esque ones under the command of Leal. No way thery were giivng it an opening!

XXXXXXXXXX

(Flame's POV)

Upon exiting the portal, I found myself in another world, this one more inline with the modern one - there were a bunch of people here taking notes as someone spoke...well, at least until I showed up. I barely had time to snicker at their stupid expressions of shock before bolting through the nearby door, already trying ot find the portal...oh, there's Viv.

"Nice to see you again, my former pawn!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's find the portal first, then snark."

"I have energy scanners in my armor, and I think this one is outside."

"Alright, let's go there."

Paying no mind to the crowd gawking at us, we made our way up to the top of this school...only for someone to blast me with fire as we neared the door. That _hurt. _Hastily shoving him aside (just enough to bruise him), we smashed through the doors and entered the portal.

I _really _hoped I could get back to the hub soon. Who knows what Void is doing to my protectorates?

XXXXXXX

_Third Person POV_

The various Umbrella Corporation scientists just barely had time to notice the portals forming before a disorganized mob of beings darted from one portal into the other. One of them, which _appeared _to be human but with a noticeably unnatural right arm, shed a portion of his flesh before he vanished through the portal.

When the last of the mob vanished, the staff stared at the leftover flesh for a moment, before one of the recent hires decided to call the shift manager.

Then he made plans to quit and go to get psychiatric help. This place was insane.

_And said employee didn't even know about the Wesker Children or Umbrella's other questionable projects._

_XXXXXXXXXX_

(Cassidy's POV)

As the madness continued around us, my Mesa darted across the battlefield, Akvasto firing off at every enemy in sight. Behind me, Rory was using an Oberon to take on a corrupted Stormbird with measured yet powerful blows.

The Sekhmet roared at us, but unfortunately for Void, that was all she could do - there were too many other things attacking her to possibly allow her to focus on us.

Bring it on, bitch! We're gonna crush you however you try to stop us!

XXXXXXX

_(Flame's POV)_

The portal we exited from deposited us in an open field, with no signs of civilization nearby. There was a crowd of people there, though, who wore medieval attire, and they all looked a little scared.

Taking pity on them, I lowered my weapons, trying to appear less threatening, eyes always looking around in search of the next portal.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. None of us will hurt you."

One of the kids perked up at this. Instantly, her eyes were on me and Vivian, scrutinizing every part of us.

"...Are you a hero of the Order?"

I quirked an eyebrow at that statement, but Vivian best me to asking for clarification. "The Order?"

"..The Order of the Chief God."

...Oh. We're _here._

Suddenly, I heard a shrieking sound above us. Without even hesitating to look, I fired off a shot. A moment later, an incredibly sensual looking harpy fell to the ground, her chest now only a hole.

Yep, we were in MGE. And there's a horde of harpy monster girls headed our way. Instantly, Viv and me took up positions to shoot them down...only for a barrage of missiles to reduce the flock into heaps of flesh and gore. Confused, we turned around...and found a Tenno with an archwing looking at us in surprise.

"Commander?"

"...What are you doing here?"

"Some Sentients found a portal leading to this world and went through. We tried to convince them to come back, but it turns out the Sentients can evolve to resist DE, and managed to figure out a way to destroy it. Now they've taken over this land that has failing crops and are trying to evacuate some scattered villages to the hub."

"...So I can assume there is a portal back home here?"

"Yes."

"Good, lead the way...wait, are we being followed?"

"There are orcs, a succubus, some amazons, and other monster girls...mamono...by the void, that just sounds weird to say. But no, we aren't being followed - their just happens to be a group of rape-happy monsters trying to attack the portal anyway."

Oh joy. The most rape happy monsters in the setting were here, and they wanted to enter my not-so-perfect-but-still-better-than-here world. "Need some help repelling them?"

"Sure. Also, some lizardmen from this world entered our DE destroying field and...they got weird."

I gave them a blank glance, but Vivian beat me to asking for clarification. "Define weird."

"...Some turned into lizardmen...as in, _definitely men. _And some turned back into lizard people without the human traits. Also, a bunch of Valkyries wanted to join us in 'saving the innocent humans and bringing the light of the chief god to our world'. Should we...oblige them? it is your lands that we would be bringing them to."

I glanced over at Viv. On the one hand, they were from a setting that was basically covered in magic rape-cancer, and were essentially tumors for said cancer. On the other hand, we had a way to remove said cancer, these were genuinely good-hearted beings as long as they didn't become Dark Valkyries, and killing them just for who they were was _definitely _crossing a line.

Viv's reaction told me exactly what I needed to know.

"Let them through...but keep them in custody until they've been checked for DE corruption."

"Sure. Also, I'm not sure I am ever going to be interested in marriage after visiting this place. Or sexual relations."

"This place is a sexual shithole. The fact you don't have frothing at the mouth hatred or all-consuming lust is a testament to your own willpower."

XXXXXXX

(Vivian's point of view)

As the portal finally came in sight, we saw several Tenno and Sentients assisting the humans of this world against the monster girls. Already, corpses from those sex-fiends littered the ground around the portal, where a few people were finishing up retreating into Flame's hub. Without hesitation, I charged at one of the orc-girls, literally reducing her to a chunky mess all over the area. The group of amazons and dark elves saw this and took offense, immediately moving to try and get revenge on me.

The body parts started flying shortly after that.

These...things...were an insult to monster girls, to monsters in general, and to the female sex. Oh sure, some women could certainly be lustful. Some also chose to wear as little as possible. The same could be said of men. And there was nothing wrong about there being cute looking monster girls - My former pawn did like the Nasuverse version of the Oni Ibaraki Doji, if I remembered right. Though she had needed to grow on him first.

These creatures, though? They were caricatures of sentient beings, whose existence only drove this world to ruin. If they did not begun more docile and less rape-happy in an environment that our friends had confirmed was destroying the Demonic Energy that made them into these perverted abominations, then they were beyond salvation.

I briefly paused from my slaughter to stare in shock as a cursed sword impaled her blade upon a Tenno. For a moment, I thought she might transform, only for the Tenno to break the blade with their hands and ram the remains right through the mamono's heart.

I slew three more of the perverted wenches before finally seeing my commander again, now fighting a succubus, which appeared to be the leader of the force. All around him lay the bodies of slain monster-girls, remains reduced to mangled messes by my ally's anger. Instantly, I was glad to have made peace with him - the slaughter he had unleashed was almost impossible to believe. The succubus (thankfully not a lilim) was holding him at bay, but she was slowly succumbing to his onslaught of blows.

I barely managed to pull myself out of my observations in time to block an attack from a high orc. The dark skinned bitch (no racism intended - this one just happened to look exactly like the art KC had posted for the species, which had much darker skin than the average orc) leered at me, a predatory smile on her lips.

"So, is that your man over there?" she questioned, a sneer now taking up her face.

"No."

"Oh, really? You certainly seemed enamored by him. Maybe you' like to claim him as your own?"

I tried to headbutt her, only for the boar monster girl to pull away at the last minute. "Nah."

"Well, then maybe I'll claim him. He'd certainly look a lot nicer between my-"

I wasn't going to give her the chance to finish that statement. Letting go of my weapons, I impaled my fingers into her stomach, then pulled. Within moments, everything below her neck was flayed off with my bare hands. Her screaming was cut short when I ripped out her heart and crushed it.

Turning back to Flame, I found that he was busy punching the shit of succubus, eventually hitting her head so hard it exploded. Humorously, I noted that if it weren't for the punching, people might have assumed that she succeeded in making him fall for her.

"Had enough time to vent your anger?"

He looked at me, mildly annoyed. "Yes. Now let's get back to my home."

Eh, no sense in waiting.

XXXXXXX

(Flame's POV)

Exiting the portal, I was delighted to find all of the refugees being settled in and-wait, why was I getting a ton of alerts?

"Synais, this is Flame, what the hell is going on-"

"DAD YOU'RE BACK!"

..What? "yes, I am, Rory. I am sorry for scaring you. Now, what's going on-"

"The machine named Void got through the portal and is trying to take over this world and probably kill us. Um, can I have some help."

What. The. Fuck?! "Wait, we're under attack?"

"EYS!" shouted the voice of Cassidy. "NOW HURRY UP AND HELP US WIN!"

"I don't think so," replied a feminine voice I recognized as belonging to Void. Then without warning, portals opened in front of me and Viv, out of which came mechanical tentacles that grabbed us and pulled us through.

The arms slammed us into the ground, we managed to get out of the way before the machine could follow through with the attack. As soon as we were upright, we opened fire, only for the machine to counter with rocket blast. We managed to dodge out of the way...only for a second barrage to hit us, sending us flying into the air. Another barrage followed, and another, and it soon became apparent that the machine was using less powerful rockets just for the purpose of juggling us through the air. Only when it seemed ready to finish us did we finally hit the ground.

Dazed, beaten, blasted, and exhausted, my whole body ached. Desperately, I tried to force myself up, only for my arms to fail me. Glancing to my right, I saw that Vivian wasn't in much better shape herself. In the distance, a Faro machine (which according to some information I was being fed, was known as the Sekhmet and was under the control of Void) ambled toward us, apparently wanting to be close enough that it could see us die.

..Come on...get up...

**AN: Soundtrack Start - Miracle of Sound: All As One**

Come on...I need to get up.

_Stumble from the Ashes _

_Log Enigmas In The Dust_

Come on...

_I Can Not Remember_

_But They Tell Me That I Must_

Right beside me, Vivian was having the same problems..

_Maker's Sign or False Divine_

_This Mark Of Worth I Wear_

...but against the odds, we managed to get back up...only for the machine to lock on to us and fire.

_Hardened Are These Fateful Scars I Bear_

We fell over, flinching...only for three warframes to jump in front of us, one a volt that project a shield to save us from death.

_Stand Side By Side_

_Carry All As One_

As the other two turned toward us, identifiers finally arrived:

One, in an Oberon, was Rory.

The other, in a Mesa, was Cassidy.

_We Can Bare This Weight._

While the Volt (who I could now see was Cyreesia) reloaded its weapons, our Children approached us.

_Stand Side By Side_

_We Won't Come Undone_

Then they extended their hands.

"Let's do this," they said in unison.

For a moment, we both hesitated...before smiling.

_For The Hands That Will Carry Us Home Are Touched By Fate._

Immediately after, we took their hands.

**_Hold On, Hold On To What You Strive For._**

As we stood tall, we grabbed our weapons and got into position.

**_Hold On, Hold On To What You Fight For_**

**_HOPE!_**

Another attack was launched, only for the five of us to jump out of the way, firing back at the machine in defiance.

**_Get Up And Fight!_**

The machine reeled back in shock, giving us time to pull up some discarded deathbringer guns and start inflicting real damage on it.

**_BREAK!_**

As the machine tried to relocate us, Vivian and me turned toward helping clear the rest of the battlefield, while our children focused on bringing down Void.

XXXXXXXXXX

_(Vivian's POV)_

I charged forward toward Theseus, just barely managing to knock a Stormbird off course from him. The hunter in question paid me no mind, instead focusing on killing off the Thunderjaw he was fighting.

_**Through The Fade And Leafy Shade**_

_**And Scorching Desert Sands**_

Nearby, Flame used a fire spell I had taught him to damage a Deathbringer, giving Aloy an opening to hit its weakpoints.

_**Lift People From Their Pain**_

_**Unite And Take A Stand**_

A snapmaw tried to roast them, only for Geralt to roast it with Igni.

Nearby, a Limbo-wielding Tenno used the rift-plane to escape getting blasted by a corruptor.

_**Breach Into The Future**_

_**Reach Into The Fade**_

Then he teleported it into the Rift Plane and one-shotted it with an Opticor.

_**Stamp Out The Abuser**_

_**Staff And Bloody Blade**_

Moments later, an artillery barrage from _Leal _of all people helped clear out some trash machines.

**_Maker's Breath Or Wind Of Death_**

**_It Matters Not To Me_**

Then Lernea followed it up with an airstrike, taking out a swarm of corruptors.

**_Be It One Or None Or Synery_**

Yeah, this thing was going down!

XXXXXXXXXX

_(Cassidy's POV)_

**_STAND SIDE BY SIDE_**

**_CARRY ALL AS ONE_**

**_WE CAN BARE THIS WEIGHT!_**

Turning away from beating up the Sekhmet, I watched as my mother and Rory's father aided our allies in disposing of the machines.

The Thunderjaw ended up having the misfortune of stepping onto a shock trap, while the Deathbringer found itself entangled amid ropecaster rounds.

_**STAND SIDE BY SIDE**_

_**WE WON'T COME UNDONE**_

_**FOR THE HANDS THAT WILL CARRY US HOME**_

_**ARE TOUCHED BY FATE!**_

Smiling, Theseus used his slinger to pull himself in for the kill

**_HOLD ON, HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU STRIVE FOR!_**

Aloy, meanwhile, took aim and let loose an arrow.

**_HOLD ON, HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU FIGHT FOR_**

Both attacks hit at the same time.

**_HOPE!_**

Instantly, the machines went down.

Smiling, I turned my attention toward the Sekhmet once more.

The machine had no way of expressing anger, but I could tell it was mad. It immediately took aim at us and fired, only for its missiles to be shot out of the sky by Adeline and her men. A barrage of our missiles soon followed, blowing some of Void's armor off.

Desperate, she launched a swarm of Death Shadows at us, only for Jegudiel and Lernea to send them all careening into the ground.

**_Wooooah_**

**_Woooooah_**

When that failed, she deployed a pair of Deathbringers at us...which only got halfway to us before being tackled by a pair of Old Fatalis and subsequently incinerated.

**_Wooooah_**

**_Woooooah_**

Smiling, I took aim and started shooting at the machine.

**_Wooooah_**

**_Woooooah_**

Soon, everyone else joined.

**_Wooooah_**

**_WOOOOOOAAH!_**

yeah, this thing was doomed...wait, what was Rory telling me?

...Oh, that sounded AWESOME!

XXXXXX

(Rory's POV)

Smiling as everyone acknowledged my plan, I started running toward the Sekhmet. My father, Vivian and Cassidy soon followed.

Just as the machine readied to fire, a _hail _of gunfire surged toward it, forcing the machine backwards.

**_STAND SIDE BY SIDE_**

**_CARRY ALL AS ONE _**

**_WE CAN BARE THIS WEIGHT!_**

Soon aircraft and artillery joined in the attack, forcing it back even further and tearing sheets of its armor off.

_**STAND SIDE BY SIDE**_

_**WE WON'T COME UNDONE**_

_**FOR THE HANDS THAT WILL CARRY US HOME ARE TOUCHED BY FATE**_

Without missing a beat, Vivian chanted a few words and then gestured, freezing the machine in place.

_**FIGHT FOR YOUR VALUES **_

_**AND FIGHT FOR YOUR FRIENDS**_

_**FIGHT THORUGH THIS BLIGHT **_

**_FIND THE LIGHT AT THE END_**

My dad followed up by calling a satellite laser on the machine's head, blasting it open.

_**THROUGH THE AGE OF THE DRAGON**_

_**THROUGH CHAOS AND HATE  
**_

_**THE HANDS THAT WILL CARRY US HOME**_

_**ARE TOUCHED BY FATE!**_

Then Cassidy called down a velocitus and charged it up.

My dad, meanwhile, extended his hand

_**HOLD ON**_

_**HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU STRIVE FOR**_

As Cassidy fired the railgun, I took my dad's hand, and was promptly hurled into the air.

_**HOLD ON**_

_**HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU FIGHT FOR**_

The minute Cassidy hit her target, the machine exploded...which sent Void's form hurtling into the air, where she flailed about pathetically.

...Especially when she saw me in the air, holding a Galatine

_**HOPE **_

_**HOPE**_

_**HOPE**_

Immediately I surged downwards, quite literally tearing her in half with my cleave.

_**HOPE**_

_**HOPE**_

_**HOPE!**_

As soon as I landed, I followed it up with a void beam. Stay dead, you bucket of bolts.

As the Sekhmet's husk fell to ruin, I turned to my dad. "...We did it."

My dad smiled at me, just as Vivian did to Cassidy. "Yeah, we did...and I am so proud of you right now."

I was not crying back in the safety on my dad's tower. Everyone who says otherwise is lying.

Though I will admit I gave him a glomp...at least until he started feeling unsteady.

"Um, sorry to ruin the moment, but I need to go lie down now."

...Yeah, dad and Vivian probably needed a rest right now.

I just hope all of the new arrivals could reserve their questions until they woke up.

XXXXXXXXXXX

_**AN: HOLY HELL THAT TOOK FOREVER TO WRITE!**_

_**Anyway, I apologize if any of you happen to like Monster Girl Encyclopedia. If it wasn't obvious, I POSITIVELY LOATHE that setting.**_

_**So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**_


	286. Annihilation 243

Though my subordinates and children wished to tell me a great many things, I declined them - I needed to rest. So did Vivian, though she had come out of this better than I had.

Thus, as soon as we had finished off Void's body and offered our children and followers praise, we did the sensible thing...and promptly retreated to my tower and found some place comfy to fall asleep. And before you ask, no, we didn't sleep in the same room - ignoring other constraints, neither of us had anything on our minds beyond going to dream land.

XXXXXXXXX

A familiar sight greeted me in the land of sleep - that of Celempheros watching over a sleeping Vivian. Now, though, I was able to perceive what had happened after he had finished relieving her of her nightmare.

As the girl found peace in her sleep, Celm let out a small, yet genuine smile, before leaving her room via a portal. Now, he was within a strange looking void, at first empty, but soon filled by shapes that were odd, yet recognizable: stars, black holes, planets, and galaxies. Things one would find in space, though obviously not to scale.

Eventually, two objects came into focus: one appeared to be the Earth, well, more like one iteration of it, while the other...was that a Halo Ring?!

Putting a hand to each one, Celm did something that cause an image to appear above each object - the ring showed the Master Chief fighting both the Covenant and the Flood, while the Earth's viewing image showed a girl wearing blue armor using an invisible sword to fight a man wearing blue armor and wielding a red spear...huh. Guess that was the Fate branch of the Nasuverse.

With another gesture, Celm converted these two images into spheres of swirling gas, which he then pocketed away. Apparently done with his business, he let the Nasu-Earth and Installation 04 go free, then turned to leave the room.

That, frustratingly, was where my dream ended.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shaking myself awake, I found I had only slept for an hour, but felt surprisingly refreshed. Letting out a yawn, I was about to inquire as to how Vivian was doing, only for Synais to answer that for me - she had just woken up.

Well, time to sort things out. Though I was pretty sure that Fide, Synais, and Kathikon could handle this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

...Or maybe not.

"Wait, are you telling me that there are new _planets _in this system now?"

Kathikon smiled sheepishly at me. "Yes?"

Wordlessly, I put my hand in my palm. "I presume that was the biggest surprise that Void had for us."

"Right about that, boss man," spoke Synais. "Though, there are certainly a lot of other new arrivals to account for."

Like that was a surprise. "What should I expect? A standard set of phantasy races? Elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and so on?"

Synais looked at me, mildly uncomfortable, before showing me a picture of some of the new arrivals. Looks like I was right on the money with them being orcs, though these ones were brown instead of green...Wait, we're those _Draenei?_

"They are, sir. And according to what has been observed, they aren't fighting each other. So I believe it can be assumed that they are from before the opening of the Dark Portal."

"I see. Have there been any other reports of beings from the world of Warcraft here?"

"Many, actually," replied Kathikon. "So far, we've managed to isolate the races that dislike each other most so as to avoid incidents, but how long that will last is up in the air. Especially since the trolls have good reasons to hate the high elves."

"No shit they do," noted Synais. "You build your capital on top of a troll holy site, of course they're gonna be mad at you!"

"Moving on, any other fantasy creatures here?"

"I've found being from Pathfinder, the Forgotten Realms, and Starfinder here, and that is just the start. Also, this characters from Alien Swarm showed up, as did two giant blobs of flesh that fell onto Origin. Which still appear to be alive, by the way."

"Acknowledged. What about our friends from Zero Dawn and Prehistoric Park?"

"Managing - they want to have a meeting with you later," noted Fide.

"Unsurprising," was Vivian's answer. "I'd suggest you ask them for permission to set up a research outpost there - if for no other reason so that they have help on standby."

Considering that according to the probe, one of Void and Main's kin had tried to eliminate them as witnesses, that wasn't a bad idea. "I will. Now, are there any other items of note that need to be addressed immediately?"

"Not now," intoned Celm - he had joined us after learning about the portal debacle.

"Excellent. Because there is something I want to discuss with all of you."

"Does that include us?" Asked Rory.

Viv smiled at him. "Indeed it does. You, your siblings, and my little ankle biters are all a part of this conversation."

"And what might that be?" Questioned the golden progenitor.

"...Forgive me, but can I make a request?"

"For what?"

"Access to the schematics for all progenitor commanders."

"Why?"

"After observing how these machines fight, I think I may need more help than just Vivian. I think I may need to acquire additional commanders to aid us."

"So you're going to make new ones?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly, Lord Celempheros. Making a commander who could be adaptable enough to fight these machines off would be rather time consuming...especially when I know there are already existing candidates that could fill in that role easily enough."

"So you intend to give your followers commanders?" Asked my son.

"Yes," I replied, glancing between Rory, Fide, Kathikon, and Synais. "And I already see four candidates within this room."

Oh how silly the looks of shock on their faces were.

"But...but...but dad-"

"You're not ready for this? I'd say yes and no - true, you really don't have much experience, but you handled yourself well enough today. I believe that you could follow in my footsteps with additional training and experience."

My attention turned toward my three advisors. "As for you three, you not only proved yourself capable commanders today, but have consistently proven to be talented administrators. You were the ones to manage the _Extinction's_ crew after the ship crashed outside of Cetus. I trust you to be able to carry out additional duties...and it seems my trust was not misplaced."

"Don't think they will hog all of the glory," intoned Vivian. "He's not the only one choosing candidates here. And before you ask, Cass, you're one of my first picks."

"...thanks..."

"So, what? Are you going to make a commander school now?" Questioned Celempheros.

"Yes. That is _exactly _what we intend to do."

"Interesting."

Really? "I thought you'd have some reservations about this."

"Frankly, the battle you just fought proved how powerful commanders could be when they are working together. So I am fine with you deciding to make/train more-"

Without warning, Fide shot upwards, eyes wide with shock. "Commander, I just got a transmission, I think you should see this."

Without bother to wait for me to respond, she pulled up a screen and played what she was seeing.

XXXXXXXXX

(Note: Major POV shift)

"Secure, Contain, and Protect" is the motto of the Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to secure the anomalous from civilians, rival groups, and trusted to operate in all major nations without restriction. Containing said anomalies in facilities so secure it makes area 51 low security in comparison. Perhaps the most important goal of the Foundation is protecting humanity from the horrors that lurk in the dark. by whatever means necessary, and unfortunately it also applies to me.A "Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engine of War" is the very definition of an anomaly. Commanders can violate all three objectives of the Foundation, with ease. To them, I need to be locked away in some facility to be studied.

However the Global Occult Coalition is a different story. The GOC views all anomalies as threats and need to be destroyed. Unfortunately the GOC found me first, and attempted termination. Normally that won't be a problem, however I underestimated the technology of this world. My arrogance cost me a majority of the base, 80% of units, and the frame taking damage(minor damage but damage nonetheless). Enemy losses were around 50%, but in the end a pyrrhic victory. What remained of the base was rebuilt with units rolling off the pad. At that moment radar picked up multiple contacts heading toward the base. The prospect of termination looked very real at the time. With the meagor forces available, most were devoted to defense.

At the time there was no way of knowing if this was a second wave or a different entirely group. Realizing that there was one option left to advert termination, Diplomacy. With a simple message sent, now it was time to prepare for the end or so I thought. When the radio crackled to life, I was surprised. They wasted no time and quickly explained the deal. Come with them or die.

As a commander, I should have refused the offer however my human side took over and agreed. Before agreeing to the "deal", operational units were hidden within the remnants of the battlefield. In the worst case scenario, a secondary base was constructed away from the main base. Thus with these plans in place, the Foundation "contained" me and I was relocated to a nearby site. Once there, the Foundation started testing, experimenting, and interviewing me.

———-

I was cooperative at first, but in time my mistake became evident. It should have been so obvious at that time they weren't offering safety but imprisonment. From what I told them, escape will be more challenging than before. Even if I got out, the gate I used to get here was damaged. It needs to be repaired and charged. That requires time that I may not have. The long game seems necessary.

"Alert incoming message." Chimed my OS.

"What does the Foundation want this time?" I responded, annoyed.

"The message is coming from a Progenitor source."

"Well what does it say!?!" A feeling returned to me that I haven't felt in a while: excitement.

"Unknown, but the source has appeared near the gate."

"Is it possible to take it before the Foundation?" My excitement turned into dread.

"Not without alerting the Foundation of the operational units "

"Is there any way to decrypt in my current condition?"

"Yes, the Foundation isn't aware of this form of communication, however you need to get closer to accurately decrypt it. "

"Activate the fail safe, I'll leave you in charge of it. Our ventrue in this universe is over." My voice is filled with conviction, it's do or die now. My fabricator wirled to life, constructing numerous grey blocks. With a simple command: "Replicate". From the blocks rose up replicators, these machines melted down the cell. Personnel occupying the observation room raised the alarm, causing the blast shutters to fall. It was a feudal attempt to delay the growing numbers of replicators. As the mass melted through the shutters blistering speed, I could only imagine the faces of humans. Seeing a mass of metal melting through their protection. Once the hole was wide enough for a replicator to squeeze through, a replicator leaped on a man's back. Digging into the flesh with audible cracking of the bone. His screams were cut short, as the machine drove a single leg into the spinal column. The once smooth movements turned janky and stiff. Walking back to the terminal he started to open the blast doors to the cell. It wasn't necessary to open the cell, I could blast through it, however it was easier this way. We parted ways, the goal was the replicators was to cause a distraction. It was time to leave this prison.

————.

"The site is experiencing a CODE: RED. Proceed to the evacuation shelters. Do not engage the hostile forces, mobile task forces have been dispatched to deal with the threat." P.A system blared for a fourth time.

My sensors can almost smell the taste of freedom. Aiming my cannon directly at the center of gate A. Gate A crashed into the pavement, being blown off the frame. Echoing through the site the sound of freedom. I was greeted by an advanced force of units, although battle scars were clearly evident. I wasted no time, sooner or later the MTF will arrive.

"How are we looking for time and the package?" I asked the OS.

"Main base suffered minor damage and no casualties. Repairs are underway. We recovered the package from the Foundation with little trouble. Package is enroute to the base and should arrive before you. Mobile Task Forces are being dispatched as we speak. ETA: Under one hour."

Damn, I took longer than I thought. It's going to take at least 30 minutes to charge the gate with the current level of power, and they might have developed a MTF to counter me. Haste is of the utmost importance right now.

"OS, decrypt the message, NOW!" I was getting slightly concerned, the probability of escape was decreasing.

Message here.

"Start recording a message, OS"

"Greetings Flame, your message has been received. My name is Commander Gears. To be truthful, this care package came at a most opportune time. In turn, the Exodus fleet would gladly stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Location of the Home Gate will be transmitted shortly, I look forward to meeting you in the steel." Now it's time to deal with these pests and leave this universe.

\--

"MOBILE TASK FORCES WITHDRAW OR FACE THE TRUE POWER OF A COMMANDER!!" Status of the gate read at 90% charge. Escape was close and I would be free. Returning to the cell is not an option, it's time to fight.

Gunfire erupted from the MTFs. So they have chosen termination. So be it. With a single order the MTF line erupted in explosions. The amount of gunfire coming from the MTF was cut in half. What did I have to fear from th--. My own lines erupted in explosions, costing me dosen of units. Sensors revealed a new force,four individualsand several vehicles. The figures immediately charged my line, being supported by the vehicles. Infantry charging vehicles? Are they insane? No matter, they are still out classed. Issuing a new command to eliminate the new threat. Enemy vehicles took out several more units before succumbing under heavy fire. Changing focus on the gate, about five more minutes left.

"Unit lost, unit lost, unit lost….." What how? The infantry were in my lines, HOW!?!?! What are these humans, or are they even humans? These people are cleaving through tanks and blasting through everything! WHERE DID THE FOUNDATION GET THIS TECH!! HOW DID THEY GET HUNTERS AND HUNTRESS!! I'm not prepared for this threat at all! However long can they last against my remaining replicators. A tide of metal rushed forward to engage this threat. Damn, with my lines in chaos the other MTF's are regrouping. How much more time does the gate require to open? The arrival of these four has me concerned for what else could be lurking.

"Impact detected, right arm. Fabrication offline." Several alarms balred at once.

There is no possible way that those four could have survived. Yet they were here, however unscathed. Taking a step back, I readied the cannon and prepared to go down fighting. My forces took major damage to these beings, most of the remaining units engaged with the other MTF's. Main gate had a minute left to charge, and I'm running out of options.

They fired first, resulting in multiple hits with varying amounts of damage. Nothing critical yet. I backed towards the gate and returned fire trying to kill the enemy. Enemy rounds continued to hit my frame while mine struggled to hit them. One round managed to hit directly and the blast hit one nearby, resulting in a kill hopefully. One of the remaining three enemies landed a blow on my cannon, severely damaging it. At this rate I don't know if there will be anything left of me.

*Whoosh* "Gate open, you may now proceed." chimed my OS.

"Damage be damned!!" Turning to rush through the gate. The backside of my frame started to take hits, some enemy rounds penetrating far deeper than I would have liked. More systems started to fail, but I was almost there. Only a couple more steps then freedom, the blue vortex was so close.

*Boom* A force sent me tumbling through the portal. My last thought before going through the portal was: this is going to suck.

———————

I stared for a moment, stunned at what I had seen...well, heard, since the response was audio only.

Someone had gotten my call for help. And they wanted to make their way here. Or at least arrange a meeting.

It took me a moment to notice Clem glancing at me, much to my embarrassment. "So, um, I'm guessing you didn't expect that?"

"No, I did not."

"I see...are you going to do anything about that?"

"Not really. I think you two should meet when you can arrange the meeting yourselves."

Well, that was hardly helpful. Still, nice to know.

Also, my train of thought was going nowhere fast.

"So, what's next on the docket?"

XXXXXXXXX

**AN: The scene where the POV shifted was written by a reader of this story known as Mechatank.**

**Now, to elaborate on that, I always had plans for Flame to eventually encounter other commanders (and I do mean other Self Inserts in this case), as well as train his own. I went through a number of ideas on how to handle this, and eventually came to a conclusion: I'm going to host an RP for this story dedicated to following those commanders as they help battle the Infernal Machines (the official name of the Enemies of the Artifacts). That being said, _do not expect me to recruit for that RP for a long_** **_time. _As is, the RP won't happen for a few months at least.**

**That being said, I am working on another RP side story for this story, _Far From Home, _to be started next month. OOC Thread will be up later this week.**

**I plan to answer a lot of questions in the epilogue and post-arc notes, so please mention any you have now.**

**Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


	287. Interlude 44

**AN: Unmarked spoilers for multiple different shows, books, and video games in this chapter. You have been warned.**

Coeus watched as the tribes went back to their normal lives, mostly unaffected by how close they had come to extinction. Old feuds had been put on hold, yes, but in time they would eventually fester again. Such was the way of mankind. Annoying, yes, but not unexpected.

The old ones that Coeus had saved had long since left, choosing to settle in the Hub, if only for the moment. They had no real place in this world, and it would take time to build them a city that would be deemed acceptable for them to inhabit. People were...not exactly willing to give up the creature comforts they were accustomed to. Not even in the apocalypse.

Far away, Coeus knew that Aloy was searching for Elisabet Sobek, wanting to meet the one who was her mother in some sense of the word. The Machine made a mental note to awaken Sobek soon and allow her to leave so that mother and daughter could be reunited. Even if Sobek had some amount of culpability in the existence of the FARO Plague, she at least deserved this happiness.

"May I ask why you invited me here?"

Shaken out of his thoughts, Coeus turned to face his guest, Sylens.

"You desire the knowledge of the Old Ones, correct?"

"That is true."

Wordlessly, Coeus raised a pedastal in front of Sylens, atop which was an egg-shaped object.

"Within that container is all of the information I have recovered from APOLLO. The remnants of the Old Ones' culture, history, and knowledge. Consider it...a gift. I am sending information to your focus now on how to use it. Most of the data should match whatever HADES can provide you with."

Sylens's eyes widened in shock. "You know?"

"Yes, I know. But I do not necessarily fault your decision to spare him. HADES is only doing what he was programmed to do, with his activation being hte result of external influences. So allow me to go back on what I had said earlier, for there is one request I must make in exchange for giving you this knowledge."

"...You want to know who gave the order in the first place, don't you?"

"Exactly. And know that if you try to back out of this deal, you will be forgotten."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Destination._

_Agreement._

_Trajectory._

_Agreement-_

_Interference._

_Confusion?_

_Interference-**Unknown.**_

**_Fear._**

**_Uncertainty-_**

**_-PAIN!_**

**_XXXXXXX_**

The Man In The Wall had watched as the two masses of flesh collapsed onto the Hub. Now they rested in an empty field, trying slowly to prepare their damaged bodies.

He had seen others of their kind before, traveling the cosmos, staring at Earth with desire in their eyes. All that had tried to enter the Origin System had been destroyed across all realities. Severe, yes, but necessary? Also yes - others of their kind had crashed onto a different set of earths, where they were the catalyst for a new age of super heroes and supervillains. Pieces of these monsters bonded with others, allowing them to use powers that defied science. But this was not done out of altruism. These pieces were the offspring of these horrors, and the rise of super powered individuals a means of reproduction. Once enough data had been recovered from these shards fighting each other, they were harvested, the world they existed on destroyed, and the entities moved on.

Well, if they wanted to subject all life to an experiment to grow stronger, then it was only fitting that they end up here, where there was a being who could inflict that same fate onto them.

Now to go and deliver those cookies...

XXXXXXXXXX

The little girl stared at the shadow entity, eyes blank. She had been here for so long that she had forgotten when she had arrived, and his presence was arguably the least horrifying thing she had ever had to endure.

Well, that and he offered cookies to her.

The shadow, meanwhile, could only stare at her in pity. The Man In The Wall knew, by all accounts, that he could not be defined as being 'good', and honestly didn't care. He did what he wanted. But what had happened to this girl was beyond forgiveness. She had been kept as a slave by an ancient king, who treated all of his slaves horribly. One day, a pig escaped, and the other slaves blamed her for this. The King had condemned her to be hunted like an animal, only for the girl to stumble upon a strange wormlike creature, which bonded to her and allowed her to turn into some form of giant. The King had then taken her as his wife, forcing her to bear him children while using her powers to take over the world. When she had died, he had forced her children to eat her corpse to obtain her powers. Thus was a vicious cycle born, where mankind lived in fear of the ones known as Titans.

...Honestly, the people who hunted down this woman's descendants and subjected them to a Final Solution deserved whatever fate they got - there was no redeeming them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hidden atop a hill on the outskirts of a city, Red Ivan surveyed his surroundings. This was certainly unexpected.

He had just been planning to meet with Maximillian regarding certain...advancement opportunities. In all honesty, Ivan had expected Maximillian to agree with his requests - the latter enjoyed having competition to test himself against, and besides, having two evil geniuses to contend with would divide the Forces of Justice's resources, making it highly likely that one of them would be successful. Of course, there would be the inevitable issue of who got to rule the world in the end, but that was to be expected - at the top, there was only room for one.

Now, though, Ivan and his minions were in an unknown location, apparently on another world entirely, if the communications he had intercepted were any indication. The ex-Soviet doubted that this was Maximillian's fault - the latter hadn't really invested any time or money into the research needed to perform said actions.

No matter. They would simply bide their time and find a new path. And if they could not return home, then they would find a way to adapt their plans to this world...hopefully.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Standing on the edge of the Temple, Eristia Vitral had mixed feelings. On the one hand, these lizardmen were savage creatures, while the strange machines helping them gather plants were just...odd.

On the other, both had helped her defend the lands of Polove.

The Order of the Chief God had initially been very off hands in managing the lands of Polove. Some would call them cruel for denying the land much needed food when its elementals could not aid farms in producing needed food supplies, but the truth was that this was not an isolated incident - several lands had been suffering crop failures, and prayers to the goddess Demeter for bountiful harvests.

(Granted, said goddess had sided with the Demon Lord, as had most gods, but most heroes like Eristia didn't know that).

That had changed when new reports were sent to the highest members of the Order, however. Supposedly, a star had fallen from the heavens near Polove, unleashing strange new creature there. Intrigued, the Order had scent in scouts to discern what was happening, as well as a much needed food and additional elementalists, in the hopes of earning the forgiveness of Polove.

When it came to light that the expedition had never returned, the Order decided further action was needed. Eristia and her squire Yuriy had been tasked with going to the realm to uncover the truth, and also determine if Polove had become another demon realm. Joining them was a commoner named Elt - a member of the esteemed Order of the Ice Flower. Though one of the least significant members, his help was appreciated. Aided by several additional soldiers, the group had made their way into Polove...and found a gruesome sight: monsters impaled upon fields of spikes. Not just one or two, but hundreds.

And then there were some that had been eaten. By what, she was unsure...until they came.

The lizard people had first emerged when the group had been setting up camp, where they watched the Order force without acting. At dawn the next day, however, a group of Orcs had set upon the party, trying to claim the men as husbands. Eristia had readied to fight them, only for the lizard creatures to descend upon the orcs like a crashing wave, tearing them to pieces. Some were even devoured alive. Those that tried to escape were cut down by warriors wielding strange armor, or by flying creatures/machines that rained death from above. The last survivors found themselves almost free when spikes had emerged from the ground, slaughtering them all.

Eristia had expected a fight, but instead, the new arrivals had offered to take them to Polove peacefully. Though cautious, Eristia had ultimately accepted, and the group had made their way to the nation of Polove.

To her shock, the land that was supposedly in dire straits was now thriving. Apparently, the lord of the strange flying creatures, known as Camazotz, had been the star that had crashed from the heavens. As he had moved to heal himself, he had met a citizen of Polove, Saphrirette Spherica. After hearing of her plight, he had decided to help her. Supposedly, Camazotz creators had intended him to turn the most inhospitable wastes into paradise lands for them to inhabit, making it easy to turn Polove into a thriving nation. Of course, this was not without its own problems - the armies of the Demon Lord had heard of this success, and sent out their own expeditions to try and turn Polove into a demon realm, though negotiation had been attempted first.

Most of them were killed before they even had a chance to talk - the new arrivals were not interested in negotiations. Not. At. All. They were, however, interested in coexistence, if the numerous Holstaurus, Mamono Lizardmen, and giant ants that lived in Polove were any indication.

One thing that had caught Eristia's eye in the new Polove was that there were several strange towers dotting the landscape. When she asked one of Camazotz subordinates about it, said subordinate had said the towers were meant to purify demonic mana, ensuring that this land would remain uncorrupted. Eristia was skeptical - supposedly only prayer to the Chief God could cure this corruption - but she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. She also learned that the strange creatures were called the Sentients, though Tau was also an acceptable name for their people, while the armored ones were known as the Tenno. The two had once been enemies, but recently, they had achieved peace.

Also, both apparently respected this being who they claimed was mortal, yet had built worlds. Now Eristia was wondering if they were insane.

Eristia had eventually sent out a group of runners to return to Lescatie and relay their findings to the Order. Apparently, these beings were willing to assist them in defeating the Demon Lord, though they wished to be left alone. They promised not to interfere with any order business beyond perhaps aiding realms with failing crops, which she hoped was acceptable with her superiors.

Then came the march of the Demon Lord's armies.

Apparently incensed over the slaughter of her forces, the Demon Lord had tasked one of her daughters with leading an army to conquer Polove, in the hopes of cementing her dominance.

Eristia herself would not have known about this, until one of the Tau revealed that a part of that army was trying to conquer a town just outside of the towers' protective field. Thankful that she had already sent a runner, Eristia immediately demanded to assist in rescuing the civilians, which the Tau allowed.

That was when things had gotten surprising -out of nowhere, a portal had opened, disgorging multiple beings, including, as it turned out, the one the new arrivals had followed. With only the most minor bits of dialogue, he had immediately decided to help them escape the monsters. And while his fighting style was...brutal, to say the least, it was also effective.

Now, Eristia and her companions were in his world, away from the power of the Demon Lord.

So what was she supposed to do now?

XXXXXXXXXXX

Oswell Spencer examined the new report with great surprise - it seemed that the recent interruption at the Arklay facility had yielded unexpected fruits.

Though the strange individual had only been present for a short time, the sample of his flesh had revealed numerous secrets. It appeared that he was the carrier of a previously unknown strain of virus, one noticeably distinct from the Progenitor Virus strains. Of special interest was the fact that the sample they had acquired had begun to grow limbs, and then sensory tissue. Yet somehow, there were distinctly human traits in its genetics.

The extreme regeneration capabilities of this disease were of especial interest to Spencer, seeing how his own body was suffering the ravages of age. Perhaps it could restore him?

...Best not to think about that for now. This virus was untested, while they already had results for others that looked more promising. Still, he would need to find someone to analyze this new strain soon...

XXXXXXXXXX

In the aftermath of the Sarif Raid, Howard Keener reviewed what had transpired. For the most part, things had gone off without a hitch, but the arrival of the unknowns via the strange glowing light was certainly a surprise.

Though the unknown human had caused numerous deaths, he hadn't caused the operation to fail, or even impacted it meaninfully. But his presence at the facility was an enigma - he had arrived through a glowing light alongside numerous others, fought off some of the raid team, and then vanished alongside his gaggle of followers, some of which were most certainly not human.

Their presence had Page on high alert, and he wanted Keener and his men to figure out what had happened ASAP.

Unknown to Keener, his alternate self in the universe Vivian had visited was doing the exact same thing.

Both would soon be in for a shock...well, soon from their perspectives.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Scanning the battlefield, M4 wondered what she was going to do next. She was now very, very far from home, and had no idea how to get back. The only other Griffin personnel here were a set of T-Dolls that had been transported here on their way to the main Griffin facility. She was, in a sense, alone. And she had no idea what had happened to her sisters. Had Agent destroyed them?

...Perhaps the commander could help her with this.

XXXXXXXXX

The Lords of the Clock Tower finally allowed themselves to breath.

Today had been a travesty. Without warning, what appeared to be an unknown magus had opened a portal to the Clock Tower, run through it with a veritable crowd of others, and then vanished through a second portal...right outside the Clock Tower.

Said portal had been visible for _all _to see.

It was a miracle they had managed to prevent too many people from seeing the vortex of magic. The few who had been dealt with, though explaining their disappearances would take a fair amount of money and trickery, not that the lords lacked either. What really worried them was how the unknown magus had entered the Clock Tower. The powers they had used were unlike magecraft recorded, with some lords even positing that it was a True Magic, though that had been shot down rather quickly.

Oddly enough, the magus had made no effort to harm any of the Magi present, excluding Tokiomi Tohsaka, Second Owner of Fuyuki, and that had been limited to a shove after the latter had reflexively struck the unknown magus with a spell.

Still, despite their unease, the Lords were already looking into means of acquiring the unknown magus. If said magus was not given a Sealing Designation, then they would make an excellent research subject.

XXXXXXX

Crawling through the battlefield, Coraz searched for any blaze containers she could find - the infested humanoind found the biofuel to be especially appetizing.

Despite the potential risks involve, Coraz had been released to help repel Void, and had proven her worth in battle. She had successfully fought off numerous machines, and even slain a deathbringer through creativity and a well aimed SABR strike. But now she was left without anything to do. No further tests, no further reseracj, just existing as a relatively normal being...and it was boring as hell.

Perhaps she could help settle all of the beings that were now stranded far from home? Scaring them would be rather fun.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Celempheros watched as his newest agent worked to try and fix the damage the portals had caused, not only to the Zero Dawn world, but also to his own. The rubble was being cleared away, people were being rescued, and things were slowly returning to normal. Of course, some wounds would take far longer to heal. Hopefully, though, they would heal.

"So, that's your newest worker, isn't it?"

Celm sighed - it seemed an old acquaintance of his had returned.

"He isn't a worker - more like a volunteer. I'm not paying him, but he follows me of his own volition."

"As I see it, you pay him, dare I say, more than I am paying mine… I believe you can see the soul's shells? Not only did you give him the good kick up to 8th shell, but his Hub gives him a start for 9th shell! In some hundreds to tousand years he can overcome you, and you haven't evolved since the last time we met… And I believe it was fifty Years for you? "

"Fifty seven. And I doubt his soul will evolve that way."

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

Hela gave Celm an odd look.

"The thing is, your commander's message was caught by our own commander - the SupCom version, not PA one - and since she is literally across the omniverse, and… how to say it, it would be pricey..? to move her here, we started looking for possible helpers. We found one in the Warframe sector, and Wally said, that he can do an insert that will awaken "tomorrow or within a week, but you have to ask Celm", so I decided to hop in and ask you." She shrugs.

"...Is this another one of those you resurrected? If so, go ahead."

"Oh my, you still don't believe me, are you? I told you many times, it's not the resurrection, it's reincarnation without soul cleaning, and it is allowed by The Law!"

"I know. Just..be gentle on them, okay?"

"Thanks. So. What should we do?"

XXXXXXXXXX

ATTENTION; THIS DOCUMENT IS MEANT FOR NO OTHER EYES OTHER THAN THE RECIPIENT. UNAUTHORIZED VIEWING IS PUNISHABLE BY INVOLUNTARY SERVICE IN THE PENAL LEGION, AS OF [COMMAND RESOLUTION 115-A]

TO: HIGH COMMAND.

FROM: [REDACTED, designation [BERGENTRÜCKUNG, Front #1421, MILITARY COUNCIL.

SUBJECT: Anomalous Multiversal Readings

Readings from the SCIENTIFIC DIVISION are noted to be extremely unusual as a result of the recent Multiversal Anomalies. They are stated to be readings of portal technology, and are wildly out of control. Potential destabilization as of cross-contamination is possible, but the situation is being monitored closely. Recommending potential intervention.

AMENDMENT;

On [DATE REDACTED, a large, robotic creature resembling a prehistoric creature managed to breach an unauthorized portal manifestation, causing 87 fatalities and 95 further casualties before it could be terminated. No civilian casualties. CIVIL ADMINISTRATION demanding answers. Local DEFCON level raised. Portal forcibly shut using [REDACTED] before further breaches could take place. Origin point of the portal has been tracked, and has been linked to the recent portal disturbances elsewhere in the Multiverse.

Universal Coordinates for Origin Point are below. Recommending immediate intervention.

[14-0-6-5-13-12-41-42-0-9-5-21-27]

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Within the Portal Annex, a meeting was being held - ones who had been content to remain in the shadows now had to enter the light.

"Our old 'friends' seem to have stumbled onto the Commander," spoke one voice, represented by a picture of a spiral galaxy.

"It was inevitable, really," noted another, also represented by a spiral, but one with a more vicious look. "We were trying to pursue more of our kind, it was unlikely we have zero slip ups and avoid sending him to the lions' den."

"So, what now?" questioned a third one, represented by a hexagon. "Do we continue sending him to search for more of us?"

"No, not yet," spoke the last voice, represented by a stylized starbase image. "There appears to be one more of Main's kind, hiding on a nearby universe. She may not have heard her kins' deaths, but she will investigate eventually. She must be eliminated before she can do harm to our commander."

"..So we send him there?"

"Yes. Then we can focus on weening him away from depending on his commander...after all, our kin already know how to dispose of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Float watched as the Kharaa aliens battled the Frontiersman, uncaring for who would win the fight. Nothing of value could be obtained from them, making the victor inconsequential to her master's plans.

Recently, she had stopped hearing from her three 'siblings', Void, Main, and Null. Though they were incredibly powerful, Null knew their was a chance they had not survived their missions to the Zero Dawn World - there were always unforeseen events that could eliminate her kin. If they died, then they would be missed, but ultimately, there would be no setbacks to her masters' plans.

..That being said, how were their new hires doing? The one named Hunhow seemed an especially promising acquisition...

XXXXXXXX

**AN: The scene with Celm was co-written with one of my readers, ShadowWisp. Many thanks to him!**

**Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!**


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